Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-05-08
Auto Storage al Curb
Held Disgrace to City
rn the Rditor of The Sac.

It Is amazing that the CaplLal OF the
Nation, where much money is spent an
nually for sanitation, fire prevention
and civic Identification. should set the
bad example Of permitting commercial
vehicles filled with infiammable rub
Dish to park overtime in its streets.
The practice of using the streets for
the storage Of trucks has resulted from
the custom of all-night parking of other
motor vehicles and is indicative Of low
order Of municipal housekeeping.
Some of the side streets Of Washing
ton, and even certain thoroughfares
through which much up-anddown town
franc passes, are eyesores, having ac-
CURED a slumlike appearance because
they have been allowed to become
Ravens for a nondescript collection of
motor vehicles, ranging from huge,
dirty building trucks and wrecking cars
! to dilapidated delivery wagons and
/ abandoned automobiles chalked with
For sale" signs.
These neighborhoods are, for the most
part residential, with no commercial
activities other than few neighborhood
shops and perhaps public garage. The
parking Of such vehicles in the street
Is wholly out of keeping with the char
acter of the neighborhood The COM
munitieS are injured by occasional
truckmen, who conduct their business
along somewhat primitive lines, using
| the curb in front of their homes or
those of neighbors for parking vans
when not in use.
If there Is a lack of furniture moving
jobs or q lull in the quick transfer
| business, trash collection is resorted to.
and the uncovered vehicles are left in
the street until accumulation of full
! load, sometimes for days and weeks, I'M
til the load can be moved to the rubbish
dump or junk yard.
Public garages under careless man
agement also contribute to the collec-
| ton of unsightly vehicles, wrecking cars
and other garage equipment being
| parked by the operators day and night
| in front Of the garages or nearby
dwellings. Laborers taxi home in
rumbling trucks and leave them in the
street overnight and during week ends.
TradeSmen located on prominent thor
oughfares also avail themselves of I'M
restricted parking privileges and stand
delivery wagons on side streets over
night and on Sundays
The writer has observed q truck,
with three Of its four wheels tireless
and displaying out-of-date license
plates, standing at the curb for several
weeks. The vehicle was overloaded with
ashes, broken furniture, glass, dis
carded holiday tree, dead cat, straw
hats, bottles and other rubbish. The
, proprietor Of a private garage main
tains a sort Of motorized waste basket
in the street. placing sweepings from
the garage IN an uncovered vehicle
which has no license plates, unbeliev-
able as it seems.
The vehicle, containing an accunnu-
lation Of oily rags and other tnflam-
| mable waste, is parked at the curb In
front OF the garage or the adjoining
wooden houses. Nestled close against
a frame house which faces a street,
but which sides on an alley, rubbish
collecting truck has long been immune
to molestation because of overtime
parking, notwithstanding the fire haZ-
ard. Before car repairing in the street
was banned, the observer might have
noticed cars with dismantled engines
or precariouS "tin lizzies," minus
wheels, lacked up on soap boxes at the
curb for an indefinite period.
On a street where the sidewalks are
very narrow and the houses barely six
or seven feet from the curb there was
parked for. several weeks truck loaded
with such, waste building material as
wooden shAvings, broken lathS and ex-
celsior Tue dwellings were Of frame
construction, some of them ancient
finder boxes, unoccupied and without
window frames.
A fire that might easily have spread
70 the row could have been ignited by
a match or cigarette carelessly tossed
into the truck by a paSserby. The con-
dition Of some streets Is similar to a
stable or truck yard, where such activi-
ties as painting, washing, waxing and
repairing of vehicles are carried on
without let or hindrance. Adjoining a
| we'll known cafeteria is a repair shop
specializing in auto tops. Recovering
operations are performed at the curb
Of the shop and sometimes in front OF
the eating place.
There are regulations prohibiting
commercial vehicles from standing in
front Of dwellings, except when load
ing or unloading, regulations limiting
parking to maximum of 10 hours, and
regulations forbidding the repairing of
cars and throwing or depositing Of rub
Dish In the street, which, II enforced,
would much improve the appearance of
the thoroughfareS and lessen the dan
ger from fire. Why are these regula-
tons not enforced? That is a question
every citizen with spark Of civic inter-
est is apt to ask himself when con-
Unsightly truck parking should be
prohibited. especially In residential Sec
lions. The habits and occupations of
the residents Of some neighborhoods are
a guarantee against the development of
an obnoxious environment. In sections
where less affluent classes make their
| homes there is likely to be an element
which is Indifferent to its surroundings
| and which has little regard for law
order or decency. It is In such neigh
borhoods that the authorities should
exercise special vigilance and maintain
the required standard Of cleanliness and
order.
There is something anomalous about
municipal housekeeping which is per-
formed after the manner Of house
keeper who sweeps and garnisheS only
The rooms of the main floor and neglects
1 to give the upper rooms Of the house
such attention. Municipal management
TO be efficient, should be capable OF
making Lowbrow street as clean and
orderly as Highbrow street. SlumS are
relics of medievalism and have no &C.
casion for existence in progressive COM
munitieS where modern building, hous-
ing, sanitation, fire and trafic ordi-
nances obtain and where interest In
civic betterment IS fostered.
Motorists who oppose a ban on un-
limited parking because Of the expense
of keeping vehicles in garages deprive
themselves and others Of the maximum
service and enjoyment to be derived
| from motor transportation. Double park.
| ing has increased to an extent which
makes it imperative that the space al
curbs be used for moving traffic, de.
livery Of passengers and merchandise
and short-time parking. Because vehi-
cles are left all night in front Of resi-
/ cult to find parking space not only
downtown, but uptown, when visiting
homes or shops of an evening or wher
attending the neighborhood theater Oh
| church.
J Conditions In a city where all-nighi
parking is permitted are as unpleasant