Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-12-23
Parking Abreast.


the attractions Of the parking
abreast regulation. The head of the
department believes that this prac
tice should be stopped, especially
| during the Christmas season, when
traffic Is heavy, and has announced
that parkers OF this type need ex
pect no leniency when arrested. Ac.
cordingly. from now on, life promises
! to be miserable for the motorists
who would stop for a few minutes
outside Of a line Of parked cars.
While parking abreast undoubtedly
slows up traffic and results in con.
| gestion, It has come to be viewed
! as a more or less necessary evil
! Of the present-day conditions. With
| more automobiles In every city than
there Is space to take care OF them
double parking has come more and
more in vogue.
OF course there is no excuse for
! the motorist who leaves an unattend-
ed car outside Of parked line Of
vehicles blocking ingress and egress,
but when this same motorist remains
seated in his automobile, or is pos
sessed Of a chauffeur, to move In
stantly whenever the occasion de-
mands, It is difficult to look upon
him as a violator, especially when
It is considered that there are many
criminally reckless motorists plying
the streets, ready to make a prompt
getaway IN case Of accident.
OF course one evil does not balance
another, and parking abreast does
| congest traffic, but it is a serious
question whether or not the con-
venience OF that large portion Of the
public that is unable to find regular
parking SPACE is to be catered TO
or ignored. If many people. when
shopping bound, are compelled to
circle block after block Of the down
town section, looking vainly for
parking spaces, afraid to stop for
fear Of being arrested, then there
is something wrong.
Another angle Of the situation must
| likewise be considered. If all Of
these motorists, who normally stop
abreast for q few minutes, are kept
on the move In heavy traffic, Will
not the congestion be perhaps great
er than IL they were allowed to pull
in as close to the curb as possible
and stop? And is It not a form Of
discrimination to check up so rigidly
on the overflow OF parkers when
they are Just as DESTROYS OF finding
a place to park as those who fortu-
nately got in ahead Of them?
The inevitable conclusion Is that
IL there. are more cars IN a city
than street space to take care Of
| them, properly regulated parking
abreast is Just as necessary as traffic
lights to handle the volume Of travel.
In other words. parking abreast is
necessary evil in the same way
as all kinds Of parking. which can
never be considered, even in its best
phases, a benefit to a community, be-
cause 1t is bound to impede free move
ment.
| So that, instead OF clamping down
| on this overflow of Christmas shop
pers. 1t would seem to be a wise
course to look at the matter in q
philosophical and reasonable manner;
realize that traffic will be heavy and
| congested whether or not there Is
temporary parking abreast and take
into consideration that enforcement
Of such a regulation, especially at this
time, will cause serious Inconvenience
to large proportion Of the motorists
OF this city. Then it should be de-
cided whether there should not be a
revision Of the regulation.