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Rh PARKING

It is generally recognized that offstreet parking for passenger cars and termini for buses and trucks are essential components of the highway transportation picture. But, unlike public highways, these facilities are not generally provided by Federal or State Government, some being provided by private enterprise, some by municipalities, and some by both groups working together. While the Federal Government can serve an important role in basic research on this question, in the judgment of this Committee Federal funds should not be used for construction of offstreet parking facilities, or for the acquisition of land for such purposes. The Committee believes that progress in this field must continue without Federal funds, and that the States, where necessary, will meet their responsibility to provide enabling legislation whereby municipalities and other local political subdivisions can develop needed programs, in cooperation with the sizable private operations which have grown up in this important field.

HIGHWAY NEEDS STUDIES

The Congress in the 1954 Federal-aid Highway Act directed the Secretary of Commerce to make a comprehensive study of all phases of highway financing, including a study of the costs of completing the several systems of highways, reporting to Congress not later than February 1955. The Bureau of Public Roads in the Department of Commerce made this study during 1954, in cooperation with the State highway departments and local units of government. It covered the estimated costs of completion of all roads and streets including toll roads, and is the most comprehensive study of its kind ever undertaken. The committee has obtained the essential data on highway needs developed from this study.

To insure uniformity in the measurement of needs among the States, a manual was prepared by the Bureau which set forth the standards to be used in making the estimates of need. In the case of the interstate system, the estimates provided for building in 10 years roads adequate for traffic of 1974, while for the other systems the estimates provided for the replacement or reconstruction of the portions that are now inadequate or are expected to become so during the 10-year period. The tabulated data thus obtained was provided to this Committee as preliminary totals. These studies are treated in much more detail in the Bureau’s own report being sent to the Congress.

The estimates of the several States may vary, some tending to be lower in relation to actual needs, while others may be higher, The total estimates for the country as a whole, however, are the best available, and are accepted by the Committee as a measure of requirements. They establish the target for nationwide estimates of planning and financing; the actual expenditures for construction, of course, will be subject to the detailed specifications and other controls normally used. 58940—55——4