Evening star., 1927-12-10
BUSINESS MEN HIT
NEW PARKING RULE
Thirteenth Street Association
to Consider Angle to
Parallel Change.

Protests over the new parking regu'
lation affecting downtown Thirteenth
street, which went into effect Monday,
providing for parallel instead of angle
parking, held to be necessary by Dis
trict officials to relieve traffic conges-
ton. will be considered by the Thir.
teenth Street Business Mems Associa-
ton at a meeting at o'clock Wednes-
day afternoon in the office OF Charles
F.. Carus, S1S Thirteenth street.
In calling the meeting Ross +. An
drews, president of the assoclauon
has asked the members 10 supmlt
actual figures showing the effect OF
the new parking regulation on the
business of the firms along the street
and on the parking facilities there.
A number of merchants along the
street have filed protests with franc
Director IIarland over the chanSe IN
the parking regulation, charging that
the prohibition against angle parking
which provided for a greater NUMBER
of cars parked along downtown Inlr-
teenth street than the parallel parking
plan, had served to drive business
away from the street.
Urged by Harland.
The change in the parking regula-
ton. it is said, was recommended sew
eral weeks ago by Traffic Director
Harland before petitions for tins
change were made by representatives
of the Washington Rapid Transit Co.
and by the Capital Traction Co.,
which have bus lines operating
through Thirteenth street.
Protests against the regulation have
been filed with city officials by repre-
sentatives of the Arthur Jordan Ilano
Co, Brownley's, George f. Muth d co.
and c. A. Muddman Co. These 1rms
plan to ask the Thirteenth Street Busl-
ness Mems Association to send Tor
NAL protest to the Commissioners ask
ing that angle parking be again pro-
vided on the street.
Frank Fl. k.immel, manager or the
Jordan Co. termed as "highly unfair
the prohibition against angle parking,
which he declared had caused a loss OF
business to firms along the street py
reducing the number of shoppers who
could find parking space on Thirteenth
street. He points out that at the tlme
the merchants on Thirteenth street
were asked to approve plans Tor the
widening of the street a year or more
angle parking would be permitted.
Now. having been assessed 40 per cent
Of the cost of such street widening, he
saws. the business houses there are
being deprived of the maximum park
ing space for their customers.
AssaiIs Parallel Parking.
AS a result of the parallel parking
regulation and the placing of BUS
stop at the southwest corner OF Ihlr-
teenth and G. streets, he says, the
Jordan Co., whose property mas
| frontage of 73 feet on Thirteenth, has
space loft for but one parked car, IN
stead of nine or ten, as formerly.
Mr.. Andrews, however. said Nester-
day that he had not been convinced
| that the new rule providing for paral-
| lei parking had served to hurt the
| business of the Thirteenth street firms.
He pointed out that under the present
regulation shoppers could stop at
| shops along the street and alight from
their cars without blocking traf1ic
through the street, whereas under the
angle parking plan cars entering or
| backing out of parking spaces often
halted all traffic on the street for a
| time.
| Mr.. Andrews also said he believed
not more than 10 per cent of the cars
| parked along the street were those
Of shoppers, but rather were those of
employees of concerns in the vicinity.
These car owners. he believed, occa.
sionally moved their cars from one
parking space to another in order tC
avoid violation of the one-hour park.
ing rule there. The congestion of
traffic, therefore, he argues, is not
caused by shoppers cars as much as
by those of employees of the concerns
on and near Thirteenth street.