Evening star., 1954-10-26
d.. toCheck
Capital Transit
0ff-Peak Delays
Traffic Counters
To Be Put on T, 6
And 7th Streets
BY John w. Stepp

The District plans to detail all
It's traffic counters to Capital
Transit Co. streetcars travelling
r, q and Seventh streets in the
downtown area to determin the
causes of off-peak transit delays
on those thoroughfares.
Brig. Gen. Louis w. Prentiss,
Engineer Commissioner, made
the announcement today after
comforting with traffic and Met
ropolitan police officials. The
check will be made in the near
future.
Gen. Prentiss said that the
discussion centered on a recent
report by John Ecker, a Capital
Transit Co. vice president, on
the company's findings in a traf-
fic-delay study of the three
streets.
While Mr.. Ecker's report con-
tanned much information, the
Commissioner said, "a lot of it
was irrelevant" for an analysis
Of streetcar traffic slowdowns.
Full Study Planned.
1--WE have concluded" Gen.
Prentiss said, that the only in
telligent action to take is a de-
tailed, full-scale delay study"
To do this, he added, all the
Traffic Departments traffic
checkers, who normally count
traffic from an outdoor vantage
point, will ride streetcars be-
tween the hours of $50 am. and
4 pm.
The checkers will be equipped
with charts and stop watches
and will record where delays in
the service occur, how long they
last and the cause, the general
said.
He said that, for example, if
q double-parked truck slows up
q streetcar, the traffic counter
on board will not only note the
location but will also jot down
the name Of the truck owner
and the license number. Tag
numbers of passenger cars that
cause delays by violating park
ing restrictions on those streets
also will be taken down, Gen.
PrentiSS said.
No Punitive Action Planned.
The idea of license-tag jot-
ting, he hastened to add, is not
for punitive action.
1--WE simply want to take some
steps to get the drivers to CO.
operate" he said. It was indi-
Gated that this would involve
writing form letters to the driv-
ers pointing out their wrong
doing and the result of it.
The date of the delay study
has not yet been set. The Com
missioner indicated, moreover,
that when it is fixed, no public
announcement will be made.
On the same day that the
traffic counters go into action,
the police will be on the prowl
for any parking violations dur
ing off-peak hours on the three
downtown streets.
Parking Ban No Help.
The study is prompted, Gen.
Prentiss explained. by the fact
that although the District abol-
ished parking in nearly 100 spots
along the three streets, street.
car travel still is slower than it
was when the parking spaces
were available.
1--WE want to make sure that
II we impose any further park
ing restrictions, there will be a
sound basis for such action"
Gen. Prentiss said.
He indicated that his own
suspicion of the cause for street.
car delays does not lie in on
street parking but in the substi-
tuition Of the weekly streetcar
permit for the old weekly pass.
The permit requires deposit of a
cash fare with each ride, the
Commissioner pointed out, and
any fare-paying slows down
travel.
The Commissioner said that
Capital Transit has assured him
Of its full cooperation in the