Use of two Water Mains in Wide Streets

In the days, not long ago, when horse-drawn vehicles furnished the means of transportation and haulage, the narrow streets we find in the older sections of our big cities were ample for the traffic they were called upon to carry. The number of vehicles was few as compared to what we now have and the speed was limited. The introduction of the automobile changed these conditions. Streets that formerly took care of a few slow moving vehicles are now required to handle large numbers of fast moving automobiles. The net result is that where streets as narrow as 30 feet were once fairly common, we now find streets from 80 to 200 feet in width with roadways all the way from 40 to 80 feet. In addition to affecting the width of roadways, the automobile has influenced the design of the pavement. During the days of horse-drawn vehicles, wheel loads were necessarily limited by the capacity of the horse, whereas our modern motor trucks, with their immense loads and high speeds, have made it necessary to change the design of pavement with the result that our pavements are now not only wider but heavier and more expensive. This development of street design has had a marked effect on the distribution of water.