RURAL PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT 81 



vided into main roads (between populous centres), market roads 

 and local feeders, and cities are required to contribute to the two for- 

 mer classes in suburban areas outside the city boundaries. In 1914 

 road surveys were made in certain counties to ascertain the location 

 of roads, the population served by roads, the traffic conditions, align- 

 ment, etc. Traffic charts were prepared, illustrating the traffic at 

 certain points in the road system of an Ontario township. These 

 showed that the concentration of traffic took place in a notable degree 

 on certain roads adjacent to shipping points, cities, towns and vil- 

 lages, that certain roads were of little public use, and that the con- 

 struction of a very limited proportion of the roads, properly selected 

 in relation to traffic, would benefit a large proportion of the total 

 vehicle mileage. In one chart it was shown that 19 per cent of 

 improved roads would carry 80 per cent of the total vehicle mile- 

 age — yet the provincial system practically results in making all 

 roads of the same width. 



Another chart with a diagonal road showed that the traffic on 

 the diagonal road was more uniformly distributed and had a total 

 vehicle mileage of 2,165 miles, as against 2,535 miles in a road con- 

 forming to the rectangular plan. Charts 8 and 9 are given as illus- 

 trations of this report. (See figures 27 and 28.) When diagonal roads 

 are included in an original design for laying out of a given area of land, 

 they need not cause greater waste of land or more inconvenient bound- 

 aries of subdivisions than rectangular roads, but when the diagonal 

 roads are superimposed on a rectangular system of roads and sub- 

 divisions, as is sometimes done, they cause both waste and incon- 

 venience. 



The Quebec Government has adopted an advanced policy in 

 regard to road improvement. It gives substantial subsidies to rural 

 municipalities, varying from $100 to over $1,000 — according to the 

 nature of the road and the kind of municipality — for the purpose of 

 road maintenance. Starting in 1912 with an authority from the 

 legislature to borrow $10,000,000, it obtained sanction to increase 

 this amount to $15,000,000 in 1915, and to $20,000,000 in 1916. 

 Part of this money was used for purposes of maintenance and part 

 for construction and improvement of trunk roads. In addition to 

 the grants given to municipalities for maintenance, sums of 

 money are loaned to be expended in accordance with schemes 

 approved by the Department of Roads. This money was loaned in 

 1915 at 2 per cent interest, repayable, with sinking fund, over a 

 period of 41 years. The interest on the additional $5,000,000 bor- 

 rowed in 1916 has been increased to 3 per cent. In either case the 



