216 CONFERENCE ON NATURAL BEAUTY 



plementation of this program. To do this, we will require many 

 tools some new, some familiar ones, such as the mandatory use 

 of section 319 authorization in the Federal-aid Highway Act; 

 the adoption of legislation at the State and Federal level author- 

 izing fee purchases with "sell-back" authority for compatible de- 

 velopment and use; scenic easements and access regulation; zon- 

 ing ordinances, and special Federal incentive programs to recog- 

 nize outstanding work. 



Mr. MICHAELIAN. The scenic parkway system was born in my own 

 county of Westchester. Back at the turn of the century, Westchester 

 County and New York City teamed up to end the pollution of a 

 small stream approximately 25 miles in length that rises above the 

 city of White Plains and flows southward into Bronx Park in New 

 York City. The problem of the pollution of that stream created a re- 

 quest for a reservation of right-of-way on both banks of the stream 

 known as the Bronx River Parkway Reservation. This later became 

 the site of the first parkway in our country. Construction began in 

 1916 and was halted because of the war; it was resumed after the 

 war and was finally, that small stretch of parkway, opened com- 

 pletely in 1924. This parkway was designed in an era when speeds 

 in the towns and villages and cities were approximately 15 miles 

 an hour. The parkway in particular in those days was a speed- 

 way, because the speed limit was 35 miles an hour; and only recently 

 have we raised the speed limit to 40 miles an hour. We are very proud 

 of that stretch of parkway and it will be the last thing my county 

 will ever give up because we think it is a symbol. From that has 

 grown the total concept of a parkway system in the State of New 

 York; it has been followed by the New York State Parkways, Pali- 

 sades Interstate System, and so on. Other parkways were built in 

 the State of Connecticut. The Merritt and Hutchinson River Park- 

 ways form a parkway system linking New York to Connecticut. 



What is the concept of a parkway or scenic highway? First of 

 all, from the initial planning and construction stage, what we strive 

 to do is to create a greenbelt, provide a scenic vista, preserve for 

 public view and enjoyment our streams, rivers, and waterways, 

 strive to interconnect recreation facilities, so that they may be reached 

 by a network of parkways or scenic highways to dramatize and 

 make the natural scenery, with which we are endowed by nature, 

 available for viewing. 



