Interesting article. The comments section has much counter-argument. E.g., the first post:
"i lived on a dirt and gravel road. dust is a huge problem. breathing a lot of dust is responsible for silicosis. in the day of horse and buggy they made sense. but with a car dust is everywhere. people tend to put down oil on roads to mitigate dust. i still remember the pain in my head from smelling the oil on these roads. another toxin. unless there is a better way to stop dust this is not a very good solution."
And then there's mud when it rains. And ruts. And constant grading. One Aussie opined that concrete pavement is the best, when done right AND when maintained properly. He/she cited one down under that's 100 years old.
