Los Angeles herald., 1910-02-08
ELECTRIC CARS
VIOLATE LAWS
CITY ATTORNEY REFERS TO
SPEED OF TR0LLEYS
LAW BROKEN FOR BENEFIT OF
TRAVELLING PUBLIC
Limit of Eight Miles to Hour Is Now
Provided for, but the Strict
Enforcement of This Might
Work a Hardship

City Attorney Hewitt will ask the
city council today to define its policy
on the question of rapid transit. He
calls attention to an ordinance that
prohibits street cars running faster
than eight miles an hour, and declares
this is constantly broken, especially by
the Long Beach, Los Angeles-PacitiC
Sixteenth street and Glendale car lines.
AS long as the ordinance remains on
the statute books he says he feels it
| is his duty to enforce it, but that the
speed ordinance is broken for the con-
venience of the travelling public which
demands that it be broken, and he feels
he might be working a hardship on
the public if the ordinance is rigidly
| enforced.
In his communication to the council
| he says:
My reason for bringing this mat
ter before you is that numerous
communications have been sent to
this office from Improvement as
SociationS and citizens In various
| parts of the city stating that the
speed with which street cars travel,
particularly across street intersec-
tions, is far in excess of the limit
prescribed by Il and is a menace
W Itlt safety VI pGQGSIl lciIlS anu
| persons travelling in vehicles who
| have occasion to cross the tracks.
| Most of these complaints are di-
rected to the speed of the cars
operated on the interurban lines,
and especially to the Long Beach
| line, the Santa Monica line on Six
| teenth street and the Glendale line.
1 am satisfied that so far as the
speed limit is concerned it is con-
stantly exceeded on several car
lines, and that such practice Is a
matter of public knowledge. The
ordinance referred to is a penal or
dinance, and am aware of the fact
| that a summary way of disposing
of the subject would be to prose-
cute in the police court all violators
of the ordinance prescribing the
speed limit for street cars.
1t would seem advisable, how
| ever before the remedy of court
prosecution is applied, to call atten-
ton to the fact that such pro-
| cedure will not affect any perma-
nent or satisfactory settlement of a
matter affecting a question of gen.
| eral public interest, unless the or
dinance is to remain as declara-
tion of the settled policy of the
city.
Public Wants Quick Service
Not infrequently heretofore at
! tempts to enforce ordinances in this
| manner, where the convenience or
| interests of large classes of people
| are affected, have only led to a
| I. speedy repeal or amendment OF the
ordinances which the prosecutors
have sought to uphold. The results
of this experience have not always
been conducive to the most effective
action. AS an officer of the city
| charged with the enforcement of it's
ordinances, 1 have no option but to
enforce them as they are written.
! But [ think it is fair to the travel
| ing public and the street car COM
| panies who serve it, as well as to
the prosecutors, to give public
notice before persons who violate,
or who cause to be violated, the car
| speed limit ordinance are brought
into court. The enforcement of this
ordinance, as it stands, will neces-
state a radical change in the time
schedule of the car lines referred to,
and probably of several others AS
| / understand the position of the
street car companies, it is that the
travelling public demands quick
service, and that if the speed limit
| is exceeded it is for the purpose of
| meeting the public convenience. On
|
not ride in the cars have the right
to safety of life and limb when
using the public streets, and to the
enforcement of reasonable rules de-
signed to protect them.
The question that I would ask is,
therefore, whether the council is
| satisfied that the present ordinance
should remain and be applied as the
proper basis of adjusting those in
| terests, which, unless regulated, are
likely to seriously conflict. / feel
assured that the council will con-
slider my action in bringing this
matter before it as having been
done only with the object of con-
| sidering and definitely determining
a fixed policy upon subject that
| is not wholly free from difficulty.
The regulation of traffic and travel
in the streets is rapidly becoming
more complex in this city, and par
ticularly upon the interurban car
lines. If the ordinance is, in the
| Judgment of the council satisfac-
tory in form, shall act according
| ". I have stated the situation, and
my request is merely to be advised
whether the council desires to make
| any change in this ordinance before
| action is taken for its enforcement
xrinI nf