Evening star., 1928-12-09

betterment of traffic conditions In the
National Capital are submitted by Car
| roll Beale, c. E., who is of the belief
that q system of staggered reporting
time for officeholders and a Subter-
ranean parking area would alleviate
present day congestion materially. In
celebrating in this plan, Mr.. Beale
states:
1.-THE fact that a given number of
persons must arrive at or depart from
a given location at given time and
the limitations of traffic facilities gov
erning the accomplishment Of this end
constitute what Is comminly known as
the traffic problem. The inequalities
between the demand of time and the
facilities afforded to meet that demand
constitute what Is know as trafic con-
gestion; that Is, Of course, where the
facilities afforded are inadequate to
meet the demand.
Automobile trafic facilities are
limited by physical conditions very
often impossible of economic better
ment. The widening of roadways and
the speeding up Of traffic have their
economic limitations. Therefore, in
searching for remedial measures to a
thoroughly unsatisfactory situation and
assuming that the traffic facilities are
not susceptible of economic betterment,
it Is only reasonable to try and improve
upon the other component factor of
the equation, namely, the time factor.
Limited BY Street Areas.
prevailing Office hours in Washing
ton are from until 4:30 o'clock. This
means that more than one hundred
thousand persons must report at gen.
orally centralized locations at the same
time and depart at the same time. AS
the discharge of the contents of bot
tie is limited by the size of the bottle
neck so is the discharge from the Offices
limited by the street areas and traffic
facilities.
obviously. If the time for reporting
to work ir the morning could be stag
gered between the hours of and 9
o'clock in increments of time, We will
say, of Is minutes, and the time of
departure arranged in the same manner
there would be four great movements
of traffic instead Of one, and the re-
sultant traffic congestion would become
exactly one-fourth of its present di-
mensions. This arrangement would en-
able one group to arrive and depart at
a time, and be well out of the way of
the following one. The PRONUNCIATION
of this system would manifestly assist
in relieving the present congestion,
which is still In its infancy, and, syste-
matically worked out, applied and am
plif1ed, would permit existing facilities
to take care Of the traffic for many
years to come.
"Of equal Importance to the stagger-
ing of business and theater hours is
the problem Of parking. Washington
today has population of $4,000 per-
sons and an estimated population in
1910 of nearly 100000. There are at
present registered in the District of Co
lumbia nearly 10000 cars of various
kinds and an estimated registration in
1910 of about 100000 cars. This means
that at present there is one car regis
tered In the city for each 81 persons.
Add to this the cars that come In each
day from the neighboring States and
it is conservative to say that during
working hours there Is one car In the
District for each three Inhabitants.
City Near Top Of List.
Comparatively speaking, Washington
stands at about the top Of the list in
the matter of per capita automobile
registration. Maryland has registered
288, ,00O ears and population OF ap-
proximately 100000 people or about
one car to each six persons. In Balti-
more proper there are estimated to be
81, 900 cars and population Of about
600, 900 persons or one car to every nine
persons. Virginia has population OF
2,600. 900 people and an automobile
registration of about 100000 cars or a
per capita registration of seven cars.
1.-THE foregoing statistical data are en-
bodied herein solely for the purpose OF
showing the cause of the relative park
ing congestion here. Augmented as this
congestion is by the uniformity of gov
ernmental hours, the fact that in cer-
tain areas 24-hour parking is permitted
and the unduly high per capita auto
registration and some idea will be
cleaned as to the cause OF the parking
congestion.
"Twenty-four-hou parking on our
uptown streets being permissible and
free, has rendered commercially un-
profitable the private erection OF ga
RACES and parking places. The writer
| unguardedly made use OF the word
"free." AS q matter Of fact nothing Is
free. The District of Columbia Is spend
ing today millions of dollars for WIDEN
ing the streets of the city which would
be amply wide as they are If parking
were not permitted. A case was recent
ly brought to the writer's attention OF
request for an appropriation for the
purpose Of widening street. The ap-
preparation called for an expenditure OF
S25, 900. Upon investigation it developed
that 20 cars belonging to Government
employees parked along one side of the
street all day. The street in question
is amply wide for all purposes of traffic
If not used for parking purposes. In
other words Governmental expendi-
| ture Of $4,000 is requested for the
parking of 20 privately owned cars or
unit expenditure of $3.50 per car. This