Evening star., 1909-06-14
GUIDING THE TRAFFIC
Duties of the Police in the
Streets of New York.
DETAILS OF THE SYSTEM
How Accidents Are Avoided and
Loves Are Saved.
FOLLOWING FOREIGN PLANS
William Phelps Emo Tells of the
Changed Conditions and How
They Have Been Accepted.
RY NuILAM z CI-RTIS.

der the most trying circumstances.
The traffic squad of New York are the
horsemen in uniform which you see in
the midst of the great stream of vehicles
upon crowded thoroughfares like 9TH ave-
nue., Broadway and along the most ire
quented cross streets. Strangers do not
often visit the streets which run along
the dock, but the mounted police can be
found there also, keeping the PROFESSIONS
of drays and trucks in motion ana on
their own side of the road.
The regulation of street traffic was un-
known in New York up to the year 1900
and although the number of carriages,
automobiles delivery wagons. trucks and
other vehicles was much smaller than IL
lis today. blockades e,s We're - freauen. araltnr
part of a day was consumed In trans
porting merchandise from one point to
another, especially in the downtown shop-
ping districts, while charges were proper
tionate to the time consumed. The po-
lice, without systematic direction or reg
ulation, were powerless. Quarreis be-
tween police, truckmen and cabmen were
common, and it was only by resort to the
| might stick that in many instances
blockades could be cleared away. There
was no bureau Of street traffic. no traffic
squad, and not one officer employed on
the street to keep vehicles moving.
Origin of the Reform.
These conditions provoked much COM
plant and criticism in private and in
| public, but nothing was done to correct
them until Mr.. William Phelps Emo, a
| public-spirited citizen, who spends his
! winters in Washington, undertook to Sc
| cure a change. He asserted that to ac-
complish anything worth while, three
| things were necessary.
! First-We must have concise, simple
| and just rules, easily understood, obeyed
and enforced under legal enactment.
| Second-These rules must be so placed
and circulated that there can be no ex-
| cuse for not knowing them.
| Third-The police must be empowered
| and ordered to enforce them, and men
should be trained for that purpose.
After giving close study to condi-
cities, Mr.. Emo endeavored, and with
great success, to secure the regulation of
traffic in the streets of New York, by
means of a traffic squad. which, on
January 1, 1909, consisted of TAB men.
including thirty-two men from the regu-
lar force detailed to the license bureau.
| really traffic duty. and thirty-one men
from the bridge squad for duty at thea
tiers at night. OF these, 13S are mounted,
eighteen have bicycles, and the remainder
| are on foot.
| These officers enforce the street traffic
regulations. prepared by Mr. Emo. which
| are printed in folder form for distribu-
| ton among teamsters, coachmen, and
the public generally, and in poster form
to put up in public stables and garages.
| They consist of nothing which any one
| who knows how to drive. or has proper
consideration for the safety and COM
fort of others, as well as his own, would
| not observe anyway. They are made
| as concise as possible, SO as to be under
illustrated by diagrams, showing the
proper methods of turning corners and
crossings from one side of street to
! the other.
When 1 asked Mr.. Emo why he under
took this movement. he said: Because
/ saw the useless loss Of life, money and
time due to the lack Of proper regula-
tions and their enforcement
i How was it received by the public in
i general and by the teaming interests in
particular?'
i Acceptance Of the Change.
by the former, including the cab
drivers, with immediate enthusiasm. but
by the latter with distrust at first. With
in the past few months the Merchants
Association. the Truck Drivers Associa-
ton, the State Fair Association and the
Wallabout Market Association of Brook
lyn have presented the traffic squad with
flags in appreciation of the help they
have received from it. The drivers now
regard the members of the squad as
their best friends In enabling them to do
their duty comfortably
rs there any difficulty in enforcing
the regulatiOnS?"
There was at first, but it is steadily
diminishing, for as the drivers become
q familiar with the regulations they resent
infraction by others and become regula-
tors of street traffic themselves.
The important intersections are man
aged by the block system copied from
i London which allows traffic to go
through alternately. The signals are
given by whistle. but could be given by
semaphore and eliminate the noise. The
vehicles at the opera, theater and other
large gatherings are handled by the use
of diagrams. Congested places caused by
more than two street crossing at the
same place, such the intersection of
Broadway, Fifth avenue and I'D street,
and points where streets converge such
as Columbus Circle. by means of posts
and ropes. All of these plans can be very
much improved. Larger ropes should be
used and the ropes and posts, some of
which should be lighted. left up all the
time. These temporary plans should not,
however, he continued longer than neces-
sary to find out just where the trouble
lies, and then the curb lines and car
tracks should be changed where neces-
sary to correct, as far as possible, the
mistakes of their original layout
Fifth avenue Is now being widened
from forty to fifty feet. but it is mis-
take to widen it to more than forty
seven feet, which is enough for six lines
of vehicles. There should not be room
for any more lines in any roadway where
traffic is heavy, unless there are isles
of safety, which the fire department Sc
riously objects to on Fifth avenue. If
the cross-town car lines in the wide
streets were put under ground it would
leave room in their middle for cab
stands at convenient distances apart and
eliminate the wandering Jehu,' who now
has no place to stop.
Adoption of the System.
When was the present system adopt
ed?"
The block system was put in opera
ton and three mounted men put on 9TH
avenue in 1902. On December !, 1902,
their number was increased to six In
February. 1909. an ordinance on traffic
regulation was introduced but held I'D
and apparently shelved. The city char
ter, sanitary and penal codes, however
were discovered to contain sufficient au-
thorty for the police department to reg
ulate traffic without the help of the
board of aldermen The most importa Mt
provisions Of my proposed ordinance were
then embodied in folder form and taken
TO the police commissioner. who when
shown his legal authority signed it and
had ii issued October 80 1903 Permis-
sion was obtained 10 put up 100 signs
Idirecting that 'Slowmoving vehicles keep
lnear right-hand curb These will short