Evening star., 1925-08-12

CONTINUED from First Page.)
sections street cars will be directed
TO stop in the interest of safety before
crossing.
SLOW" to BE Substituted.
At certain other points. where the
number of passengers passing on
street cars outnumber the number of
persons crossing in automobiles, street
cars probably will not be required to
stop. 1t has been suggested that in
such cases A slow sign be painted
on the street.
Col. Moller predicted today that
there probably would not be more than
Is points where street cars do not al.
ready stop and at which they would
be directed to stop for boulevard
traffic.
There are many boulevard crossings,
Col. Holler said, at which cars already
make stops or at which policemen
regulate all traffic.
After the conferees of the traffic
have prepared a list showing what
should be done at each of these boule-
ward crossings the commission will
hold formal public hearing before
putting the order into effect.
William F. Ham, president of the
Washington Railway & Electric Co,
contends that street cars have always
had the right of way over vehicular
traffic. At the hearing yesterday,
however, he admitted the commission
would have authority to order certain
stops where 1t would be in the inter-
est of safety. MIR. Ham, however,
drew distinction between stopping a
street car and giving traffic on the
cross-street the right ofway over 1t.
Mr. Ham also took the position to-
day that making boulevard crossing
a stopping place for passengers would
not solve the question, because, he
said cars do not stop at such points
except when there Is some one to get
on or off the street car.
Would Increase Fine.
Col. Moller's suggestion today re-
garding increasing the fine for those
who disregard the rights of pedestri-
ans, II approved by the Commission
ers, will be the second move under
taken by the traffic Office this week
to make street crossing safer for those
who walk. Col. Moller explained that
at corners. where a policeman is on
duty neither motorist nor pedestrian
has the right of way, but both should
be governed by the signals of the
officer.
The first move undertaken this week
to benefit the pedestrian was the in
stallation at Fourteenth street and
PENNSYLVANIA avenue of the two
whistle system, which leaves an inter
val of time for walkers to get either
to the curb or to the safety zones
in the middle of the roadway.
In order to make this system a sue
cess, however, it will be necessary for
the pedestrians to watch the traffic
signal and start across only when the
traffic is moving with them instead
of across their path.
For the balance of this week Inspec.
tor E. w. Brown, chief of the Traffic
Bureau, will keep patrolmen at each
of the four corners to see that pedes.
trians move at the proper time.
Test to Come Later.
The real test of whether the plan
,, can be made success permanently
will come when the extra policemen
are withdrawn from the crosswalks.
The officers are there this week to
educate pedestrians to do their part
| by walking with the traffic signal,
said Inspector Brown. The object of
having the officer blow one whistle for
| traffic to stop, leaving an interval of
seconds. and then blowing two whis-