The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-11-03

Anyway, the retailers hov,.,
The commissioners, at last rena ,s.
mad lost their nerve, wholly or T.
part. 1t was announced that ,ba
order might be rescinded or moi Az
fed, and that hearing on the sTE
1ect would probably be held HoiS
ing a hearing is the time-hopo.es
Washington way of doing notbine
about anything. -'-e
Meantime, Washington present.
parking comedy de luxe, Ts-so
parking areas are set aside. sotbs,
about half OF the total street So
is devoted to them. and vel tbe.,
are always full, and everv narE5..
street in busy hours is fIled V9S
cars backing out and gettins -
so that traffic is about half hlockHT
all the time. Large areas ara nrs
empted by the autos for hire which
take the tourist to Mt. Vernon ana
other adjacent points of interAst
The drivers Of these vehicles ~
gard themselves as the real own
ers of the earth and everyone else
as an intruder.
There are mysteriousIv sacra5
places where no one is allowed 10
park. A millionaire's residence On
the edge of the business section
though it seems nearly ALWAYS IN
be empty, has its whole front do.
Tended by no-parking signs. aps
there are various other curbs whers
the motorist may not alight for
reasons somewhat obscure.
Traffic in Confusion.
Late in the afternoon the strear,
Of auto traffic in the downtown sec.
lions is a bewildering thing. The
number of traffic cops necessary To
regulate it has grown steadily
They are now necessary at almost
every downtown crossing. Minor
collisions are frequent. Street car
traffic is greatly delayed. Putting
on more cars does no good. The
trouble is they can't get through
the automobile traffic fast enough
to keep up with their schedules.
Serious accidents are distress
ingly frequent in the Washington
streets, and this is due in part TO
its ingenious street arrangement.
which is probably the most curious
in the world The system of streets
from a single center like
the filaments of a spider web, cut
by avenues at every conceivable
angle. with minor circles thrown
in here and there. in one which
might have been designed for the
confusion of the mOtori5.. It cFe-
ates, for one thing. intersections at
which three streets cross each 9th
er, making six thoroughfares that
branch out from given point Il
is high comedy to watch a green
traffic cop trying to straighten ont
a tangle of cars at the point where
street, u street and New
avenue come together.
In fact, even a veteran tipds il
hard to make the motorists on two
streets coming from about the game
direction understand which OF them
he is signaling to advance
The circles, and the streets which
meet at such sharp angles that al
,ther car approaching from the
light cannot possibly be seen, are
,ther sources OF difficulty in tbe
street system YET
here are compensations, too Rhe
streets are enormously wide, and
he avenues form short cuts from
)ne part of town 10 another which
carry most of the through traffic
On the whole, Washington is not
IS badly off as many another city
The problem everywhere calls T
or a genius in traffic arrangement
But more than that, it calls for
recognition on the part OF motor
st. merchant and all others con
.erned that the regulation CT aato
.raffic is a serious problem inYolV-
ny the safety Of many lives, and
hat it cannot be solved Tith5Gs
some sacrifice of liberty and COZ
7enience.