Evening star., 1924-08-10
GARAGES TO SOLVE
PARKING PROBLEM
SnoWden Ashford Discusses
! Avenue for Investment of
Private Capital.
To the Editor Of The Star:


During the week the District au-
thorities have had under considera-
ton several proposals for relief of
the auto parking in the business and
congested sections of the city. The
suggestions include the conversion
of Franklin Square into a parking
area; the widening of roadways on
certain streets on the outskirts of the
Congested area, for center roadway
parking; the moyingin of the curbs
on business streets and the construc-
tion of municipality owned garages.
The proposed destruction of our parks
and trees met with prompt and Wig
orous denunciation as a cure more to
be dreaded than the disease. Such d
plan would not afford relief in any
way commensurate with the sacrifice,
the total area of the park men
toned for the initial slaughter is
but 20S,S00 square feet, which would
accommodate about $50 cars, or less
than one-tenth of the number now
praked daily within three squares of
the park.
Condemns Center Roadway Plan.
The center roadway parking only
prolongS the agony of beating the
other fellow to the open car space,
and when we realize that even with
double rows of cars not more than
10 cars can be parked in the length
of the average frontage of "A square,
1t Is not hard to see that nearly all
the streets surrounding the congeSted
business district would be required
to give any appreciable relief.
The moving-in of the curbs on bus
1neSS n
moving vehicles and benefits the bus
mess houses fronting the street, but
should not be considered as a parking
expedient except for patrons enter
ing and leaving such stores, business
places or banks.
Feasible Solution Discussed
The fourth suggestion for munich
pally owned garages is the only one
which offers a solution of the real
and pressing problem of getting the
parked car off the street. This brings
to mind an article published in the
Baltimore News on June 9, 1924,
wherein the writer, J. c. Distler,
put the parking garage in the class
with railroad terminals, shipping
docks and street car barns and other
public utilities. There is not as much
Justification for the individual who
parks or stores his private car on
the public highway as there would
avoid the expense of a car barn and
park its street cars on the road
ways But municipality owned ga
rage or garages, for it will require
several, raises the question of the
government embarking in a lucrative
business and reports from Detroit
and st. Louis, where such garages
nave been constructed by private cap
ital, show that they pay better than
office buildings and apartment houses
of the same size and floor area.
Sees Embarrassment as Result.
If the city undertook to supply
such accommodations it would most
likely result in embarrassment, as
all demands could not be met with
out enormous outlay and no discrim-
ination could be made if free parking
is offered at the expense of the tax
payer, and the privilege probably
would be abused as is now done in
the all-day and all-night parking on
the streets.
During the past year some of the
department stores in the Middle West
have erected garages, and they have
been great success. Letters from
the proprietors speak most enthusi-
astically of the satisfaction of the
storekeeperS and their patrons with
these parking and shopping ga
RACES A large store in Baltimore is
moving from the congeSted business
is a questionable eXpedient, for if
others follow it means the shifting of
the shopping district, which will up
set real estate values, and in the near
future the parking problems up
town" Will be nearly as bad as in the
shopping district from which they
moved
BUS Plan by Department Store.
a department store in this city has
tried the experiment of running an
auto-buS from its store to a point
nearer the residential district, where
patrons may park their own cars for
a time and take the bus" to the store
This shows a desire to afford some
accommodation for their patrons who
cannot find parking space near the
store, but this, too, is not a solution
of the problem, but only a palliative
and the entire expense comes out of
the profit of the store.
Neither of these schemes affords re-
lief to the public or help in getting
the cars off the streets Wherever
You may park your car on the streets
you probably will be in front of some
establishment where you will inter-
fere with it's business and conven-
1ence, and your car is rapidly depre-
ciated by the effects of the weather,
and 1t is subjected to theft and dam
age.
The enterprising stores of the Mid
die West and a Boston firm have the
only solution. They not only afford
safe places for the parking of their
patrons cars, but they relieve the