Traffic Survey CHAPTER I PURPOSE AND METHODS OF THE METROPOLITAN The survey of street traffic conditions in the metropolitan district of the City of Chicago, which has been conducted during the past year by The Chicago Association of Commerce, marks a desire on the part of public officials and business interests to give careful and serious consideration to the street traffic problem. The survey has been designed first on the assumption that the question of street use in a great city is not limited to any one section or even by the political boundaries of the community, but that it extends through the metropolitan area. The study, therefore, has been developed for the purpose of obtaining a comprehensive view of the entire problem of the district, in order that recommendations may be made for the uniform treatment of difficulties throughout the region. In the second place it has been based on the assumption that satisfactory control of traffic in a great city can never come from casual observation or guesswork, but must be based on sound facts. To this end the survey has been designed along engineering lines, and has been similar in its methods to the fact finding studies that have been conducted in Chicago and other cities with respect to transportation, city planning and other features of physical development. Finally it has taken cognizance of the fact that the traffic problem as it exists at the present time in Chicago as in all great cities, involves many varied interests and demands. To this end it has incorporated the opinions of the foremost representatives of the street interests of the city. The principal motive for the survey has come from the pressure developed by increasing traffic accidents and congestion. During the past decade Chicago has been experiencing street traffic difficulties similar to those which have affected every other major city in the country. That the street traffic situation should become especially acute in Chicago was inevitable because of the tremendous volume of commercial activities centered here. There has been a growing realization that existing agencies should be more fully supported in attempts to deal with the traffic situation. The past few years have witnessed a material increase in the number of traffic movements over the streets. This increased volume of traffic has resulted in a general retardation of street travel and in many locations has caused serious congestion. Injuries and deaths to citizens, through traffic accidents, have reached large figures. The general realization of these difficult conditions, and the necessity for their remedy is witnessed by the fact that every public agency in any manner connected with street use, and every civic or commercial organization with interests related to the streets, has organized committees or groups for the consideration of the various aspects of the problem. Many of these agencies have made pertinent suggestions and substantial contributions to the relief of street conditions. They have been handicapped in many ways, however, in the full usefulness of the service which they have sought to render. Too many of the proposals have been distinctly local, applying to limited areas of the city, and have failed to take into consideration related problems in adjacent sections. Too often suggestions of an entirely experimental character have been made without a full understanding of the facts which lie behind sound control of traffic movements. Unfortunately many of the requests for changes have been made by distinctly private and special interests. The difficulty of giving traffic problems a sound and comprehensive treatment has been aggravated by the numerous administrative agencies and independent jurisdictions which have had control of the public streets. These obstacles in the way of uniform and satisfactory control of traffic led to the organization of the Street Traffic Committee of The Chicago Association of Commerce. In this group the Association at tempted to consolidate the various, and to some extent conflicting interests, which were eager for traffic relief. From the beginning of its existence the Committee functioned energetically upon various aspects of the traffic problem, supporting public agencies, in initiating many improvements, including the restricted left-turn law and the signal light system in the central business district. It soon became apparent to this Committee and to the members of the City Council who have been constantly awake to the necessities of the situation but handicapped by the lack of funds, that partial and local improvements in traffic conditions would never serve to bring adequate relief, and that the problem of street use in the city of Chicago should be subjected to a searching and comprehensive study in an attempt to determine the cause of congestion and accidents and to develop adequate methods for their relief. To this end the City Council passed the following resolution on November 9, 1925: "WHEREAS, the street traffic situation in Chicago, and the problems connected therewith are becoming increasingly difficult, and the loss of life, property and other incidental costs resulting from such traffic congestion and delay are reaching appalling figures, and "WHEREAS, effective remedies for the condition depend upon a comprehensive and scientific study of all of the factors involved, and, "WHEREAS, the problem is one which affects streets and boulevards controlled by the various Park Districts and extends beyond the limits of the municipality itself and into the entire Chicago metropolitan area, and there is no single governmental organization sufficiently extensive to cover the entire territory necessary to be studied, and "WHEREAS, Such a study cannot be undertaken without a large appropriation of money which the city, in view of its financial condition, is unable to provide, and "WHEREAS, The Chicago Association of Commerce, through its Street Traffic Committee, has been making a study of street traffic conditions throughout the entire Chicago metropolitan area, and has indicated a willingness to raise the necessary funds to make the necessary traffic studies in conjunction with representatives of the legislative and administrative branches of the city government and other interested governmental and private agencies, and prepare and suggest for the city's consideration a comprehensive traffic plan and a uniform traffic code for the Chicago metropolitan area, therefore, "BE IT RESOLVED, that The Chicago Association of Commerce be invited to proceed with this work and to present to the City Council a suggestion for such a comprehensive traffic plan and a uniform traffic code for the Chicago metropolitan area, and "BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Mayor appoint five members of the City Council, representing different geographical sections of the city, the Commissioner of Public Works, the General Superintendent of Police, the Corporation Counsel and the Commissioner of Gas and Electricity as the representatives of the city of Chicago on said Committee." In compliance with the resolution of the City Council, Mayor William E. Dever appointed as councilmanic representatives upon the committee, the Hon. Thomas J. Bowler, the Hon. Thomas F. Byrne, the Hon. E. I. Frankhauser, the Hon. Guy Guernsey, and the Hon. Albert J. Horan. These aldermen together with Col. A. A. Sprague, Commissioner of Public Works, Morgan A. Collins, General Superintendent of Police, Francis X. Busch, Corporation Counsel, and John Miller, Commissioner of Gas and Electricity, have served as energetic and helpful members of the committee during the progress of the survey. The Chicago Association of Commerce upon receipt of the request from the City Council, appropriated $50,000 for the administrative work of the contemplated survey. In order that the study to be undertaken should be fully representative of the various sectional and business interests in the community the Street Traffic Committee was substantially enlarged, and the membership was divided into sub-committees, each composed of individuals especially interested in, or informed upon, the subjects assigned to them. These sub-committees and their membership are indicated below. |