The Road and the Roadside

Roads the symbols of progress and civilization. Macaulay and Bushnell on the value of public highways. The first sponsors of art, science, and government were the builders of ro...

Best possible location desirable. Permanent nature of roads. Many of the ancient roads are still travelled by the people of to-day. The law of the survival of the fittest applic...

Importance of drainage. Good roads impossible without proper drainage. Proper width of roads for travel. They should be wide enough to admit of foot-paths at their sides. Every...

Economy and public convenience require roads to be kept up the year round. Advantages of a road always in good condition. Evils of the present system of annual or semi-annual re...

For what purposes ways may be laid out, and how they may be established. May be laid out by town or county authorities. Distinction between town ways and public highways. When t...

How and by whom ways are to be kept in repair. The duties and rights of the public authorities in making repairs. The boundaries of highways. The rights of travellers as to the...

Guide-posts to be erected and maintained at suitable places. Penalties attached to neglect or refusal to erect and maintain them. Town officers may establish and maintain drinki...

Towns and cities have authority to beautify the roadsides and public squares. May plant trees and encourage their planting by adjoining owners and improvement societies. The rig...

How roads are to be used by the public and adjoining owners. Due care to be used by travellers. Masters responsible for their servants' acts. No responsibility for inevitable ac...

Rules for the meeting, passing, and conduct of teams on the road. These rules not inflexible. When they may be deviated from. Each traveller has a right to a fair share of the r...

Equestrians must give way for vehicles. "The law of the road" does not apply to them by the terms of the statutes, but they should observe it as far as practicable. Pedestrians...

Carriers of passengers for hire are bound to use due diligence in providing suitable coaches, harnesses, horses, and coachmen. They must not leave their horses unhitched. If the...

Public ways are mainly for the use of travellers, but they may be used for other public purposes, gas, water-pipes, sewers, street railways, telephone and telegraph lines, etc....

They own the fee in the land, and are entitled to all the profits of the freehold, the grass, the trees, fruit, etc. If the land in the way is subjected to any new servitude, li...

Private ways may be established and discontinued in the same manner as public ways. The owner of such way must keep it in repair. The owner of the soil may use it for agricultur...

Don't drink intoxicating liquors when travelling. Don't forget to look out for the engine while the bell rings. Don't take animals affected by contagious diseases on the public...

Necessity of air, sunlight, and exercise. The progenitors of every vigorous race have found in forest and wilderness the sources of their strength. The Israelites, Greeks, Roman...

Every dweller under obligation to maintain neatness and order within and without his roadside. Unselfish exertion in this behalf pays. He who beautifies the roadside benefits ma...

A traveller should have a hopeful and sunshiny disposition. He should be in harmony with Nature; he should have an observing eye to enjoy the _latent_ enjoyments of the way. How...

The development of the means of communication between different communities, peoples, and races has ever been coexistent with the progress of civilization. Lord Macaulay declare...

When a new road is laid out it is important that it should be located in the best attainable place, considering the natural formation of the surrounding country; for when a high...

Suitable drainage is the first requisite of a good road, as with our climate and soil it is impossible to have a road in a satisfactory condition at all seasons of the year unle...

After a road is located and constructed, economy as well as public convenience demands that it be kept in good condition the year round. If a road is allowed to go for several m...

New roads are not often required now to reach and develop new tracts of land, except in large towns and cities; but they are frequently needed to shorten distances and to improv...

After highways, town-ways, streets, causeways, and bridges have been established, they are to be kept in such repair as to be reasonably safe and convenient for travellers at al...

The statutes undertake to provide for the erection and maintenance of guide-posts at suitable places on the public ways; but a person has to travel but little in many of the tow...

The law of the Commonwealth not only requires the public ways to be kept safe and convenient, but of late years statutes have been passed allowing owners of land, improvement so...

After the roads are ready for use and beautified by shade trees and green parks at convenient places, we are confronted with the question, How are they to be used by the public...

There are certain rules applicable to travellers upon public ways, which are so important that everybody ought to know and observe them. The law relative thereto is known as "th...

In England "the law of the road" applies as well to equestrians as to travellers by carriage, and I can see no good reason why it should not do so here. The statutes are silent...

Nearly every one has occasion, more or less often, to travel over the public ways in the coaches of passenger carriers. Whoever undertakes to carry passengers and their baggage...

As before intimated, the public ways are mainly for the use of travellers; but in the progress of civilization it has become convenient and necessary to use them for other purpo...

The owner of land adjoining a highway ordinarily owns to the middle of the road; and while he has the same rights as the public therein, he also has, in addition thereto, certai...

A private way is the right of passage over another man's land. It may be established and discontinued in the same manner as a public way, and it may also arise from necessity. A...

In school, church, and society many things are taught by the prohibitory don't; and thus many rules of law relating to public and private ways may be taught and illustrated in t...

Air, sunlight, and exercise are absolutely essential for the proper physical and intellectual development of human beings. Thoreau thought it necessary for people who wished to...

Besides the legal duty every dweller by a highway is under, to use it with due regard to the rights of the public, he is under a moral and Christian obligation to maintain order...

In travelling, whether one is riding or walking, it is not sufficient for the proper enjoyment of the way to know how to get along in a legal manner, but he should know how to p...