Joint Board on Interstate Highways

“ Finally there was developing more and more resistance to any departure from the marked trails when, in the course of a State road program, it became desirable to construct or reconstruct a road, lay out or extend the State road system, or adopt routes for continuous or priority construction. The interests back of the individual route protested the interests of the community as a whole, and exerted their influence to make good showing to their supporters regardless of the real intrinsic merit of their location. ”

“ Whenever a State desires a new standardized sign for any purpose, it shall submit a request with suggestions to some central agency, either a State highway department appointed for that purpose, or the Bureau of Public Roads. ”

“ The public was apparently willing to pay a considerable sum annually for certain definite results which were sought in connection with the road program considered on broad interstate lines. These results were not being secured by any authorized official agency, and the successful, continuous bids for support that were made by trails organizations and responded to generously by community interests indicated that the public opinion favored strongly the systematic planning, development, and construction of the connected route and the correlated system of highways. ”

“ The meeting was held in the Board Room of the State department in the State Building at San Francisco.
The regular work of the meeting was carried on expeditiously and in entire harmony, and the selection of the major routes was done almost without any difference of opinion. All necessary adjustments on the major routes were at once made and the only feature of the work which will require serious review is the elimination of routes within the States of the group which were added after the interstate connections were practically agreed upon. ”

“ This condition of having two or more different roads carrying the same route designation was as confusing as having several designations applying to the same route, and was equally productive of complaint. ”

“ A general examination of the field map as brought to this group meeting at once produced the impression that too many roads had been selected and Mr. Greene of New York was especially desirous of reducing the mileage and the layout in New York was made accordingly. Mr. Greene said he thought he would on his own initiative send a copy of his State map to the other States in order that they could more clearly get his idea of a desirable density of transcontinental routes. ”

“ Specific cases were studied in connection with the work of the Joint Board in which as much as 70 per cent of the entire length of a marked trail lapped other routes. In many cases 40 or 50 per cent of the mileage of one route lapped others and sometimes as many as eleven different marked trails involved in parts of greater or less length in a single trail. One section of road is known to have carried eight different sets of route markers for a considerable distance. ”

“ In the final results the Board has embodied the recommendations of all the best thought on the subject with possibly one exception where there is still some disagreement. This detail involves the color code and is not considered vital. In general the details of the designs are based on the recommendations of the American Association of State Highway Officials supplemented by the work of the American Engineering Standards Committee and its numerous sponsor bodies. These details include shape, symbol, significance, color code and other details of design where such are prescribed. ”

“ Moved and seconded that it be the sense of this Board that sub-paragraph 5-A, be added to the Report of the Committee on Signs, detailed wording to be phrased by the Acting Chairman, recommending the adoption of the square sign, 24" by 24", instead of diamond shape, for the purpose of indicating "look or attention;" to be used sparingly where there is not need of caution or slowing up in driving, but where the driver's attention should be arrested, at such places as schools, hospitals, churches, etc., and that we have yellow background with' black lettering. ”

“ WHEREAS, many individuals have sought to capitalize the popular demand for interstate or cross-country routes by organizing trails, collecting large sums of money from our citizens and giving practically no service in return, with resulting discredit to the reputable trails associations which have heretofore rendered distinct public service by stimulating highway improvement, maintenance, and marking ”

“ Occasionally a route was laid out along very direct lines in an effort to secure the construction of a short and direct route between important centers of population. In a great many cases the routes were the result of an entirely selfish promotion to exploit good roads sentiment and provide salaries for paid officials of the various organizations. ”

“ It is further recommended that through the highway departments of the several States the use of any other distinctive markers, except those required administratively by the several States, shall be discouraged on the designated routes, and that the use of the shield as a marker be limited to the United States Highways. ”

“ One of the most vigorously promoted routes has at several points three alternate lines, and over most of its length there exists a duplicate location. This resulted from the fact that in promoting the route and inviting local support interested organizations made their layout where they could secure local support, and being morally too weak to reject financial support offered them by an alternate route, they accepted both routes and both sets of contributions. ”

“ The number of such delegations desiring to appear would have prolonged the work of selection unreasonably if, indeed, it would not have defeated the whole undertaking. To have invited a special group of organizations or local interests to attend hearings to the exclusion of others would have been impossible in an official body like the Board. Questions raised at such hearings would inevitably have resulted in placing the Board in the position of an arbiter among the numerous trail organizations and other local interests ”

“ States not represented in person generally furnished maps and correspondence indicating their choice of routes with the result that in the course of the group meetings all but two States have taken the opportunity to express themselves definitely regarding the routes selected.
Trails associations raised no serious difficulties at any meeting, although at Kansas City, Chicago and Atlanta numerous representatives of these organizations appeared quite evidently expecting to be heard. ”

“ The essential feature of the procedure was a series of Group Meetings to which all States were to be invited to send official representatives authorized to act for the State in designating a tentative system of interstate routes of major importance. The Groups were six in number and meetings were subsequently called at convenient meeting points for the members of each Group. ”

“ Moreover, there was available through the several state highway departments and in the Bureau of Public Roads a large amount of information available to all States and to the Board in assisting them to arrive at definite conclusions regarding the respective merits of roads or routes under consideration. ”

“ It is impossible to estimate the cost to the public of these activities; but when the 150 trails are omitted for which no record of a definite organization appears in the record, it may conservatively be estimated that the 100 active organizations handled at least $6,000 per year, or a total of $600,000. ”