Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-06
MOVE TO BAR LEFT
TURN ST|RS STORM
Philadelphia Director Asks
Council to Appoint Traf-
fic Engineer.

A move to prohibit all left-hand turns
in the downtown portion of Philadel-
phia aroused such a storm of protest
in that city that the plan has been
abandoned by Director Of Public Safety
Lemuel B. Schofield and he has asked
the city council TO authorize appoint
ment of q traffic engineer to supervise
traffic conditions in the Pennsylvania
city.
According to Philadelphia observers,
this suggestion for the appointment of
traffic engineer was made as a counter
check on the plan of Councilman
Walter, chairman of the public safety
committee of the council, to introduce
a resolution to take away from Scho-
field the blanket authority he now has
to regulate traffic.
At meeting of the council held yes
terday, however, Walters ordinance
was introduced and referred to his
committee along with communication
from Schofleld in which he announced
that the abolition of the left-hand turn
would await the outcome of the coun-
CHS deliberations on his request for a
trained traffic engineer.
Subject Is Complicated.
In the communication to the council,
Schof1eld, after reciting his reasons for
believing that left-hand turns should be
banned entirely, said: This announce
ment met with many protests from the
press, automobile clubs and various as
sociations and individuals. Either the
motoring public do not understand it
or apparently are unwilling to test
its effectiveness. The entire SUBJ
ject of traffic is, Of course, a compli-
Gated one and is becoming more so every
day. To handle it scientifically requires
the full time OF an expert traffic en-
gineer, a man trained in the subject
by study and experience and one who
can give his entire time to working
out the problem, this to include not
only the question of left-hand turns,
but also that OF parking, synchron1zed
traffic control by automatic signals,
traffic lights at dangerous intersec-
tons, ETC."
Illustrative of the wave of opposition
referred to by Schofield is the following
extract from an editorial appearing in
the Public Ledger under date of Sep
TENDER 5; The police have been al
lowed too long to experiment with
sence OF uniformity in their regulations
and the removal of the semaphores
from the streets have been the subject
OF just complaint. Now this absurd
proposal for a wholesale prohibition of
left turns in the business center of the
city is the last maneuver that has de-
stroyed public patience. If the council
permits the director to carry out his
announced intention, the result will be
to increase the perilS to pedestrians by
the multiplication of turns and to in
tensify greatly the congestion in the
streets"
Auto Club Is Pleased.
Automobile club officials in Philadel-
ph1a are gratif1ed over the action taken
by Schofleld, claiming that he has
finally adopted what they have been
working for years to secure, the handling
OF traffic by trained engineer instead
OF by the police or political appointees.
according to reports from Philadel-
ph1a, 1t Is planned to hold public hear
1ngs In the near future on the question
OF the appointment of competent traf-
nc engineer and also on the proposed
ordinance to take away from Schofield
M present authority to enact such
traffic regulations as he may see fit.
Until June Is Philadelphia had been
operating under local provision which
provided that left turns be made from
the right curb, similar in some respects
to the washington rotary left turn.
But on that date the new Pennsylvania
State motor code became effective. This
state law was modelled on the Hoover
uniform State code, which contains the
provision that left turns be made from
the left lane OF traffic.
This change from the former method
resulted in temporary confusion, be-
cause Of the sudden alteration in the
driving habits of motorists, and it was
this which, Schof1eld states, prompted
him to suggest that all left turns in the
business pnntpF hn abolished Then
there arose q greater storm than ever.
Philadelphia, with the rest of the
State, uses a method of turning left
which conforms to the Hoover code, but
which requires that the turn be made
at the left of the center of the inter-