The Huron Expositor, 1961-03-02, Page 5• •
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Good Roads Need -Plans
The duty of a county engineer
as a planner and financier is to
provide the motoring public with
the best value for the tax dollar,
J. W. Britnell, Huron county en-
gineer, said Wednesday.
Mr. Britnell spoke at the Ontario
Good Roads Association convention
in Toronto prior to a panel dis-
cussion on Planning for Good
Roads. •
He said value for the ,tax dol-
lar can only be realized G�•hen the
money is spent on the proper
roads, at the proper time and with
proper construction standards and
procedures.
In introducing his subject, Mr.
Britnell indicated the total road
mileage (all types) in the province
is approximately 83,000 miles,
broken down as follows:
King's Highways 9,000 miles
Secondary Highways 2,400 "
County Roads 9,200 "
Township Roads 53,400 "
Urban Streets 9,800 "
Total 83,800 "
County and township roads ac-
count for approximately 75 per
cent of the total road mileage in
Ontario, he said, and his remarks
Will deal in particular with the
•9,200 miles of county roads.
Mr. Britnell considers the long
range plan to be the overall mas-
ter plan of the county road sys-
tem. It should completely analyze
and determine the overall suffici-
ency and deficiency of the sys-
tem. From this plan we should
be able to determine exactly what
work
should be carried out and on
which roads in order to bring the
entire system up to the recogniz-
ed standards in 20 years.
The first thing to be done, he
said, is to take stock, to find out
just exactly what must be consid-
ered i
nourplans.. This
Y , for many
counties; is no easy task. It means
that the entire road system must
be clearly defined and well label-
led. All county roads must be di-
vided into equal sections, four to
sixmiles in length, for easy com-
parison. Sections which provide a
through link must be grouped to-
gether,•since it would be useless to
consider only one part of a main
through- link. 'Each section of road
is then fully evaluated. The sim-
plest way to do this is to assign
points .for each of the important
characteristics or properties of the
section. There are many factors
which contribute towards the con-
dition and importance of a road,
but for simplicity, we have limit-
ed those used in our survey to the
following:
Average Daily Traffic Count
Alignment w' 0-20
Stopping Sight Distance0-20
Gradient 0-10
Pavement Type 0-10
Pavement Width 0-10
Pavement Condition 0-10
Shoulder Width 0-10
Maintenance Cost 0-10
A number of points are assigned
to each characteristics, as shown
opposite to it. In order to give
each characteristics or property
a mark within the ranges shown,
a standard must be used. Actual-
• • ly, in our study, the speaker said,
two, standards were used: a toler-
able standard, and a design or.
ideal+ standard.
Mr. Britnell went on to say: To
illustrate these standards let us
consider one of the above proper-
ties, Stopping Sight Distance, for
• a road carrying 1,000 to 3,000 ve-
hicles per day. The tolerable sten-
:deed is 350 feet, and the design
or ideal standard is 475 feet.
The points assigned to each item
are based on these standards. An
item on a section of road falling
below the tolerable standard re-
ceives 0-25 per cent of the total
• points allotted, depending on how
far below. An item which falls be-
tween the tolerable standard and
the design standard •receives 25%'
75%, while an item which exceeds
the design standard, over 75%a of
the point value. The total of the
• - point score gives us a value for
the particular section being con-
e sidered.
Now we are only part way to a
solution. We have not, as yet, tak-
en into consideration the import-
ance of the road to the motoring
public. The points allotted now
merely show deficiencies in all
roads regardless of importance, lo-
• cation, or traffic volume, It is
here that the Highway's Needs Sur-
vey ends, since it is interested on-
ly in how many miles of road are
not up to standard and riot -the or-
der in which they should be re-
built,
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Related To Funds
It can be seen that we now know
how many miles of road are be-
low tolerable condition, in fair con-
dition, or are in satisfactory condi-
tion. We can now fortell how many
miles of road it will be necessary
to rebuild each year if we are to
have all roads in a satisfactory
condition in, say, 20 years (if we
had unliinited funds with which
to do it). We also would assume,
from information to this point,
that the roads below tolerable con-
dition (i.e. the lowest points)
should be bui f before those meet-
ing or exceeding tolerable condi-
tions. But what of importance of
the road to the travelling public?
Should a section of road carrying
100 vehicles per day with 45 points
be rebuilt before a road carrying
3,000 vehicles per day with 55
points? 'Obviously if we are going
to have a sound and reasonable
plan, we must take traffic volume
into account—we must have a pri-
ority rating based on importance
of the road. The simplest way to
do this, of course, would be to
multiply the points assigned by the
number of vehicles per day using
the road, This method places too
much empha`9is on the traffic
count. After a great deal of ex-
perimenting a graph was devised
which we felt was more realistic.
The graph used by Huron County
would not, however, be practical
for other municipalities. It must
be designed•to suit the range and
type of traffic encountered hs each
municipality: By using this graph
we can arrive at a weighted point
allotment or priority rating of,each
section of four to six miles of road
in the county. In Huron County
there were 90 sections and each
section was listed in order of its
priority. In this plan we hgve not
attempted to schedule any .parti-
cular project in any particular
year; we simply have a list of
roads in order of deficiency, all of
which should be improved within
20 years. Due to limited space the
author has not attempted to fully
explain the method of Huron Coun-
ty's priority rating, but trusts the
explanation will give the reader
a rough idea of its principles.
The Short Range Plan
In the Short Range or five-year
plan the Engineer -Financier takes
over where the Engineer -Planner
left off. The Long Range Plan did
not in any manner take into con-
sideration the county's ability to
finance the plan. In order to set
up our five-year plan we must
estimate how much money will be
available- for construction each
year for the next five years. (The
actual financing of the plan will
be covered in detail later in this
paper.) From the results of the
long range plan he has a list of
all sections of road in the order in
which they should be improved.
The five-year plan will consist
simply of a list showing the num-
ber of miles or sections of road
'which can be financed each year
for the next five years. A typical
five-year plan would look like this:
1960 Road x From A to B
Road
y From C to D
Road z From E to F
1962 Road 1 ' From G to H
Road m From I to J
Road n From S to T
and so on up to 1965.
This plan is based on the pre
ise that a constant orre etcrm
d
P
ed sum of money is to be alloc
ed to road construction each ye
If the amount of money availa
varies it will be necessary to
vise the plan. Each year the fi
year of the 5 -year plan is add
There are advantages of the 5 -ye
plan, aside from the obvious a
vantages of any plan, that grea
assist the Engineer. The Engine
can now.. plan stage constructio
He can carry out survey work t
or three years before the actu
construction is to be carried o
He can purchase property, re
cate hydro and telephone pol
where necessary, and constructt
necessary culverts one or t
years ahead of construction. The
carrying out of this preliminary
work before the actual road con-
struction begins provides for more
efficient construction practices and
less inconvenience to the adjoin-
ing land owners and the motoring
public, resultingtin better work at
less cost.
The Current Year Plan
The Current Year Plan consists
simply of a list of each and every
project that is to be carried out
in that year. It is only now that,
with all the surveying, plans and
profiles having been completed,
the Engineer can accurately cal-
culate the cost of each project. If
the long range plan and the short
range plan have been accurately
completed, little or no change from
the plan is required in scheduling
the current year's work, In some
instances it may be necessary to
revise the current year's section
of the five-year plan due to unfore-
seen changes in traffic patterns.
This is a rare occurrence, but it
should not be overlooked. For it
is the purpose of any plan or sche-
dule to provide the service where
needed most.
m-
in-
at-
ar.
ble
re -
This money is paid; under the di-
rection of the Municipal Roads
Branch of the Department of High-
ways. In 1957 the Province of On-
tario paid out in the form of sub-
sidies to municipalities in Ontario
$42,540,414.13.
You will note that it was stated
that the subsidies are paid on ap-
proved items. Since the province
pays such a substantial share of
the road building costs in counties,
they naturally wish to control the
quality and the quantity of work
done in these counties. This is
done through the aforementioned
Municipal Roads Branch of the
Department of Highways. This
Branch has district engineers sta-
tioned throughout the province.
Each engineer looks after the
needs of 4-6 .counties and all the
townships, towns and villages lo-
cated in these counties. These dis-
trict municipal engineers provide
the link between the County En-
gineer and the Department of
Highways. All projects must be
submitted to this enghieer for ap-
proval. The district municipal en-
gineer, in effect, looks after the
Department of Highways' interest
in the county road program. He
is of great assistance to the Coun-
ty Engineer in advising him of De-
partment of Highways policies,
specifications, etc. He is also of
great help to the townships, towns
and villages who do not employ an
engineer but often require en-
gineering assistance.
(iii) GRANTS—A third and us-
ually minor source of funds may
be
found n '
1 the
form
ofnt
ra
g s
from the bodies. These may be in
the form of a contribution from
the Grade Crossing Fund of the
Board of Transport Commissioners
of Canada toward improvement at
road and railway intersections.
This Board may
also, under nd er
the
,provisions
of the Railway Act, di-
rect the railway company involv-
ed to contribute monies toward
crossing improvements.
fth The Highway Improvement Act
ed,
ar
d-
tly
er
n.
wo
al
ut.
To-
es
he
wo
Source Of Funds
For those who are not familiar
with our fund-raising procedures in
the Province of Ontario, I will out-
line briefly its methods.
The funds for financing road and
bridge work on county roads in
the Province of Ontario are deriv-
ed from two principal sources:
(i) Local
(ii) Provincial Subsidies
(i) LOCAL—The funds for County
road and bridge building purposes
on a county road system at the lo-
cal level are raised through pro-
perty taxes. Every real property
in the county is assessed by a
county, town or township assessor
and a tax is levied against this
assessment for road purposes. In
Huron County, for example, the
average acre of good tillable land
is assessed at approximately $50
per ,acre and the average 100 -acre
farm, including buildings, is as-
sessed for approximately $6,000,
The county road tax rate in Huron
County is 7.0 mills. This means
that the average farm owner pays
$42 annually toward the upkeep of
the Huron County Road System.
The total equalized assessment of
Huron County is approximately
$60,000.000. Thus, a 7.0 mill road
levy raises $420,000, for highway
purposes. Since county roads are
mainly rural and, it is felt, do not
provide as large a benefit to the
urban municipality, a grant of
from 25''t to 50'4 of the contribu-
tion of all incorporated towns and
villages is refunded to them, pro-
vided it does not exceed the urban
municipality's actual road con-
struction and maintenance costs.
(ii) PROVINCIAL SUBSIDIES:
The Highway Improvement Act
provides for a subsidy to be paid
by the Province of Ontario to coun-
ties, townships, towns and villages
that come under its jurisdiction.
Tht Act sets out exactly what per
ceht it will pay towardwhich it-
ems of road building and mainten-
ance. On the county level the
amount of the subsidy is as fol-
lows:
•Fifty per cent of the cost of all
approved road maintenance, road
construction, machinery purchas-
es storage and repair garages and
office expense,
Eighty per cent of the cost of
all approved bridge and culvert
maintenance and - bridge and cul-
vert construction.
In Huron, County this year we
expect to receive approximately
$320,000 in the form of provhfelal
subsidy toward our road program.
No paper dealing with coun
roads or county road financi
would -be complete without ref
ence to the Highway,Improveme
Act. This provincial statute se
out clearly the responsibilities
each body to a road system.
defines in, detail all matters p
taining to organizing and financi
a road system, and provides aut
ority for passing of by-laws
raise funds on the municipal le
el. This Act, along with the Mu
cipal Act, cover's nearly all aspec
of municipal road financing a
organization.
Methods of Financing
I mentioned earlier it is the d
ty of the County Engineer in h
role of financier to adjust his pl
if necessary to suit the availab
ity of funds. There are at lea
two distinct methods of budgetin
for a road plan, and I will expla
both.
Method 1: There are som
counties in the fortunate positi
of having a very large assessme
in proportion to the number
miles of road in their 'road sy
tem. With this large assessme
they are able to strike a reaso road mill rate and still rais
sufficient funds to carry 'out a
the planned projects that are r
quired to keep their road syste
up to the desirable standard.
would consider any county wit
three miles or less of road fo
each million dollars assessment
be in this desirable position, Un
fortunately, it is usually only th
counties lying close to or contain
ing a large urban centre who fin
these conditions and along wit
this urban development go th
higher road construction standard
and costs. I do feel, however
that any county with a large as
sessment and low road mileag
finds itself better able to financ
its own particular plan. Thes
municipalities simply estimate th
cost of that particular year's roa
and bridge program and levy th
required mill rate against the as
sessrhent to raise the county's por
tion of the cost of the plan.
Method 2: The vast majority o
municipalities do not find them
selves in the category mentione
above. The municipalities in thi
group have a rather low assess
ment compared to the number o
miles of road in their system. For
these municipalities it would not
be feasible to levy the mill rate
for road purposes to finance the
work that their long range plan
requires. The engineer -financier
must, in this case, adjust his long
range plan in order to arrive at a
program for the current and fu-
ture years. The author's munici-
pality, the County of Huron, falls
into this group and I will cite it
as , an. example to explain our
rfiethod of financing when it is
quite obvious that for some rea-
son it -is not practical or possible
to levy a rate that would raise the
county's share of the long range
plan road program,
The County of Huron is essen-
tially rural in character and con-
tains 1,295 square miles. Its equ-
alized assessment is approximate-
ly $60,000,000, and its present coun-
ty road system contains 393 miles
of road, of which 300 miles is de-
ficient to a greater or lesser de-
gree. A quick calculation would
show that in order to bring the
system up to the desirable stand-
ard in 20' years, Huron County
would have to raise its share of
major construction costs for 15
miles of road each year, aside
from its share of normal main-
tenance and bridge construction.
This rather large requirement for
road building comes at a time
when heavy demands are being
made on the local taxpayers for
the rising cost of education and
other local projects. The road sys-
tem must, therefore, accept a sum
of money somewhat less than the
amount required to fulfill the fin-
ancial needs of our long range
plan. The actual amount is decid-
ed, of course, by the County Coun-
cil, the governing body of" the
Minty. Huron. County, like many
other counties, must, for the time
ty
ng
er-
nt
is
of
It
er-
ng
h -
to
v-
ni-
ts
nd
u -
is
an
st
g
in
e
on
nt
of
s-
nt
n -
e
11
e-
m
I
h
r
to
e
a
h
e
s
e
e
e
e
d
e
f
d
s
f
being, suit the program to the
funds available.
We arrive at the funds available
for road and bridge construction
by deducting the recurring fixed
expenses from the total raised.
Without dealing with too many fig-
ures, I will endeavour to clarify
this method.
A 7.0 mill road levy on $60,000,-
000 raises $420,000 from the coun-
ty level, From this our share of
the cost of the fixed recurring ex-
penses must be deducted:
Maintenance $150,000.00
Grants to Urban Munici-
palities 30,000.00
Overhead and supervi-
sion 25,000.00
New equipment 25,000.00
Bank interest, etc. 30,000.00
This leaves $160,000 of county
funds available for actual con-
struction work. In Huron County
we have found it necessary to
build new bridges and culverts
each year to a value of $200,000,
This requires ap additional $40,000
of county funds, leaving a balance
of $120,000 available for road con-
struction. With Department of
Highways of Ontario subsidy this
will carry out $240,000 of road con-
struction, or eight miles of com-
plete construction at present con-
struction costs of approximately
$30,000 per mile for grading, gran-
ular base, pavement; property ac-
quisition, etc. This figure of eight
miles of road building per year
obviously falls well below the mile-
age required in our long range
pian. Counties with limited funds
must therefore adjust, their long
range plan to fit the funds at their
disposal. This, I might say, is one
of the most difficult tasks for an
engineer, since he • finds by en-
gineerieg standards he should con-
struct more miles of road 'than
the finances willerm'
It i
rt.
p snow
that the engineer must alter his
long range (20 -year) plan to suit
the finances and to arrive at the
realistic short term (5 -year) pro-
gram outlined previously. While
this program may not bring all
county roads up to the desired
standard in 20 years, it should in-
sure that' the roads are construct-
ed in order of need.
Desirable County System
I do not intend to deal at great
length with the subject of a de-
sirable county road' system, since
it could easily comprise a paper
in itself. I will say, however, that
it is the duty of the engineer, the
council, and all persons interested
in a good economical system of
roads in the Province of Ontario,
to see to it that their bounty road
system contains only roads which
provide the service that a county
road should provide. For it would
be folly fo construct a road that
is used primarily by local resi-
dents to county road standards
and it would be equally impracti-
cal to construct a road that pro-
vides the service of a King's High-
way to county road standards. In
my opinion, the time has come
when each county should analyze
its road system in order to deter-
mine if it is providing the ser-
vice the public should expect. In
many counties this analysis would
show that some existing county
roads .are not providing county
road.service and should be remov-
ed from the system. These same
counties will likely find that many
township roads are now providing
county road service and should be
assumed as county roads. It is
only after this careful analysis,
and the subsequent changes, that
we, as road plajners and fi-
nanciers, can provide the taxpay-
er with the most efficient, econ-
omical road system.
Conclusions
The role of finance to the Coun-
ty Engineer is a difficult one, for
his training and knowledge tell
him what must be done, and yet
as a financier he must, in many
cases, limit this progress, due to
the shortage of funds, This 'is by
no means a new problem, I would
imagine that there has been a
shortage of funds for public pro-
jects since the beginning of time
and this shortage is felt by all
levels of government from federal
to township. The duty of a Coun-
ty Engineer as a planner and fi-
ancier is to provide the motoring
public with the best vahie'for the
tax dollar, He can only do this
with the co-operation of the elect-
ed officials. This value can only
be realized when the money is
spent on the proper roads, at the
proper time and with proper con-
struction standards and proce-
dures. I feel that in the past five
years giant steps have been taken
in the right direction by all levels
of municipal government concern-
ed with roads, torovide the tax-
payer with the valuephe deserves.
It is only with the continued ef-
forts by these bodies that we will
be able to provide the service the
rapidly increasing number of mo-
torists deserves.
Who Was the First Canadian
Cardinal?
Elzear Alexandre Tasehereau.
born in 1820 at Ste. Marie de Ia
Beauce in Lower Canada, was cre-
ated a cardinal of the Roman
Catholic Church in 1886, the first
Canadian to be so honored. He
was the son of the Hon. Jean
Thomas Taschereau, a Quebec
judge, and Marie Panet, daughter
of the Hon. Jean Antoine Panet,
lawyer and politician: The future
cardinal was educated at the Que-
bec Seminary and in Rome. For
30 years following his ordination
in 1842, he was connected with the
Quebec Seminary as professor, di-
rector or superior. As superior of
the' seminary he was ex officio
rector of Laval University for
many years and supported that
institution in its long struggle
against the extreme ultramontane
group. He was consecrated arch-
bishop of Quebec in 1871, Four
years before his death at Quebec
in 1:,:8 he was obliged by ill health
to retire from the administration
of his diocese.,
momGLADIOLI and yellow mums decorated the altars of
St. Mary's Church, Kitchener, on Saturday, Feb. 11, for the wed-
ding of Elizabeth Anne, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert Murray,
St. Columban, and John Joseph Ryan, son of Mr. and Mrs. Patrick
Ryan,anDublin. Rev. Father Strauss officiated for the double ring
cer
ZION NEWS OF THE WEEK
Mrs.c
Ja k Burchill attended the
agricultural societies' annual con-
vention, in Toronto last week.
Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Bowman vis-
ited Mrs.. Mary Malcolm on Sun-
day.
Mr.
and Mrs.
MorleyLannin
mn
and Mr. and Mrs. Fergus Lannin
attended the funeral of their aunt,
Mrs. Lannin, in Milverton, last
week.
Mrs. Ross Gordon 'visited Mon-
day with her mother, Mrs. Mary
Malcolm.
Mrs. Fergus Lannin received
word on Monday her grandmoth-
er, Mrs. Coulter of Milverton, had
passed away.
Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Pepper, Mr.
and Mrs. George Pepper and Mrs.
Mabel Higgerson were in Seaforth
on Friday to see their cousin, the
late Mrs. Charlotte Eberhart, at
Whitney's funeral home.
Mr. and Mrs. Dalton Malcolm,
Keith • and Bruce, with Mr. and
Mrs. Ronald Gibb, Stratford, on
Sunday.
Firty-Fifth Anniversary
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Roney en-
tertained Friday evening in honor
of their parents, Mr. and Mrs.
Alex Roney's, 45th wedding anni-
versary, an event of March 1st.
After a bounteous family dinner
the evening was spent in playing
euchre, and Mr. Bert Mahaffy
showed slides. Mr. and Mrs. Roney
were presented with flowers and
a chair by the family. '
The guests were: Mr. and Mrs.
John Bell, Mr. and Mrs. Ray Hur-
as and family, Mr. and Mrs. Bert
Mahaffy, Mr. and Mrs. Earl
Roney and family, Mr. and Mrs.
Franklin Roney and family, Mr.
and Mrs. Frank Moore, Mr. and
Mrs. John Moore and Mrs. Leslie
Moore.
Mr. and Mrs. Alex Roney were
guests of honor at the home of
Mr. and Mrs. Morley Lannin on
Monday evening, when about 25 -
of their neighbors, gathered on the
occasion of their gathered
wedding an-
niversary. Mr. Lannin read an
address of good wishes and the
couple were presented with an ex-
tending swivel wall -lamp and .a
bouquet of cut flowers. The eve-
ning was spent playing euchre and
a social hour was spent when the
hostess served a delicious lunch.
Smith and Higgins were at a
dance. "Let me give you a word
of advice," said Higgins. "It isn't
safe to dance with that blonde over
there. Her husband's got a title."
Smith nodded contemptuously.
"Titles mean nothing .to me," he
declared.
"Oh, don't they? We11, this one's
a boxing title!"
SALE.
OF ANT
FLOOR
LAMP
IN OUR WINDOW
See the many beautiful lamps in our
wide selection in our window. Take
advantage to buy a Lamp at Half
Price !
(Not as illustrated)
AN EXAMPLE OF THE SAVING !
.95
Regularly $17.95
During our Half Price Window Sale,
Floor Lamp only
Box Furniture
Phone 43 Seaforth
y w,itfbrAS)thig
BRAKE RELINE
We use bonded lining. Price includes freeing hand
brake cables.
Now Only 15.95
Wrap Up Your Car in New
SEAT COVERS
Woven plastic covers in a wide
choice of colors and designs, made
from long -wearing
material. SET i A 50
•
Installed $2.00 Extra
FIRST LINE 4 -PLY
FREE !
New Licence Installation
Wheel Alignment
Have those wheels lined up now
at a special low price.
Now Only 7.95
Snow Grip Tires
750 x 14
Now only 17.50
I
Battery
Clearance
Sizes to fit most models.
6 VOLT .. $6.95 (exchange)
12 VOLT., $1L95 (exchange)
EQUALLY LOW PRICES ON ALL PARTS AND LABOR
NOW
AT Phone 541
O�MotorsSeaforth
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H. S. TRAVIS - - Owner
ALLAN NICOL - - Operator
Phone
SEAFORTH
751 J 3
Phone
BRUSSELS ,
142 W