Suppose, for the sake of hypothesis, a simple case. Suppose a great arterial road to be built joining the heart of London and the heart of Birmingham in a straight line: it would pass just by Tring and Buckingham and then on through the gap between Leamington and Warwick. A man living at Windsor and desiring to reach Coventry, and using the new method of fast travel, would seek this main road at its nearest point and leave it again at the nearest point to his terminus. It would be a less picturesque, but a much safer and quicker way of doing his business. It would add a dozen miles to his total trajectory, but it would save a much more than corresponding amount of strain and expense of energy in following the series of narrow and winding roads most nearly connecting the two points. The same would be true of any other trajectory not directly served by the new roads. The advantage of safe and rapid travel on a first-class surface of very broad gauge, free of horses and pedestrians, would make people take a “Z” to include as much as possible of such a road rather than cling to the shorter line. The final effect would be the relief of congestion upon the typically narrow winding roads which cover the surface of England. They would be relieved, in the case we have quoted, not only of the great mass of urban traffic between London and Birmingham; they would be also relieved of the very considerable local traffic--not entirely relieved, of course, but relieved in a proportion large enough to make a very sensible difference to modern communications. Though the thing still remains pure theory and though the political and social obstacles to it are very serious indeed (any trajectory you name in this crowded island would destroy much which all our people--let alone the owners--love to preserve), yet it is worth while to analyse the conditions of such roads, because only thus can we establish the main rules which, under whatever modification, must ultimately govern the change that should come. iii We need five things: (1) A very strong foundation, upon which depends-- (2) A permanently good surface; (3) The avoidance of sudden curves (in which is included the avoidance of obstacles hiding the approaches to any curve); (4) Great width;