Evening star., 1925-03-22
STRICT REGULATION
SANELY APPLIED IS
ELDR|DGE' POLICY
No Radical Changes Planned
by Traffic Chief Taking
Office Tomorrow.
SURVEY OF D. C. NEEDS
LOOMS AS FIRST STEP
Hopes to Have All-Day Parking
Areas-50-Cent Permit
Fee in Prospect.
BY WILLIAM TLLNAN.

BY WILLIAM TILNAN.
Washington may expect strict eX-
ercise of traffic regulations. tempered
by courtesy, tolerance and sane
judgment. under the supervision Of
the newly appointed director OF traf-
fic, NJ. o. Eldridge. The even tenor
of traffic will not be disturbed by
sudden and radical changes, and in
novations will follow only the die
tates of greater public safety and ex-
pediency.
These. in general, were some OF the
policies uppermost in the mind of the
new director after he had taken the
oath of office yesterday, pIedging him
self to the task of minimizing the
colossal death toll on Washington
streets and establishing the Nations
Capital as a model traffic city.
Takes Up Work Tomorrow.
Mr.. Eldridge will enter tomorrow
upon his duties as director Of traffic.
probably better equipped for the job,
from the point Of view OF experience,
knowledge of the subject, tempera
ment ambition and determination,
than any other man in this city. He
has been on speaking terms with
the traffic problem ever since there
was such thing. What's more, he
has seen Washington grow from the
time of the "one-lunser," when the
proportion of motor vehicles TO pc
destrians was something like one
to d thousand. He has had a part,
and an important part, not only in the
city's development thraftically but
also in that of the Nation. He comes
TO a new job not unarmed with sound
and sensible ideas that will prove
basis for future action
Motorists and merchants, perhaps
more so than pedestrians, are vital!y
interested in Mr.. EldridGe's idea OF
traffic regulation under the law just
enacted by Congress.
| Plans Thorough sHrve-.
| As a believer in basic facts and fig
ures, the new director, it is under
stood, proposes TO have made at the
very outset a traffic survey and count
of Washington's streets and congest-
ed districts, such as was made in
Chicago recently by officials of that
city in cooperation with United
States Bureau of Public Roads. to
determine, among other things, the
following points: The density OF
vehicular travel, the density of pedes-
safety, accident hazard possibilities,
necessity of one-way streets, danger
Gus crossing and lighting facilities.
While the tendency in some of the
/ larger cities is toward the multipli-
cation of one-way streets-this is
true particularly in Chicago, Phila-
delphfa and Boston-Mr. EldridGe is
not certain that the one-way street
is an essential part of the traffic pro-
gram in Washington. Rather, he is
inclined to believe that safety and
expediency might better be served by
the conversion of some of the now
existing one-way streets, such as
Madison place. Jackson place, Eigh-
teenth and Nineteenth streets, into
two-way thoroughfares.
AH-Day Parking Areas.
He is not Sa tisficd that Washington
merely may have an efficient and just
parking arrangement. He Is hope
full that he may be able to devise a
!, more satisfactory system, giving due
regard to the all-day parker, the
merchant the shopper and the office
employe who wastes considerable
portion of the day moving his car
every hour. He has in mind the es-
tablishment of all-day parking areas.
In his opinion, the constant shifting
of cars every hour not only is great
annoyance to the motorist, but 1t Is
factor contributing to the congestion
and confusion on the downtown
streets during business hours.
Although Mr. Eldridge approaches
this important and difficult job with
an open mind, a free hand and with
out prejudice, he will be disposed not
to temporiZe with one phase OF the
problem: that is, speeding. However
tolerant he may be on other phases or
the question, the director VIII set
every ounce of his authority and
every available man under his com
mand toward the elimination OF
speeding and reckless driving In the
District, Speeding, in his opinion, is
a relative term and - miles an hour
NAV be a reckless rate under certain
conditions No matter whether car
is travelling at 10, 20 or so miles an
hour, the driver at all times must De
able to prove that he Is not operating
his car reckle ssly.
speed Zones I'm View.
For the arterial highways and
through boulevard streets, the es-
tahlishment of which is authorized
under the act Mr.. Eldridge Will be
inclined to follow the Maryland sys-
tenn of indicating speed zones by the
erection of signs. reading Begin ~
Mile Limit, END ~ MIG LlHiit,
Begin 80 Mile Limit" etc He has
an idea that a 3o-mile limit, under
normal conditions, would be entirely
iustifiable on certain sections of out
living streets, but the operator OF a
car at such a speed must at all times
he prepared to show he is not driving
in a reckless manner The driver on
MARYLAND roads knows when he is
violating the speed law, and Mr.. Ed
ridge proposes to make the same In
formation just as easily available
for the District motorist.
There are many phases of the new
law which will have to be defined.
Mr.. EIdridge is looking to Corpora
tion Counsel Stephens to assist him
in determining exactly what the
powers of the director of traffic are.
One of the new angles Of the law
which will demand a great deal of
the directors attention. at least for
the present is the matter of annual
permits The law provides that driv-
ers obtain permits every year, and
that the fee for such permit be 81
1t is understood the director has
in mind the postponement of the
initial issuance of these permits un-
til March, 1925, If such practice will
be found to be permissible under the