Edward N. Hines (January 13, 1870 – June 4, 1938) was a member of the

Wayne County Road Commission Wayne County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of 2020, the United States Census placed its population at 1,793,561, making it the 19th-most populous county in the United States. The county seat is Detroit. The ...

(of

Wayne County, Michigan Wayne County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of 2020, the United States Census placed its population at 1,793,561, making it the 19th-most populous county in the United States. The county seat is Detroit. The cou ...

), from 1906 to 1938. A printer by trade, he is one of the great innovators in road development.

Career

As a cyclist in 1890, Hines formed a

Good Roads The Good Roads Movement occurred in the United States between the late 1870s and the 1920s. It was the rural dimension of the Progressive movement. A key player was the United States Post Office Department. Once a commitment was made for Rural ...

organization in Michigan which advocated for the development of county roads. This led to the passage of the County Road Law in 1893, and a change to Michigan's Constitution in 1894. During this time, Hines was president of the Detroit Wheelmen cycling club, chief consul of

League of American Wheelmen The League of American Bicyclists (LAB), officially the League of American Wheelmen, is a membership organization that promotes cycling for fun, fitness and transportation through advocacy and education. A Section 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizatio ...

's Michigan Division, and vice-president of the League of American Wheelmen. Hines was appointed to the Wayne County Board of Roads at its inception in 1906, along with

Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American Technological and industrial history of the United States, industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of ...

and Cassius R. Benton. In 1909, Hines was responsible for the construction of the first full mile of concrete road pavement in the world, the stretch of

Woodward Avenue A woodward is a Game warden, warden of a wood. Woodward may also refer to: Places ;United States * Woodward, Iowa * Woodward, Oklahoma * Woodward, Pennsylvania, a census-designated place * Woodward Avenue, a street in Tallahassee, Florida, which b ...

between Six Mile Road and Seven Mile Road in Detroit. Hines originated the concept of painting a line down the center of a road to separate traffic in opposing directions. The idea came to him after watching a leaky milk wagon leave a trail down the street. Painted center lines were first used in 1911 on River Road in Trenton, in Wayne County. This simple idea has since been recognized as one of the most important single traffic safety devices in the history of highway transportation.

Snow removal Snow removal or snow clearing is the job of removing snow after a snowfall to make travel easier and safer. This is done by both individual households and by governments and institutions. De-icing and anti-icing De-icing is defined as removal ...

from public roads was another of Hines' innovations. Hines, along with William E. Metzger and others, formed the Detroit Automobile Club in 1916. Hines was a national leader in the concept of landscaping highway rights-of-way. He was instrumental in movements to beautify highways by eliminating power lines and billboards. In the 1920s, Hines was a leader in the movement to acquire land along the Huron River and the Rouge River for the purpose of converting them into parks. In 1937, the Middle Rouge Parkway was renamed the Edward N. Hines Parkway, in his honor.

Honors and recognition

* In 1935, Hines was awarded the George S. Bartlett Award for outstanding contribution to highway progress. * He was later inducted into the Michigan Transportation Hall of Honor in 1972. * and in 2011, Hines received the

Paul Mijksenaar Paul Mijksenaar (born 1944, Amsterdam) is a designer of visual information and founder and director of the international design Bureau Mijksenaar, based in Amsterdam and New York City. In 1965, he graduated from the Institute for Applied Arts Ed ...

Design for Function Award.

References

External links

* "Chronology of Auto Safety Firsts" in
Book Doctor Gwen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hines 1870 births 1938 deaths Transport engineers People from Wayne County, Michigan American civil engineers 20th-century American inventors