Evening star., 1937-06-26
By HHam 4. Bell, J.


w YHEN Washington motor
n ist drives downtown in the
" " morning he has less than
one chance in 10 of find-
Ing place to park
His best bet is a parking lot He'll
be one in IS or 26 if he can find curb
space, and its just dumb luck if he
finds it where he wants it.
Of course, no one is going to pay
for parking when there is free space
but this is available to only 6,095 Of
l54.878 automobiles that enter the
Twentieth streets Constitution ave
hue to N street-each day. The es-
innate is based on a w. P. A. survey
in April. 1886
So We find the hapleSS motorist,
tossed in a seething sea of traffic,
locking for a harbor free of the reefs
Of no parking" and limited parking
signs-a place where he may anchor
his craft and go off for as long as
he pleaSes with his mind at rest
To provide anchorage for the man
who is able to pay there is a parking
lot or garage in almost every down.
town block, with space for 1O5OO
cars. and still space is scarce. So
scarce, in fact, that the car-croWded
terrain Of the larger parking lots pre-
sents challenging problems of dis
Covery
The parking lot customer returns
TO look for his car in a STANLEY, go
find Livingston spirit. He will be
wise if, on entrance, he marks his
car as one marks a golf ball when a
slice sends ii journeying into the for
est prlmeval. Where the concrete,
asphalt and building stone of down
town Washington make it difficult to
pick an object suitable as a marker,
pacing off distances is useful.
THESE hints are offered on the as
sumption that you will find your
car where you left it. a rare circum-
stance. The best protection against
losing yourself and your car in
jungle Of parked automobiles is to
carry kit bag equipped with a COM
pass and one of those things mariners
shoot the sun With-sextants, I think
they're called. You also will need a
telescope, periScope, radio direc-
ton finder and a pup tent in case
you have to spend the night.
One enormous parking lot has
adopted system which involves post
Ing the numbers of Identification
tickets on chart opposite the num-
bers of the rows in which the cars
are parked. In this way the Gus
toner can at least discover the ap-
proximate location of his car. Each
row is about 100 yards long and he
will have to parade down it, twisting
his head from side to side, like a
spectator at a tennis match, until he
spots what he's looking for
Parking lot operators say they pre-
fer-some say they insist-that GUS
toners allow attendants to bring them
their cars instead of doing it them
selves. The trouble with this is that
the number of attendants is all out
of proportion to the number of cars
and IS or 20 minutes may elapse be-
fore you can get the attention Of an
attendant have him start his search
and bring your car to you.
Into effect June ! went a set of
licensing regulations governing park
Ing lots and garages and intended to
meet some of the more common COM
plants against such businesses. Lii
cense fees are $40. SIS and s25 an
nually according to the size of the
lot or garage. Each place must have
from two to six fire extinguishers.
Operators are forbidden to transfer
cars to other space without the con-
sent Of owners, and must not park a
Car so that it projects over public
space. They must erect and MAIN
tain 8-inch copings or 212-foot fences.
One OF the most significant provi-
sions is the threat that licenses will
be revoked for continued failure to
pay judgments or make adjustments
In connection with theft or damage
Parking-lot customers frequently
complain that they have no redress
IN the event of theft or damage to
their cars while on the lot. Oper-
stors say otherwise.
THE District Motor Club, local
branch of the American Automo-
bile Association. reports daily COM
plants concerning score or more
practices detrimental to the motorists
who are forced to use these lots be-
cause OF inadequate parking facilities
elsewhere" h