﻿THE 
  PROBLEM 
  OF 
  ROAD 
  IMPROVEMENT 
  IN 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  93 
  

  

  The 
  Problem 
  of 
  Road 
  Improvement 
  in 
  New 
  York 
  

  

  It 
  being 
  generally 
  conceded 
  that 
  better 
  roads 
  are 
  a 
  necessity 
  in 
  New 
  

   York 
  and 
  there 
  being 
  no 
  economical 
  way 
  of 
  obtaining 
  good 
  roads 
  except 
  

   by 
  building 
  the 
  best, 
  the 
  question 
  arises 
  as 
  to 
  the 
  source 
  of 
  the 
  money 
  

   necessary 
  to 
  do 
  this 
  work. 
  

  

  High 
  class 
  roads, 
  if 
  not 
  built 
  by 
  the 
  state, 
  can 
  at 
  present 
  be 
  afforded 
  

   only 
  in 
  regions 
  inhabited 
  by 
  persons 
  of 
  more 
  wealth 
  than 
  the 
  average 
  

   farmer. 
  Near 
  the 
  large 
  cities 
  are 
  great 
  areas 
  tenanted 
  by 
  those 
  who 
  have 
  

   business 
  in 
  the 
  city, 
  but 
  prefer 
  to 
  live 
  in 
  the 
  country. 
  There 
  the 
  prop- 
  

   erty 
  values 
  are 
  much 
  higher 
  than 
  in 
  regions 
  exclusively 
  devoted 
  to 
  

   agricultural 
  interests 
  and 
  the 
  taxes 
  being 
  proportionately 
  higher, 
  it 
  is 
  pos- 
  

   sible 
  to 
  spend 
  more 
  money 
  in 
  road 
  building. 
  Under 
  the 
  present 
  sys- 
  

   tem 
  of 
  road 
  tax 
  prevalent 
  over 
  the 
  greater 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  state, 
  the 
  equivalent 
  

   of 
  about 
  $75 
  a 
  mile 
  per 
  annum 
  is 
  supposed 
  to 
  be 
  raised 
  in 
  each 
  road 
  

   district 
  outside 
  of 
  the 
  village 
  corporation 
  limits, 
  and 
  it 
  frequently 
  happens 
  

   that 
  the 
  whole 
  of 
  the 
  tax 
  is 
  not 
  worked 
  out. 
  Moreover, 
  in 
  many 
  districts 
  

   the 
  people 
  work 
  their 
  road 
  taxes 
  without 
  intelligent 
  supervision 
  and 
  often 
  

   not 
  only 
  is 
  the 
  labor 
  wasted 
  but 
  the 
  roads 
  are 
  made 
  worse. 
  

  

  The 
  state 
  of 
  New 
  York 
  having 
  aii 
  area 
  six 
  times 
  as 
  great 
  as 
  that 
  of 
  

   Massachusetts, 
  has 
  probably 
  six 
  times 
  as 
  many 
  miles 
  of 
  important 
  roads 
  ; 
  

   there 
  being 
  as 
  yet 
  no 
  complete 
  map 
  of 
  our 
  state, 
  it 
  is 
  impossible 
  to 
  make 
  

   accurate 
  measurement. 
  The 
  total 
  mileage 
  of 
  important 
  roads 
  in 
  New 
  

   York 
  may 
  therefore 
  be 
  estimated 
  at 
  123,000. 
  This 
  figure, 
  while 
  only 
  

   an 
  approximate 
  maximum, 
  is 
  sufficiently 
  accurate 
  for 
  purposes 
  of 
  

   estimate. 
  

  

  If 
  it 
  were 
  decided 
  to 
  improve 
  10% 
  of 
  this 
  total 
  according 
  to 
  the 
  Mas- 
  

   sachusetts 
  plan, 
  there 
  would 
  be 
  12,300 
  miles 
  of 
  road 
  to 
  build. 
  While 
  

   Massachusetts 
  now 
  appropriates 
  $800,000 
  a 
  year 
  for 
  road 
  building. 
  New 
  

   York, 
  if 
  doing 
  this 
  work 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  rate 
  in 
  proportion 
  to 
  her 
  size, 
  would 
  

   appropriate 
  $4,800,000 
  a 
  year. 
  This 
  sum 
  would 
  be 
  more 
  than 
  one 
  third 
  

   of 
  the 
  total 
  amount 
  raised 
  in 
  New 
  York 
  by 
  direct 
  taxation, 
  which 
  is 
  now 
  

   in 
  round 
  numbers 
  $12,033,651.80. 
  This 
  is 
  undoubtedly 
  too 
  large 
  a 
  

   burden 
  to 
  be 
  carried, 
  but 
  we 
  could 
  safely 
  afford 
  to 
  spend 
  from 
  $600,000 
  

   to 
  $1,000,000 
  per 
  year 
  in 
  this 
  work, 
  which 
  can 
  not 
  be 
  avoided 
  and 
  must 
  

   sooner 
  or 
  later 
  be 
  undertaken. 
  

  

  In 
  senate 
  bill 
  no. 
  330 
  of 
  1897 
  introduced 
  by 
  Hon. 
  Richard 
  Higbie, 
  it 
  

   was 
  proposed 
  to 
  levy 
  * 
  in 
  the 
  general 
  appropriation 
  act 
  of 
  each 
  year, 
  a 
  

   tax 
  rated 
  at 
  one 
  tenth 
  of 
  a 
  mill 
  upon 
  the 
  entire 
  valuation 
  of 
  the 
  state, 
  

   which 
  shall 
  be 
  known 
  as 
  the 
  state 
  highway 
  tax.' 
  

  

  