Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-19

| Demand for parking space in down
town sections usually exceeds the sup
ply, and where time limits are not
imposed and enforced the trade Of
business houses Is decreased due tc
car storage.
Parking elimination in its entirety
demands consideration in cases where
the development of the business area
| becomes so intensive that parking seri-
ously interferes with trafflc movement.
An impartial parking survey is the
| only way to go about making the de-
cision as to whether '"no-parking'
regulations should or should not be In
stituted.
Article on Parking.
These are the conclusions drawn by
M. 0. Eldridge, one Of the assistant
| traffic directors in the Office of w. A
Van Duzer traffic director for the Dis
| trict of Columbia. Mr.. Eldridge has
written the following article on park
| ing in downtown areas for the Ameri-
can Road Builders Association:
I'm downtown sections the demand
for parking space usually exceeds the
supply and where time limits are not
| imposed and enforced the trade Of bust
ness houses is decreased due to storage
of cars.
when the development Of the bust
| ness area become so intensive that
parking seriously interferes with traffic
movement, parking elimination demands
consideration. Since the problem of We
hicular traffic movement is at maxi
mum at two peak periods during the
business day, the necessary traffic re-
| lief may be afforded by elimination OF
parking during these peak hours, pro-
vided the regulation is generally OBJ
| -1iY3o{f noYkio0 cfin hoino
permitted in of peak periods, or park
ing may be entirely eliminated during
the business day. This latter method
is likely to meet with violent opposi-
ton from the business interests.
This is the time for the public au-
thorities to proceed cautiously and
to secure the services Of a trained and
experienced traffic engineer to guide
them in their decisions. The clamor
Of the few, who many times believe
that they will be seriously injured by
| withdrawal of the parking privilege,
can best be met by facts showing re-
suits obtained in similar situations,
showing what proportions Of their
trade will be affected by the proposed
parking elimination, and showing other
! economic effects.
Divergence In Data
There is a great divergence between
the estimates made by business people,
and survey data secured in several
cities as TO the ratio of automobile Gus
toners to total customers. On one side
We have estimates published by the
United States Department Of Com
merce in the above mentioned Trade
Information Bulletin No 1874, which
says:
Some idea Of how much Of a
| problem exists in providing for the
better use of the automobile in down.
town business areas was brought out
! in the recent QUESTIONABLE survey
Merchants representing stores in the
various groups Of cities reported per-
! centage estimates Of the amount OF
automobile patronage. which they BE-
! lieved their stores to have. More thar
| so per cent of the total store patron
age was reported as coming in auto
mobiles by Is per cent Of an unsolicited
/ group of 12o stores in the group
| cities: by Is per cent Of an unsolicited
group of 124 stores in the group L