Evening star., 1941-06-18
By NELSON NJ. SHEPARD.

A plan offered by Highway Di-
rector II. c. Whitehurst for coping
with the downtown parking problem
was suggested today in interested
official circles as providing possible
logical alternative TO Navy Secre-
tary KnoX's controversial proposal
for tearing up areas in West Poto-
mac Park and the Monument
grounds to serve as automoolle
parking lots for Government work
ers
Based on a recent study ordered
by Congress. the Whitehurst plan
recommended establishing fringe
parking lots and garages contiguous
TO the congested central business and
Government districts These points
would be served by a low priced
shuttle bus system to distribute the
parkers to their places of employ
ment.
Advocates of the plan claim for 1t
the merit of providing a cheap and
rapid method of transportation to
and from work for the large per-
centage of the 10000 Government
employees who use their own auto
mobiles. Some estimates place the
number conservatively at about 40,-
900 automobile riders daily.
Sites Suggested.
The site of the old Washington
Airport and points near Rosslyn,
Va. convenient for thousands of
Federal workers living in Virginia
suburbs. have been suggested by
some Government officials as suita-
bic areas for fringe parking With
rapid shuttle bus lines. it was
claimed, the parkers could reach
downtown offices quicker than it
would take them to walk from some
OF the distant roadways in West
Potomac Park where several thou
sand now park six days a week.
1t would also solve some Of the
other daily annoyances and in
conveniences which Navy Depart
ment officials and employees COM
plain about.
The chief merit claimed for the
Whitehurst plan is its comparative
cheapnesS. Under such system
of fringe parking the average
worker could go back and forth
to his job at a daily cost, outside
of the actual operating expense of
his car, of not more than Is cents.
This charge. Mr.. Whitehurst sug-
gested at the time his report was
publiclzed, could be provided be-
tween a 10-cent fee for parking and
a scent fee for the round trip by
GUS to his Office from the point where
the worker leaves his car. On the
basis of this rate, he claimed, the
average employe would have month
ly transportation expense of $375
and yearly expense of $45, which,
in the directors opinion, represents
about the maximum the average
person could afford.
Low Rate Necessary.
The immediate problem, the re-
port stressed, is to work out the
proposed solution from an economic
to locate parking space
which can be rented to the public
at a nominal charge.
Before resorting to the use Of
National Capital parks for all-day
parking lots, even in an actual war
time emergency. no effort should be
spared to explore all other possible
solutions of this present prob
lem, officials Of the parks Office said.
If such plan could be worked
out in the existing emergency as
Mr.. Whitehurst proposes, it would
be cheaper for the Government
worker who is now being forced to
pay increased charges, in some in
stances, at privately owned parking
lots in the West Potomac dis
trict. Because of the expansion of
the defense agencies, some employees
are now paying $5 month to park
on private lots where recently they
paid only 50 monthly.
Capacity Restricted.
In advocating fringe parking lots
just outside the central area, the
Whitehurst report, which Secretary
Knox can obtain by a telephone
request, suggests that they be re-
stricted to a reasonable size to avoid
peak conditions at each lot or ga
rage which would overtax the ad-
jacent roadway system. Generally,