University of New Hampshire [Bulletin 339 



lar recreational districts follow the State hard-surfaced road. The 

 "year-round" recreational areas in Alton, Gilford, Laconia, and Bart- 

 lett are all cut by State roads. Many of the roads traversing these 

 areas are, of course, the result rather than the cause of recreational 

 development. There are, however, examples of the development of 

 recreational areas as a result of the construction of a better road. 



The State of New Hampshire possesses a reservoir of potential 

 summer and winter recreational resources. Better roads are the first 

 step in developing- these resources.- Because of the competition which 

 New Hampshire agriculture receives from richer western areas, the 

 prudence of investing too much public money in roads to make medi- 

 ocre agricultural areas accessible may perhaps be questioned. New 

 Hampshire recreation, however, is an expanding enterprise which 

 will fully repay a capital outlay for intelligently planned roads. 



The Agricultural Planning Committee in Langdon voices this 

 entrepreneurial spirit. Area IV, in Langdon, in which agriculture is 

 declining, is now a liability to the town. The cost of road maintenance 

 is high compared to the tax yield. But, rather than suggesting that 

 the roads in the area be abandoned, the committee recommends that 

 the town invest in better roads for the area. For it sees the possi- 

 bilities of the district for summer recreation. 



An examination of the tax base of the towns which possess a 

 tiiriving recreation industry proves the profit of recreation to tlie 

 town government, not to mention its citizens as individual enter- 

 prisers. Fifty percent of the tax base of Alton lies in recreational 

 area XI. The tax base of Gilford increased from $904,748. in 1915, 

 to $1,726,031, in 1940, due largely to recreational development. In 

 liartlett, $256,000 of the $600,000 tax base is recreational property. 



Although these are but a few selected examples of the efifect (jf 

 the institution of roads upon land use, they represent local situations 

 which are so numerous and which point so consistently to the im- 

 ])ortance of roads to the land, that rural dwellers cannot afford to have 

 land use considerations overlooked in the future when town and State 

 road policies are developed. 



Rural dwellers not only experience the shortcomings of the rural 

 road system through its modification of agricultural and recreational 

 opportunities, but also as taxpaying purchasers of road services. 

 Whereas citizens in 42 towns pay a road tax rate of less than 50 cents 

 on the $100 of assessed valuation; in 52 towns the road tax rate is 

 $1.00 or over, and in 18 towns the rate ranges from $1.50 to $2.79." 

 In certain towns road taxes have become so burdensome that their 

 residents believe that immediate relief should be afforded them. 



Before suggesting modifications of road policies, however, rural 

 people must first understand the causes of deficient road services and 

 inequitable road taxes so that the policies they sponsor are intelligent 

 and embrace the interests of the whole State. 



2 A detailed analysis of comparative road tax rates is given in the following sections . 



