THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1909. TRAFFIC AND THE FUTURE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9628, 21 October 1909, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1909. TRAFFIC AND THE FUTURE.

The disastrous crush at aviation, sports near Paris/the other day ma>-> remind civilisation that" ite traffic resources are being strained to such a degree as to necessitate finding new means and ways of locomotion. Although this, in tact has already had to be done in some of the more thickly populated countries, the liability does not exclusively pertain to national congestion, but •presents itself where there is more than abundance of space in the country if people could only be spread over it in some roughly-approximate ratio of population to 'area. That is impossible, of course. Inevitably, in the nature of things, people gather in groups, constituting the city or the town; the tendency to concentrate is so strong, indeed, that most of the smallest cities have their central thoroughfares which at times are inconveniently crowded. Moreover, town-planning is now seen to be a practical science, the importance of which has been ignored. If a model city was being schemed out to-day, ''beneath a rule entirely great" and therefore able to defy tradition and custom, probably acre-wide streets would be provided. Public opinion, however, is not ready for that innovation yet. Even if it were, the traffic problem would remain as . grevious as at present in the great and ever-expanding cities where the people of various nationalities have found it advisable to because considerations of expense forbid alike such Wholesale reconstruction of popular city thoroughfares and such ample street provision in the suburbs as might be expected to overcome the difficulty. It is, a case of .looking somewhere else, therefore. Where? is a question that may be answered in the light of militarism's and applied science's teachings. For the purposes of the military scientist the earth's surface is insufficient. He must go above and below it; hence the wonderful achievements! of the "flying" men under the stimulus ot substantial national encouragement, and the certain progress of the submarine vessel toward perfect practicability. From which civilisation may take the hint that to accommodate itself it must divert its traffic into the air and underground. Whether pedestrian or transport traffic shall go underground is really all that remains to be settled; for aerial locomotion j will become popular as soon as it becomes more definitely practicable

tnan it is just now, and tunnels , and subways are inevitable. An ! airship to the Zeppelin pattern can sail a thousand miles, carrying passengers and all but assured of absolute navigability and safety. And, according to the Wrights, whose machines have won such general approval under the tightest stress ' of European competition, it would be possible to build an aeroplane to do the same. A little more, therefore, and air travelling will be irresistibly attractive to a Very large proportion of mankind. But if the air is limitless in the matter of space to move in, the same may almost be sai 1 of the under-earth, where fch3 itiea of the surface repsat themselves in a vast, unrealisad asset of civilisation. Already this is being perceived. Formerly tunnels were only j built were they could not be avoid- ] ed—for instance, to give road way through a mountain that could not be conveniently scaled or circled. Nowadays as for years back they are resorted to as a natural relief to superficial traffic ways. The "tube'' tramways in London, legitimate modern successors of the old "underground,'" exemplify this wise tendency; so do the underground railways of Berlin. In New York, perhaps the greatest exemplar, the superiority of the under-river tunnel to the over-river bridge has been recognised and acted upon, while the city subway has also been brought into great use there. In short, underground traffic is an assured characteristic of the near future. Although it may never come to a crucial question of which shall take the subterranean route, the probability is that a great deal of pedestrain traffic will go under-ground, if only as a result of the increasing popularity of aerial travelling. Compensation works both ways, and when aeroplanes and airships thicken in the atmosphere above us, the-incon-veniences and dangers of being thus "over-ridden" will drive many pepole to the subway as the safer place. It will be well roaied, lighted, and ventilated, of course. In fact, it will either reproduce the modern street with its footpaths on either side of tram lines or provide exclusively for pedestrian traffic, where the walker may make his way unalarmed by motor cars or trams, and ascend as he pleases into business establish* mentis or stopping stations provided for the purpose with staircased wells. Besides, heavy traffic is likely to retain the superficial roads for the physical reason that it is easier to put down than to hoist up, especially when heavy goods have to be handled. Electric traction will doubtless become the most

I popular, but in any case it is some form of motor that will bring the gouda to the shop, as well as the produce to the railway, whila machines of some kind will replace the Horse for all haulage except that done on behalf of people who cling to the traditions of their forbears and drive beasts to the entertainme.u of beholders. In that event the superficial footpath will disappear, of course, in order to enabfe the merchandise to be carried .straight into the ware-, house and the shop. Much of this is in the future, it may be said But not S3 largely. The tendency is there, the necessity outstanding and admitted. As machinery cheapens com modities, improved locomotion and transport and alternative traffic routes will have the same effect. It will bring people closer to the things they want, arid by facilitating Jhe distribution of those things make them more generally obtainable.