Evening star., 1949-09-02
Letters to The Star
Position of Loading Platforms

Position of Loading Platforms
At Central and Monroe Complained About
To the Editor of The Star:
When the Sunday Star carried headlines
telling of the fatal accident in the $500
block of Rhode Island avenue, NE. our
son, who first saw the paper, remarked,
"Dellastatious died from his wreck" But
my husband commented, THE boy did not
die from his wreck; he was murdered by the
District Of Columbia" That puts into words
the general feeling of residents of the blocks
adjacent to Rhode Island avenue, Central
avenue and Monroe street intersections.
When the District placed the loading plat
forms at Central and Monroe streets, 1t
finally put them on the wrong" side of the
intersections they serve, lie. instead of being
placed before the intersection Is reached
each of these platforms is placed beyond the
intersection, and there are no accompanying
warning signs of the reversal OF usual
placement.
This fact, combined with the grade of
Rhode Island avenue, the speed that Is
allowed on the avenue and the placement OF
trees and power poles SO near the platforms.
combine to cause very grave hazards for
both motorists and pedestrians. CAS- I recall
the Monroe street platform was originally
placed as it should be, but local people OBJ
jected to going that far to get on the
streetcars, so it was placed as it is now
locatedO
The Dellastatious boy was not the first
to lose his life in the area of the Central
avenue platform. and in addition to the
deaths there have been a long series OF
injuries there, but neither the deaths nor
the injuries tabulate the countless times
each week that sleeping residents nearly
sit bolt upright from sound sleep, because
ipu ho of another
bump that was just another car running
over the platform at Central. A big bus
ran the length of it some months ago..
In fact people whose porches overlook the
Central platform do not sit on their porches
as they ordinarily would because of the
nerves" they get from seeing the constant
near-crackups that happen near the
platform.
One of the greatest hazards is that streams
of traffic 60 to the left of both platforms,
making a traffic stream across the whole
midsection of the avenue. This stream tends
to force the driver, who is keeping to the
right Of the platform, nearer the curb, and
at night drivers going down the avenue often
are blinded by the lights from cars in the
mid-street stream coming up the avenue
1t is not likely that any one ever will know
Just what caused the Dellastatious boy to
lose control of his jeep. for he is dead and
know all of the facts. The factors involved
in his death. however. tend to lay the burden
of blame on bad traffic conditions:
Cd The Dellastatious boy was possessed of
outstanding qualities. He carried the re-
sponsblities of driving in a manner that
distinguished him as safe driver he did
not drink, he was good boy, level-headed
and steady and he knew the street he was
driving on.
More Deaths Expected.
Officers investigating say the boy probably
went to sleep. Even that seems unlikely in
the case of this particular boy.
Those of us who see daily traffic on the
stretch of the avenue that runs through the
business sections of Woodbridge and on the
Maryland line, know that this boys death
is not the last toll that will be taken, If
restriction on present practices are not i'm
posed.
To the layman it seems reasonable that
neighborhood residents ask that the follow
ing measures be Immediately imposed:
Place police officers at some inconspicuous
point of observation within the $500 block
of Rhode Island avenue so that day and
night for one or two weeks, traffic practices
may be noted and proper controls applied.
1t is well known fact that the average
motorist passes the stop light at South
Dakota avenue and "steps on the gas for
race to Mt. Rainier, downhill run that has
no stop light on 1t. That stretch of or 7
blocks is just like mantrunk rail line for
speed and hazards. It Is unsafe for any
trolley passenger to step off the trolley until
he is assured the cars approaching the plat
form have stopped.
Central is an especially bad loading plat
form as Central street is dead-end and the
motorist unaquainted with the section does
not know there Is a street, and he's doubly
surprised that the trolley makes stop after
the street is crossed.
When these platform bottlenecks, caused
by wrong placement of the platforms, have
been removed from Rhode Island avenue.
and when proper signs warning motorists
that platforms are there. are placed, and.
when speed on the avenue is under control
then the safety Of people travelling on the
avenue. in car and afoot, properly will be
safeguarded. If present conditions there are
permitted to continue we can expect trag-
edies like the one that has just befallen the
Dellastatious boy, to hit other families again
and again and again.
ELEANOR G. RoBEY
Bread Lines" Of Hoover
Surpassed by New and Fair Deals
To the Editor Of The Star:
The New Dealers and Fair Dealers always