Minnesota Highways, November 1953

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VOL.   3,   NO.   1
1246 University Ave., St. Paul 4, Minn.
NOVEMBER, 1953
HIGHWAY   NEEDS   SET   AT   $500   MILLION
Hoffmann Tells Highway Study
Commission At Public Hearing
With the opening of public hearings before the Minnesota Highway Study Commission, Commissioner M. J. Hoffmann was invited to
make the first presentation during that portion devoted to the  state
^way system. We have condensed his brief to present the high-
of that presentation. Mr. Hoffmann said:
We in Minnesota enjoy a unique and very costly distinction in
that we have the fourth largest total mileage of roads and streets of
all the 48 states in the Union. Minnesota with 120,000 miles of state,
county and township roads and municipal streets has 20,000 miles
more of roadway to be maintained, by a population of approximately
3,000,000 people, than has the State of New York with a population of
almost 15 million people.
It is quite significant that the
wisest of our founders of the Trunk
Highway System freely predicted
that the roads and streets of Minnesota would never have to accommodate more than 500,000 motor
vehicles. That was regarded as the
saturation point. Motor vehicle
registrations astounded everyone
by reaching almost 508,000 in
1924. Today they total more than
one and one-third million, and
maybe the predictions we are
willing to make today may turn
out likewise to be underestimates.
When the state, back in 1921,
d^^ii'd sole responsibilit) for im-
pHrement ami maintenance of
state trunk highways, there also
developed and became recognized
in Minnesota a new and dual concept of the highway problem.
This concept held, first, that the
improvement and maintenance of
arterial routes was of benefit to,
and therefore a responsibility upon,
the people of the whole state; and
second, that the cost of such improvement and maintenance should
be placed directly upon the motor
vehicle owners and operators using
the highways.
When the state took over the
original trunk highway routes comprising approximately 6,850 miles,
only 183 miles were paved, 2,589
miles were graded to the narrow
standards used on state aid road
construction at that time, and 2,776
miles were untreated gravel sur-
I^^^dI  varying qualities.   The
Traffic   Safety Rests   With   Drivers
Traffic safety and enforcement
experts formed a panel which led
the discussions of the recent
Emergency Safety Council established by Gov. C. Elmer Anderson. This meeting was called by
the Governor following a meeting of members of the Minnesota
Safety Council which attempted
to find a solution to the rapidly
increasing number of traffic deaths
"For his many outstanding contributions both personal and official
to the cause of better and safer motoring in Minnesota and
throughout the nation," read the "Service To Motoring" award
presented to Commissioner M. J. Hoffmann by E. Ray Cory,
president of the Minnesota Automobile Association at a recent
testimonial luncheon.
maining approximately 1,300 miles
were to all practical purposes unimproved. Now, after 32 years of
trunk highway development, and
the expenditure of over $800,000,-
000 of public funds including federal aid, the state finds itself with
a bunk highway system consisting of 11,850 miles. Of this system
approximately 4,040 miles is concrete and bituminous pavement.
6,170 miles is intermediate and
low type bituminous and 1,640
miles are still only gravel surfaced.
It is significant that we have today some 300 more miles of gravel
roads on our trunk highway system
{Continued   on   page  3)
in   Minnesota.
One of the presentations was
made by Earl M. Larimer, Chief
Highway Patrol Officer, who said:
"The Highway Patrol is an integral part of the traffic safety
program on the highways of the
State of Minnesota, for the purpose
of enforcing the traffic rules and
regulations on trunk highways
throughout the state. Our enforcement program is two-fold:
1. To carry on an educational
program through actual enforcement of the traffic laws on the
highways of this state; and
2. To provide a deterrent
through enforcement by the imposition of penalties on the part
of the courts in those more serious
traffic  infractions.
"The matter of traffic safety and
its success or failure does not rest
entirely with the officer. The matter of traffic safety and its success
or failure does rest with all of the
drivers.
"It is recognized by a great
number of people that where a
patrol car is present upon a particular stretch of roadway, the
number of careless acts on the part
of the drivers on that stretch of
roadway is greatly minimized. I
have been told of this fact by
traveling men, vacation motorists,
and people from all walks of life.
If this is true, why then do people
not drive in the same manner
when there is no officer present?
"It has been our intention to at
all times so mark our cars and so
uniform our men that they might
be recognized. We feel that our
being recognized by 50 motorists
is much better than our arresting
one.
"There can be no let-down in
enforcement against those drivers
who by their acts endanger
others. There can be no such attitude as is frequently expressed,
that safety is a good thing, but it
(Continued  on  page  8)