Page:John Nolen--New ideals in the planning of cities.djvu/58

NEW IDEALS IN THE PLANNING OF

units, usually estimated at two feet; (3) the classification of streets of a city according to the traffic requirements upon them, or the other functions that they are to serve; and (4) an estimate of the present and future traffic of the streets of any given class, the width required to meet that traffic, and then the standardization of that width.

The requirements of local streets are different from those of main thoroughfares or even secondary streets. The local street should not be broad, and to make it so Incurs needless expense for grading and paving as well as for land. If the local street is kept narrow, it acquires a quality more distinctly domestic. It is cosier and more attractive. There are many good illustrations of local streets laid out with a total width between properties of forty feet or less, the roadway being not more than from twenty to twenty-four feet.

In providing locations for the main thoroughfares, opportunities should be sought for creating public open spaces and