| Show Pass By-Pass Limited Access Highways Answer to No 1 Traffic Headache The series of articles published in inthe inthe inthe the Telegram on the traffic accident and death problem along Utah's busiest highway U. U S. S 91 should arouse both public and official interest in the perilous situation which exists at so many points along this road It is not the first time the Telegram ram has called attention to the problem Nor we hope will it be the first time that the attention will result in some improvement im im- provement Recent protests of communities through which the highway passes and surveys made by safety engineers in indicate indicate indicate in- in that the big problem is the conflict conflict conflict con con- of concentrated populations and anda a through highway Motorists on the highway generally want to get some someplace someplace someplace place else else and and they are more or less lessin lessin lessin in a hurr hurry People in the community want to walk across the street and its it's still a street to them even though it itIs itis Is Js a main highway or drive down to the corner grocery or gas station or beer tavern The two uses and the two Interests conflict and the result is accident and death Obviously the best answer to this Is to separate the two uses by the construction construction construction con con- of a pass by-pass highway or by making engineering improvements to the existing highway which help to limit and control the conflict in use I This isn't quite as easy a solution as asit asit asit it sounds In the first place such highway highway highway high high- way improvements are very costly costly and and unfortunately politics being what it is highway money is not always spent according according according ac ac- ac- ac cording to need Many y a rural road in Utah which doesn't carry a tenth of the traffic U. U S. S 91 does docs gets preference over this main Utah artery artery artery-a a point which those who insist on a refund of ofas gas as taxes to farmers for the fuel they use off the highway blandly overlook In the second place experience non dc strates that improvements to a highway sometimes defeat themselves by attractIng attracting attracting attract attract- ing pop population lation as a result quickly trans trans- forming a fine new highway into a death deathtrap deathtrap deathtrap trap aga again The case of Clearfield is a good ex ex- ample Some years ago U. U S. S 91 through Clearfield was widened and improved It was in the words of D. D H. H Whitten- Whitten burg chairman of the state road commission commission commission com com- mission then a safe highway but it has since degenerated into a screaming banshee responsible for many accidents and deaths because e of a per cent in increase increase increase in- in crease in population and because of failure failure failure fail fail- ure tb follow recommendations on roadside roadside roadside road road- side development There are other stretches of U. U S. S 91 where there has been much the same experience ex ex- We Ve improve the highway to reduce re re- duce accidents and speed the flow of traffic traffic traffic fic the better highway attracts more traffic more business and more people peo- peo and and pretty soon were we're right back where we started Plainly we arent aren't getting anywhere in such fashion We Vc are arc on a treadmill which is going back at least as fast maybe faster than we are running for for- ward What should we do about it Well VeIl we could throw up our hands and let the toll toIl of accident and death skyrocket Certainly no one would advocate advocate advocate cate that thaL Or we c could uld impose drastic speed and other restrictions on traffic in an attempt to force greater care and safety This sounds plausible but the trouble with it is it is likely to cause so much traffic congestion it will be self self ling Lastly we could concentrate our highway construction funds and effort for a few years on the construction of new roads passing by-passing population centers centers cen cen- tel's and then protect this expenditure by limiting access to the pass by-pass road thereby limiting new development along the highway Frankly we c think the thc third alternative alternative alter alter- native is the thc only real answer answer and that the sooner we go to work on it the sooner we will solve Utah's biggest traffic traffic traffic fic headache |
