The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-12-14
COM MISSION
O|SMEMbERS.
TRAFFIC CODE.
Boards Personnel, Save CIoe,
Vote Abandoning Parallel
Parking, Permitting Many
Left-Hand Turns
FORMAL ~ FRIDAY ON
CHANGE Is TUESDAY
Merct so$s/a innovation
w /,pIing Business.
s&/t Of Ordinance As
lis IS Adopted


Birmingham new traffic code was
knocked sky-high before it was three
weeks old.
In conference Thursday after
hearing from a delegation of mer-
chants, the city commission voted 4
to 1 to abandon parallel parking
throughout the city; to enforce one
to permit left-hand turns on Twenty
first street at First, Second and
Third avenues. This virtually junks
the code.
Commissioners W. B. Cloe. in charge
of the department of public safety,
fought bitterly. against. the changes
but all his colleagues favored them.
This is not fair" Mr.. Cloe pro-
tested. you promised to give the
law a 90-day trial. But politics has
interfered. All right, I'm through,
but just as sure as | live my course
will be indicated. In less than two
years Birmingham will have this
traffic law"
The commission meets Friday
morning to vote formally on the
amendments, but il Commissioner
Cloe presses his objections final &C
ton will have to go over until the
regular session next Tuesday.
Henry j. Porter, Jr., led the mer-
chants delega ton. Joe SaIs, w. J.
Adams, Il. y. CFoy, L. D. NlolIoHf a. M
Brown and Sydney J. Bowie were
among the speakers. They said the
parking regulations had hurt bust
ness, inconvenienced shoppers and
proved a useless annoyance to the
general public. Birmingham is
blessed with wide streets and an
gular parking is one of the benetits
that it's citizens should derive there-
from. they said.
d. e. McLendon, commission pres
ident, reiterated his contention. that
the ordinance WIS farce" and
that it could never be properly en- :
forced in the face of an overwhelm :
ing sentiment against IT. he an
rohnced he would vote for the re-
drested amendments. and one by one
the other commissioners followed
suit until Commissioner Cloe found
himself standing alone for "a FUR
Their trial"
Members of the merchants dele
CATION said the promised changes
would result Immediately in IN
creased holiday trade for the down
practically stopped shopping, they
declared, due to the inconveniences
of the new parking plan
Commissioner Cloe said 1t was
most discouraging'' to work for
months to improve traffic condi-
tiOnS and then see that work TORN
to pieces" in a brief conference. He
resented what he termed "interter-
ence" in his department by the other
commissioners, and was particular
" aggrieved at President McLendon,
who led the fight to junk the or
dinance.
1T have tried hard to give Biz
mingham a modern traffic plan" he
added, but a majority of the com
missioners prefer to go backward IN
stead of forward"
Automatic signal equipment, pur-
chased by the city for use in enforc-
ing the ordinance, may not be put in
use, Mr. Cloe said. He conferred
with Capt. w. w. Brent of the traffic
squad about this, but did not reach
a final decision.
The ordinance was passed three
weeks ago. but all commissioners ex-
cept Cloe reserved the right to amend
it at any time. Rigid enforcement
was begun last Monday and up to
Thursday more than 800 violators
had been fined in recorders court.
In view of the commissions action it
was considered unlikely Thursday
night that further arrests for park
ing violations would be made.
The ordinance was put under fire
almost daily from some quarter. The
fight of the merchants was sup
ported by large numbers of women,
and a delegation from the League of
Women Voters had started plans to
make formal protest to the COM
mission.