88 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 



direct access to the market centres. Mr. H. J. Bowman, O.L.S., 

 referring to these roads, in 1906, said he thought they had better 

 roads in the county of Waterloo for less money than any county in 

 the province of Ontario — they were the very best roads all the year 

 round. 



Mr. Bowman went on to say that there had been millions of 

 money wasted in Ontario in building roads which were placed in the 

 wrong positions. In his experience, municipal councils preferred to 

 stick to the road allowance rather than make a change, even if the 

 change meant the saving of money. In one case he reported to a 

 council that they could construct a road round a hill for half the 

 money that it would take to cut through the hill, at the same time ob- 

 taining an easier gradient ; but the council said that the road had always 

 been there and they would go on with cutting. After expending a 

 thousand dollars on the excavation, a railway was constructed through 

 the middle of the cut and it had to be abandoned. "A road," said 

 Mr. Bowman, speaking as an experienced land surveyor, "should be 

 located by an engineer, and not left to the chance of where the town- 

 ship line would come, and the road should be located with a view to 

 getting from one important centre to another in as direct a line as 

 possible, with the easiest gradients and by the most economical 

 method." 



Planning of Road Widths 



The present unscientific system of fixing the alignment of roads 

 is accompanied by an equally unscientific system of fixing road widths. 

 Most roads are too wide and many are too narrow, and those that 

 are too narrow are restricted in width by reason of the law which 

 requires the others to be too wide. It may be claimed that, both 

 in rural and urban territory, a general average of 66 feet is wide 

 enough for all purposes and that no community, even when com- 

 paratively closely settled, can afford to lay out and pave streets of 

 a greater average width. This question may not affect the farmer 

 except in so far as he may have to contribute towards an inconven- 

 ient and expensive road system in connection with the urban develop- 

 ment in rural territory. It is in this connection that the grievance 

 of bad road planning becomes acute. First, as already shown, the 

 alignment is fixed without regard to contours, and, second, the width 

 is determined on a minimum basis for all roads no matter for what 

 purpose they are to be used. 



The minimum standard in Ontario and elsewhere is 66 feet. 

 This standard applies to the main arterial thoroughfare required to 



