The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-06-02
Some Instances Where Slow
Traffic Is Wholly
Unnecessary
HORSES MUST WALK
ON MAIN ST. BRIDGE
Motor Vehicles Limited TO 10 Miles an
Hour-Signs Ordered by Brattleboro
Selectmen Fail to Arrive-Law in
Effect Yesterday.

Bratteboro's selectmen can see where
in Act No III of the laws enacted by
the legislature of 1919 may be bene-
6cial in some instances, but in others
it is regarded as a mockery, impossible
of enforcement and undesirable 1t is
law relating to the traffic on bridges,
and one section of it reads as follows:
- person who drives an automobile
or motor truck faster than ten miles an
hour or who drives a horse or other
beast, faster than a walk, on bridge
with string pieces thirty feet long be-
tween the supports, or on a bridge
supported by one or more arches. or
drives on any such bridge more than
one loaded team, or more than twenty
head of cattle, horses or mules. on anv
one tier Of string pieces, or ON any one
arch at the same time, shall forfeit five
dollars, with damages for inj1ries there
by done to the bridge which may be re-
covered in an action of tort. on this
statute, in the name and for the benefit
of the town or corporation liable for
the repairs of the bridge, with costs. y
So far as wooden bridges are con-
cerned it is thought that this law may
be good thing, but with respect to
cement bridges or iron bridges built
| for heavy traffic the law is regarded as
undesirable and one which is likely to be
brought into disrepute through non-en-
| forcement
The selectmen have taken the matter
| up with the state highway department.,
| but Highway Commissioner Stoddard
B. Bates merely points to the law and
| says its enforcement is not an optional
| matter
1t may be a good thing so far as pub
lie safety is concerned to limit auto
| mobile traffic ON the Main street bridge
| to 10 miles an hour, but as for the
bridge itself, which supports street cars
and other heavy traffic, driving horses
across it faster than a walk or automo-
bnes faster than 10 miles an hour can
! do it no harm. 1t has not been GUS
! tomary to walk horses across the bridge
| except those attached to loads or heavy
wagons, yet in the future drivers ex-
! ceeding the limit prescribed by statute
| VIII be liable to fine OF S..
Another section of the statute saws:
The selectmen shall on or before the
first day of June, nineteen hundred and
/
all bridges referred to in the two pre-
ceeding sections, notice that can be
read one hundred feet in either direc-
/ ton, stating the speed at which traffic
may be operated over such bridge
The Brattleboro seleetmen have or
! dered iron signs, two for each bridge to
be posted, and while the signs have not
yet arrived the selectmen are not worry
ing over their failure to have the signs
IN place on or before yesterday. These
signs are to cost s. each Where they
cannot be attached TO the bridges they
VIII have to be attached to posts, and
these posts viii cost 50 each. The ex-
pense of posting each bridge will be $40
where the signs are attached to the
bridge and $l4 where they are attached
to posts. There are II to 15 bridges in
Brattleboro which will have to be
posted.