144 COMMISSION ON BUILDING DISTRICTS 



dences might aggravate present traffic conditions. 1 think there need be 

 no fear on that score, whereas the greatest delays and dangers incident to 

 public traffic are those resulting from the indiscriminate mixture of traffic 

 of various classes. In heavy manufacturing- districts we will have heavy 

 trucking with slow movement and. if the traffic is nearly all of that class, 

 the speed would he fairly uniform and confusion would be much less than 

 in the case of mixed traffic. Similarly, in districts devoted to light manu- 

 facturing or business, the extraordinary development of the motor vehicle 

 will result in greater flexibility of the traffic and its separation, to a large 

 extent, from the very heavy traffic which will frequent the industrial districts 

 and the pleasure traffic which will be found in the residential districts and 

 on pleasure drives. 



It appears to me that the entire problem of traffic control will he sim- 

 plified rather than aggravated by such a limited degree of segregation as 

 I think the Commission has in mind. 



Effect of automobile on traffic conditions 



Let me Further point out that the extraordinary development of the 

 motor vehicle which lately has taken place, while increasing the number of 

 vehicles, may actually simplify some of the problems which might he 

 expected to result from the segregation of business and industries. 



The Secretary of State's office advises me that in the New York 

 district, which includes not only the city, hut the Counties of Nassau, 

 Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland and Putnam, the registration for the 

 entire year of 1915 of motor vehicles for pleasure traffic was 82.751 

 vehicles; for commercial uses, 13,640. That was for the twelve months 

 ending February 1, 1916. For the first three months of the present year, 

 from Februarv 1st to May 1st, the registration in that district of pleasure 

 motor vehicles was 92y, per cent of the total for the preceding twelve 

 months, while the registration for commercial vehicles was 14 per cent 

 greater than for the entire twelve months of the preceding year. You may 

 think this is irrelevant, but it indicates to me very clearly that the sub- 

 stitution of the motor vehicle for the horse-drawn truck, through its shorter 

 length and less occupation of street space, through its greater speed and 

 greater flexibility, will result in a far greater capacity, and that you can 

 dismiss as groundless any fear that the segregation of industries involving 

 very heavy trucking, of light manufacturing or business using light com- 

 mercial vehicles, or of residences, will aggravate the traffic problem. 1 

 think it will actually tend to simplify it. 



The net result to the city of this simplification will he a greater traffic 

 capacity in our existing streets, a more intelligent and economic arrangement 

 of tlu streets, so far as subdivision into roadway and sidewalk is con- 

 cerned and greater safety to the public using the street by avoiding in a 

 large degree the mixed traffic which we have to-day, and which, 1 think-, is 

 a greater source of danger than intensive traffic of any one class. 



Need for districting 



While 1 am thoroughly convinced, not only by my own reasoning, hut bv 

 what I have seen in other cities and in other countries, of the great need 

 of some such control as the Commission proposes to recommend, 1 feel that 

 if it is to he done, it should be done quickly, as there is no question but 

 that there will he a rush to the Bureau of Buildings to get plans approved 

 as far in advance of actual construction as possible, before am- restrictive 

 ordinance goes into effect. 1 fancy that if these building plans are once ap- 



