Evening star., 1950-09-17
Use Of Federal
Road dUrgedin
Stop Light Fight
Police Cuptuin Asks
Diversion of Traffic
At Fourteenth and D

teenth and D streets stop light.
The roadway runs in a line will
D street between the Bureau o
Engraving and Printing and tn
Treasury's Accounting Division
annex. It's use has been PROPOSED
to divert some of the traffic nov
dependent on the new stop light.
What action will be taken OF
protests from commuters owe,
rush-hour delays blamed on th'
new signal will rest with Traffic
Director George e. Keneipp, whit
is due back tomorrow from West
Coast trip.
Braun Defends Light.
Deputy Director Wallace Braun
who has been running the traffic
department in Mr.. Keneipp'S alb
sence, has insisted that the new
light is proving satisfactory, He
has made it known that traffic
signs designed to aid motorists in
approaching the light are to be
installed this week. Police who
have been on duty at the light
during rush hours then will be
removed, he has said.
Police Capt. Irwin H. limbaugh
of No. 4 Precinct, whose men
patrol the intersection, was the
first to suggest use Of the En-
craving Bureaus roadway fo1
diverting some of the Fourteenth
street traffic.
This westbound roadway, which
Is marked with a % street"
sign, actually is Federal property
under Treasury control. It /;
closed to public use by q sigr
marked stop - No Thorough.
fare" and guard hut. Govern.
ment employees use 1t for park
ing.
Sees Need for Light Ended.
Capt. limbaugh suggested send
ing southbound motorists who now
turn left into D street down the
Engraving road to Fifteenth in
stead. This right turn, he said
could eliminate the need for the
stop light at D and thus remove
the source of commuter COM
plant.
A spokesman for the A. B. g. w
bus line, which sends 180 buses
through the intersection every
rush period, seconded this pro-
posal. Morton Knight, the lines
traffic director, said it would re-
lieve a bottleneck caused by the
present left-turn line which is
delaying rush-hour buses 5 to z
minutes.
At the scene Friday afternoon,
the bus official pointed out that
the long line Of cars in the left
turn lane was obstructing not only
southbound traffic on Fourteenth
street, but also the westbound
traffic on c street waiting to turn
south on Fourteenth. Cars were
backed up on c street as far as
Twelfth.
Left Turn Banned.
Formerly, most of the left turn.
from Fourteenth were made at
street, but with the new light a.
D, the left turn into c has beer
banned.
Few of the vehicles in the lin,
waiting for the left signal at I
actually turned there yesterday
Most of the motorists wanted t.
drive to Virginia, but were forcet
Or misled-into the turn line
Because buses were loading at tn
curb, only single lane was lef
free for through traffic.
Mr.. Braun, who says 1900 car
can be expected to turn left at
daily, at first gave a cold shoulde
to Capt. Umbaugh's idea. He ha
said that the left turn is only on
justification for the light-tha
pedestrians and northbound car
from Maine avenue also must b,
taken care of, and that there hav,
been too many accidents (nin'
this year, at D.
At the eno of the week, how
ever, he indicated he was enter
tanning the proposal "in the bacl
of my mind" as a possible remed.
for the southbound tieup, even i
not as an outright alternative II
the stop light.
What reception the idea will ge
from Treasury of1cials-assuminl
somebody presses it's uncertain
Built during World War II TO
emergency" purposes, the shor
private roadway never appears II
be serving any vital purpose.
But Alvin w. Hall, the Engrav
ing Bureaus director, said h
would oppose any move to put |
to public use. For one thing, tn
grade at the Fifteenth street eni
is too steep to be safe and woult
need rebuilding, he said. For an
other, he fears dust from the traf
fic might get into our litho
graphic presses" l."
TwO-way Traffic Necessary.
In addition, Mr.. Hall pointel
out, D street-which became on
way eastbound to Twelfth whel
the new light went on-woull
have to revert to two-way traf6
to enable Engraving trucks to ge
into the annex on the east side o
Fourteenth.
The only other ways to dispos
of the left-turners, according t
traffic officials, are to send ther
aound the Jeffeson Memorial o
over the bridge to Virginia, or t
build a new cutoff onto Main
avenue-an expensive proposition
According to critics of the ne,
light, the pedestrians and Main
avenue traffic aren't significan
enough to justify the light. Pedes
trians can cross Fourteenth at
or in an underpass just below {
and the Maine avenue cars-fey
in number-always have manage
to get by, they contend. Nj
Braun doesn't accept this.