New Britain herald., 1928-09-01


 Wriaklee h Drivcrs' Dsatas
 We read in the paper that when ;, an astomobtla went through the csn- ter sf the city at IS miles an hour back in 1908 the speed was % teF- rife and the incident % unusual that lit was considered worth printihS as an item of news. We thought those ldays of primitive. tortoise-iike l''speed" were over, but now the mayor wants to cut even that ID m. p. h. in half and make the reg ulation eight miles an hour past in- tersecticns.
 This Is only one of the changes he suggests to the police department, which, in our opinion, makes changes enough of its own accord in the traffic rules about the center. It needs no outside suggestions.
 One of the great tricks seems to be altering the timing on the traffic flights. Many motorists who use the same routes daily have figured out 1.-the timing systems of the various series of lights and plot their courses accordingly, but every few weeks the system is revamped they believe and the thinking motorist finds he has to begin all over again.
 For instance, it was once good policy, in coming down West Main street, to swing around through South High and Court if the light at the post office corner was just changing and to go straight ahead ii the green had been shining for any number of seconds. Now the duration of the green seems to have been heightened. and an autoist us- ing the old system of going up South High finds himself chating before a : red light at the Y. M. c. A. corner. 5 It doesn't delay him enough to 5 start world conflict or even tong war over, but it is another puzzle added ts the ndmber already exist } ing in threading through heavy ) traffic
 We imagine the whole thing must Ibe q game. The police are Just
 making sport of the public We r can't prove it, for we haven't Seen I them, but we can well imagine the
 various members of the traffic squad n changing the timing of the ngh't z and then hiding in nearby doors ana i, windows to chortle with glee when
 speeding drivers believing the way lis clear. find themselves suddenly Iconfronted with red lights. The ex
 pressions on the motorists faces :. must be such as to make lie Wortl living for the guardians Of tht
 streets, who are unable to attent U inc movies and watch the regular
 actors "registcr" rage. despair, etc.
 One particularly nauseatlng hgh
 is that at Main and Myrtle stree's
 We often wonder if this ever turn
 green for Mrytle street traffic. N
 matter when you come down towar' r. Main street, the light is red, and {, 7? will stay red for long time. fo' |" may drive slowly, you park your ca '? and go up to the park to see pal l. game. or you may run over Solneoh l. and be sent to prison for man o slaghter-and when you come bacl
 ym will find the light is still red an' C. won't change for five minutes. Ihl o Is one light on which we think th r. timing might be altered. but :" E. aren't the police. and it is prop
 ably lucky for the other 7S,99 p people in New Britain that this
 so.
 y Anyway, if traffic regulations s' n lights continue to multiply about tn d center as they have in the past, an E if existing ones are changed ever % fortnight or so as at present.
 orgbt to be great help to th n, air plane manufactures, for Ill a 70 airplane hurrying business me g could whir over the lights an to gleefully stick their tongues out g 'p them.
 It ought to be great help,
 say. but it isn't. For the colnmo
 council, we suspect, was Tn leaeu
 with the police when it voted do" a the landing field in New Britain.