Evening star., 1937-06-26

lot is crowded beyond its proper ca
pacity, many cars that use them reg
ularly become damaged, with dented
tenders and scratched paint being the
most prolific cause OF complaint" says
the A. A, A. Many reports have
come in of articles stolen from cars
that cannot be locked while on the
lot, the practice OF moving the car
from the space that has been paid
for into the street continues on a
large scale, while other complaints
cover wide range of offenses, such
as depicting batteries by running the
radio or failing to turn off the igni-
tion key, windows left open in stormy
weather, soiling or littering car, un-
necessary roughness in handling the
car and so on.
The evil Of all this is that the
motorlSt has no recourse except to
the courts, and under the present
system this is so costly as practically
to preclude action in parking lot
cases.
The Keystone Automobile Club also
is critical of the conduct of parking
lots here.
Operators of several of the largest
parking areas retort that most of the
conditions for which hey are as
sailed do not exist They will make
good any damage. they aver, if it is
shown to be bona flde-that is, if it
has been caused by parking-lot at
tendants. and is not the result of the
car owners own negligence They
protest that attempts constantly are
being made to recover for damage
not incurred on the lots. They say.
likewise. that the ma ajority OF report
ed thefts of articles from parked cars
are the cunningly imagined schemes
OF motorists to collect for something
that has not been stolen, because it
was never in the car in the first
place. Moving Of automobiles from
lots into the street or other public
space is not practiced, the opera tors
declare. AS for theft OF automobiles
or nre damage. most of the big lots
are protected by comprehensive insur-
ance.
<OME operator take the view, with
qualifications. that customers ex-
pect too much; that the parking fee is
merely In payment for space rental
charge. pure and simple, offering pro-
lection against nothing but a trafic
ticket. BY this token, the customer
would be expected to assume the same
risks as if his car were on the street
damage by rain or snow If the windows
are left open, theft of car, theft of
articles in the car.
Inc parking-lot business has been
growing as the number of PASSENGER
car registrations increases, but prob
aoly not proportionately, due to SPACE
limitations and high rents. AS of June
q, registrations totaled l55.837. and
there had been 1872 applications for
parking-lot licenses Registrations on
the corresponding date last year were
lol,745, and on June 8. 1885, were
l4l ,O28. In the latter year the
Census Bureau counted 78 parking lots
throughout the city, with receipts of
Sbsl 900 annually, now estimated to
nave sWelled to more than 81 ,0OO, 900.
Since the fellow who parks his car
in paid space every day and Saturday
puts out from $46 to $156 a year for
the privilege of escaping the annoyance
OF seeking space along the curb and of
worrying about a ticket, he probably
wonders where this money goes and
why.
If he thinks such sums keep the
parking-lot operators in velvet he IL
wrong. say the parking-lot operators.
The number of cars at Is or Is or 40
cents each which one sees in the biz
lots around Washington Is q Door
measure OF operating profit, it is de-
clared. Why? "Rents!" chorus the
men who run these lots.
A RTHUR DEzENDORF, who has II
parking lots, pays a rent bill of
nearly $8l 900 a year. His biggest lot,
able to hold l72 cars, costs $4,000
annually
Benjamin Wollberg and the three
oAA MO 0ioeAAoAo, OPNAaeAS IN ~ lOtS,
pay the Government $4,676 monthly
rental for the huge parking area behind
the District Building. between Thir-
teenth and Fourteenth streets. This
is by all odds the largest lot in town,
holding 1900 to 1.400 cars. It must
be q money-loser, because the Federal
Government leases the space on condi-
ton that Federal employees not be
charged more than 81 a month for all
day parking. Others pay IS cents.
Fi1llrin1 the Aara NJ FA6Aral aennlovaa