Public Roads Administration Federal Works Agency LEGAL ASPECTS OF CONTROLLING HIGHWAY ACCESS A Study by the Division of Financial and For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. T:303 44 1945 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Billions of dollars have been spent for public roads in the United States since the turn of the century. Progress in street and highway development has been remarkable. But as good as the road system is, it is not good enough. High operating costs, congestion, and the toll of motor-vehicle accidents are definite indications of inadequacies. With a full appreciation of present street and highway deficiencies, public authorities-Federal, State, and local-the country over have devoted much time and study to planning and constructing an improved highway system. These road builders have found: (1) That urban streets, like their rural counterparts, must be designed functionally; that local service streets must be distinguished from through traffic facilities; and (2) That highways of controlled-access design are far superior to ordinary roads, when measured in terms of capacity, economy, safety, beauty, and convenience. Having evolved these basic concepts, public highway authorities have already begun the important task of making detailed plans and translating such plans into a finished product. A number of States have endorsed the controlled-access principle by appropriate legislation. A road improvement program has scarcely advanced beyond its formative stages but already judicial obstacles make their appearance on an otherwise bright horizon. Now these impediments consist of only a few indefinite court decisions, in themselves perhaps harmless. Potentially much is at stake and all pertinent considerations should be marshalled in the record and painstakingly weighed by the judiciary. Since control of access to streets and highways is of recent origin, most jurisdictions are unembarrassed by precedent. Accordingly, court decisions of first impression should be based upon sound public policy and consistent with the preservation of fundamental property rights. So that a highway system of modern design can be built, the following are recommended as sound and reasonable judicial principles on the right of access: (1) The courts today recognize that owners of abutting property have certain rights in existing streets and highways, among them, the right of access, i. e., the right of ingress to and egress from property which abuts upon an existing street or highway; and the right of visibility, i. e., the right of reasonable view of their property from the highway or street as well as from their premises to the highway. It is only just to so protect abutting private property. |