Show i q r BABSON'S i AUTHENTIC E pp STATEMENT Roc noes w Bab Special to THE EXPRESS I AUTOS HASTENING CITIES OF THE FUTURE Babson Park Mass July 15 We are heading for swift chan changes in our cities and their lm im mediate suburbs as a result of the traffic explosion Already most urban particular centers ly those that overflow into one another such as all along the Atlantic Coast Coast- are swamped I by highway and parking lems that are becoming more I desperate every day Fortunate with ly-with the population skyrocketing skyrocketing eting and per capita per capita auto ownS own along with solutions it-solutions are closer than most of us rea rea- realize Uze lize MORE HIGHWAYS NOT ENOUGH OF AN ANSWER Our huge highway programs both federal and state are fine for the long haul but they are areno areno no answer to the in city dilemma ma That requires imagination ingenuity and an entirely new concept of transportation plan plan- planning ning Those who take the long longview longview view h have ve been trying for some years to alert government officials city planners and the ap- ap apathetic public to the need for taking realistic steps to keep the auto Invasion from choking the life Ufe out of downtown areas Now at long last more than one metropolis has planners and engineers at work plotting the inevitable city of the future That city will of necessity rely more and more upon rapid public transit requiring the reo re habilitation of feasible railroad and trolley system once thought obsolete and the construction of new very moving fast convey I antes ances both between city centers and Into them from the key suo su Monorail transport ale al- already ready tried out in a few places in this country and even more ambitiously in Japan Is in the cards for a number of ed localities It is no longer a question of whether we can af af- af afford ford It its it's a matter of f simply having to do such things to save our clUes cities from traffic death RING OUTER HIGHWAYS WILL CONNECT In the years not too far away our modernized cities will have strict regulations on traffic movement especially in busy commercial cores There will willbe willbe be convenient highways looping around the urban limits con fleeting with strategically plat ed rapid transit terminals with spacious parking facUlties facilities From these terminals gers will be whisked downtown to or very close to their desti desti- desti destinations nations Even in heavily populated ted suburbs there will be in drastic restrictions While it may sound like a fan fan- fantasy fantasy tasy right now there will be wide reliance in restricted areas upon tiny motor or electrIc dri yen ven carts and bu buses es alt as well as upon more conventional shop shop- shopping ping scooters and bicycles Ilea vy auto traffic will be prevent ed from funneling off cross city highways and turnpikes into ur ur- ur urban ban and suburban streets which simply cannot handle the input The idea of blocking off one or two city streets and turning I I the area into a pedestrian shop shop- shopping ping mall will be greatly exten ded President Johnsons Johnson's beau and urban renewal renew a 1 programs will fit in nicely with the planting of trees and flow ers the installation of fountains benches tables entertainment areas for children etc where auto traffic Is excluded trian mobility will be aided by more escalators even by move leg ing floors and sidewalks PLAZAS AND MALLS WILL FLOURISH City centers will be enhanced by such plazas as those alma alrea almady dy successfully establIshed i n Rochester N Y and Fresno Calif which will be easily reached by transit lines coming in from the outer loop highways Access will be available i ill 11 these attractive heated and or air conditioned plazas to the finest department stores res res- res restaurants offices museums and entertainment centers As new plans are blocked out in more and more cities business men bankers architects and design design- designers ers should take full advantage of the opportunities offered by these emerging cities of the future Businesses n t upon auto traffic alone should be sure that they are not left holding the bag in a locality de to become nearly or maybe entirely entirely- devoid of the auto traffic that once filled the crowded streets |