Show CITIES SHOULD SHARE A conspicuous example of what happens happen to county roads when a city the center of havy automobile traffic tails fails to contribute toward the building an and I 1 d maintenance of country ro roads ads is is found in spotsylvania Spot sylvania sylvani a county va va according to specialists in road economics of the U S department part ment of agriculture the country districts of ia county some years ago issued of 4 12 1 2 and 5 per cent bonds to improve their county roads under the virginia law the cities of the state are not taxed for county purposes although they may aid in the improvement pro of roads fora distance of 10 miles from the city limits if the city council so elects the city of fredericksburg in spotsylvania Spot sylvania county however contributed no part to the financial burden of maintaining the county roads the heavy automobile traffic emanating from that point has proved to be a very destructive element to the county road system and it was found that rapid deterioration was taking place in the county roads and insufficient funds existed with which to meet the situation the coun county ty authorities ties accordingly established toll gates on the principal roads and sufficient revenue thus was derived not only to maintain the roads but actually to extend their construction a short distance this orto a system long since abolished by most countries waa partially due at least to the fact that the city in this bouny had contributed nothing to the upkeep of the roads which residents of that city use extensively for automobiles the writers of the report suggest in view of the very rapid development of motor vehicles in the past decade and the prospects of much more widespread use of this means of transportation in the future the desira ability of making provisions so that the cities may aid in the construct constructor on and maintenance of roads in the surrounding territory |