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Edtor. Note: The follow-ing article lias been submnitted by the Hubbard Woods InWprovemnent association whlch instltuted the movemientto preserve the natural beauty of the Hubbard Hill and Ravine drive and re-location of federal and state. highmay routes froni Slieri- dan to highway wevèst of the north. The issues raised by the proposais IOf the state highway authorities to widen and ýchanige the grade and curve of' Sheridan road at Hubbard Hill and, through the ravines are of first imiportance to ail residents of Winnetka and.-the neighboring comn- ,munfities of Kenlworth, Winmette, Hubbard Woods, Glencoe, Ravinia,. Highland Park and Lake Forest. It is, true that ini the Chicago. region this drive from Tower road to'Glen- coe, is ofoutstanding natural beauty, wîth its wooded batiks, its unique bill lised during several generations* for coasting'and winter sports by al in «thé vicinity», its, opening through the ravine where ail who pass may pause and view the lake frapied between the batiks, and the small stream tumb- ling along the roadside f rom the northerni end.. Né doubt ail this would be- seriousiy injured flot oniy by a ten-foot widening and alteration of grade, by, construction of retaini- ing .walls. and,'change of pavement.. but eveni more by.the resulting in- crease in speed and density of traffic which would prevent future passers fromn driving slow enough or pausing long enough to see or even be fuily aware of what bas been outdistanced ini a few seconds. Esthetics are important and ini the coming years incr.easing value is likely to be attached to whatever na- tural beauity has been preserved f romi conimercialism and machinery. But, esthetics are not the reai issue before the people of these villages and of the inicreasingthousands who drive north- ward f rom Chicago.> Her'. heRdISIssu The real issue is whether the State of Illinois should expend funds con - tributed from the payment of gas taxes in the further development of bard bill portion of Sheridan road. The following organizations and lead- ers have already ecorded themnselves te this effect: Hubbard Wood$ Improvemnent asso- ciation; (Winnetka) Village IMprove-, ment ' association; Indian Hill:Imi- provement association;. (South) Glen- coe. Impiovement association; Ravin- ia Civic association; Lincoln Improve- ment association (Highland Park); The Porcupines (Highland Pa rk); Winnetka, Village council; Glencoe Village council; Jens Jensen, presi- dent, Friends of Our -Native La nd- scape; Willoughby G. Walling chair- man, board of directors,. Izaak XaI- ton league; James Sinmpson, chairmanl, Chicago Plan;,cômmnission; Mrs. XiI- martb lekes, member of'the stateý leg- islature; Philip F.' W. Peck, chair- man Lake Forest Plan commission; Lions club of Wininetka; Rotary club of Winnetka; Winnetka League ,of, Wtomen Voters; Lake Forest Town council; Winnetka Charnbe~r of Corn- merce; Winnetka Board of Educa- tion ;, North Shore Country Day school; Highland Park Board of Ed- ucation; Garden. Club of Winnetka; Kenilw-orthý Village board, and Wil- mette Village board. The Chicago Evening Post,, WIN-2 NETKA TALK, and other local and neigh- borhood papers have expressed strong editorial opposition to the develop- ment of Sheridan road as a through traffic artery. Lives Would Be Endangered In addition, several htindred indi- viduals living in aIl parts of these villages have signed petitions and ex- pressed themnselves personally to thec samne effect at meetings called to dis- cuss this particular problemn. These citizens realize the issue is one which affects the entire, population of the villages desiring access te the lake ,; that. their children must cross the streamn of unprotected high-speed, trafflcon- their way to and from the shore and bathing beaches; that al who in vehicles or afoot must pass thmough this through traffic at grade levels are endangered by anv steps to control it has been practically abandoned on Sheridan road. Except when the very density of the' traffic itself prevents, speeds up to forty or fifty miles an hour and even high- er niow prevail. Should Save Village Street& Under modern principles .of, high- way planning none. of this, through traffic _shoud be. routed on village streets.* In nearly ail eastern cities, after tinkering .and comprom isi :ng1 with -the problem, and after mi.ch in- jury to human. and property values, the'old post roads have been r-o cated outside and around the. towns, and business and residential streets have been permitted to returti as far as possible to their prior condition. After much, procrastinationl and some fogginess of thinking through- out the country, village residents and highway authorities have now gener-A ally awakened to the fact that a mod- ern througb automotive highway bas beconie a tran.sportation artery. as .mucb nd in many ways ev en more in conflict with village. and home life. with peace and quiet, with beauty and purity of air, safety and relaxation,ý than rail transportation. Suich througb traffic arteries are as unde- sirable on village streets as the New York Central Une through Syracuse. The author of the Plan ofWi- etka, Edward H. Bennett, long ago saw this problem in its true perspec- tive and with prophetic vision aâ- %ised the Village of Winnetka as to the li-es for its proper solution. Hie wrote: "If Winnetka were an isolated comniufity its prescrit street systeni would serve fairly well, but it is but a -part of a larger conxmunity extending from Chicago to Wauke- gan, a distance of 36 miles. For, this reason the traffic parallel to the lake shore is.very. heavy and will'inicrease., "Sheridan 'road is now the only direct route through Winnetka and even so there are ravines and sharp curves in the northern part.j -It should be restricted t o lighit New Frankenstein Threatens Concentrating thieir attention oni the lesser problem tof the existing stean, and electric railroads, the village es- idents have permitted a neW Frank- enstein to rear its head.cdoser to the verv shore which bas heretofore giv- en to these communities their out- standing value and attractiveness. Xhereas the -rail lines were or igin- ally. constructed: back fmom the lake, the, new mechanical highway,. like the Illinois Central Whichfofr haîf a cen- tury bas desttoyed the lake front along Chicago's.south shore, bas becîx permitted to grow ami stengthen its hold not far from the1 waters. edge. The most .precious co mmunity asset, wNithin these villages, and towns, where land and water meet, where ré,st .and play, public recreation, enjoymen t and beauty should be p ermitted un- disturbed, is giving way to a n ever denser,tmore grinding. roaring, stifik- ing, -speeding, utibro ken mass of mn.-, ing machineryf. Motor Busses Condemned Motor busses already mingle withi private cars in the mechanical p1ar,- ade, honking at .ail hours, defiing with their exhausts and litter homes, churches, schools and gardensý. To- day as this. is witten six applications, for truck routes *are pendixig beforù the 'Illinois Commerce commission and authority is being soughit for reg- ular and permanent schiedules on these village streets. Successful e sistance to these applications xill depend in large part upon the effec- tiveness of the argument that \Vinni- etka and-other villages have not ac- cepted state gas tax motieys, that the streets are stili esidential in character, and that Hubbard bill and. ravines, as well ts certain. sections of the road in Highland l'ark and' [4ake Forest, are, too narrow and, curv- ing to be adapted to $uch.purp.oses. If the .proposed changes sbould be, made, one of the' principal at.trac- tions of Hubbard Worods and Winn- etka will be irreparably injured. High- land Park streets will next' be sub- jected to pressure for "improvemetit" --on behalf. of denser traffic an.d imous judgment' expressed in resolu- aration licely at an early date. tions and petitions. that expenditure l3uing this period state and na- oif state funds should be concentrated tional through bigbways bave been on the already partially completed unfortunately designated on village highway along the Skokie valley and streets,.and traffic on these bas slow- that' the proposed alterations should ly and steadily grown .mitil it1 ex- not*be made by the state in the H4ub- ceeds in danger, dehsity and nuisance. round the village. The probleni of diverting from the village as much of the through motor trafficas pos- sible bas been carefully studied. To this end the report suggests the laying' out of addiional nortb andi at heart, is aware of present tenden- cies, and bas a vision for the future. Hôtel interests in Highland Park andi commercial iinterests in "No, Man's Land" between *Keniil*orthý and Wilmette are known to be quiet- ly but effectively- supporting any movement for state- paving, 'widen-