Evening star., 1932-03-15
PARKING PROBLEM
STUDIED BY LAMONT
AS PLEA IS DENIED
Removal of Restrictions on
Fifteenth Street for Clerks
Is Refused.
MAY HAVE TO LEAVE
THEIR CARS AT HOME
Auto Owners Have to Take Time
Off From Work to Avoid
Violations.

Secretary Lamont and other officials
of the Commerce Department today
were giving study to the decision of
the District Commissioners, who yester-
day ruled they could not grant Mr..
Lamont's request that Fifteenth street
between E street and Constitution ave-
nue. be set aside for unrestricted park
ing of automobiles owned by department
employees.
A letter setting forth the Commits
sioners views was not received by
officials of the department until shortly
before noon today. They frankly stated
they had no other plans in view at the
time being that would offer any relief
to the 1,345 employees involved.
If the police continue to enforce the
one-hour parking restriction on Fif-
teenth street and the two-hour restric-
ton around the Ellipse, the employees
would be forced to leave their machines
at home until some solution could be
worked out, officials said.
Employees Time Taken.
They explained that the average au-
tomobile owning employe was taking at
least one hour of the Government S
time each day to leave his desk two or
three times to move his automobile to
avoid traffic violations.
This will have to be stopped, and
stopped Immediately, one official was
quoted as saying.
The department executives said even
il the Commissioners had granted their
request only 73 cars could be accom-
modated under the plan, but that would
be some help, until parking space is
made available on the vacant lots on
the Fourteenth street side of the
building.
The Treasury is understood to be
planning to lease these grounds to a
concessionaire, who would charge ap-
proximately 10 cents day for all-day
parking. This would be temporary,
however, but it is undersood that work
on the foundation Of the Labor De-
partment and other new structures
planned for the site Is to be started this
Summer.
Van Duzer Report Quoted.
In turning down the request of Mr.
Lamont, the Commissioners quoted a
report on the subject by william A.
Van Duzer, director of vehicles and
traffic, which said in part:
THE present parking restriction of
hour in the area surrounding the
Department of Commerce Building and
The elimination of all angle parking
was brought about in the District as
a result of a survey conducted by DR..
Miller McClintock, in 1890, for the
National Capital Park and Planning
Commission and as result of a rec
ommenoation made by the subcommit-
tee on parking of the Traffic Advisory
Committee This committee was ap-
pointed by the Commissioners and re-
ported to them on September 81, 1880.
During the latter part OF 1881 a
study was made of the transportation
merce employees and it was found that
out Of 1886 employees 1,345 used auto
mobiles as a means of transportation to
and from their work. If 1t is assumed
that 1000 of these cars must find park
ing spaces near the Department of Com
merce Building, it is obvious that only
a small percentage of these cars could
find parking facilities in the space re-
ferred to by the Secretary.
IF the cars are parked three feet
apart and each car occupies minimum
space of Is feet, then there would only
be room enough on the west curb Of
Fifteenth street from E street to Con-
stitution avenue for about 55 automo-
biles. If angle parking were permitted,
which permits four cars to park where
three cars ordinarily park, then the
number OF cars which could park at
the west curb of Fifteenth street would
be approximately 73.
"In this connection attention Is called
to the fact that the movement in and
out of angle parking spaces offers a
serious handicap to traffic flow, thus
withdrawing valuable street space from
traffic use.
your attention is called to the fact
that the Department of Commerce is
in what is known as the congested area.
1t is in close proximity to the business
district where Government employees
and others do their shopping and
transact business and it is the general
policy of this city and all cities that in
the congested district parking should
be limited"