MOVE ON!

Auckland Star, Volume XLII, Issue 148, 23 June 1911, Page 2

MOVE ON!

AND KEEP TO THE RIGHT. COUNCIL AND POLICE ACTION, The instruction to citizens to observe the rule of keeping to the right when walking along the footpaths, of our main thoroughfares has been followed in a fairly satisfactory manner by pedestrians, though there are still many offenders to be foundSpeaking to a "Star" representative this morniitg, his Worship the Mayor (Mr. C. J. Parr) remarked that the city authorities were pleased with the improvement already noticeable in the pedestrian traffic. The'"keep to the right" agitation had obviously borne good fruit. In order to still further impress on the public the need for strict observance of this rule, however, Mr. Parr has suggested to the City Engineer that it might be advisable to have the same mandate painted in white letting on the pavements. Some two dozen "keep to the right" notice' boards have been affixed to posts along Queen-street, but pavement lettering is considered likely to have a more satisfactory result. The police are assisting the Council's mii specters to ■ regulate the traffic. The I police find/ however, that some citizens, : though plainly creating a breach of the regulations, resent being. spoken to. Aa the Mayor points out, the Auckland city police are anything but officious. As a matter of fact, he added, they might j almost be said to have hitherto erred on the side of laxity so far as the control of street traffic is concerned. By way jof illustration of the manner in which some, though fortunately few, citizens J resent the city by-laws being put into : operation, the Mayor quoted a case which ' came under his notice in the early part !of the week. A group of seven persons j formed a party right in the centre of the J footpath in the busiest part of Queen- ] street, and actually blocked the traffic i for nearly five minutes, while they en- ! gaged in conversation. Then a police■i man .asked them to move on, at which , one gentleman in the group became j mightily annoyed. Why, it waa difficult to say. The footpath, added Mr. Parr, was not ' the place for either business conversation or idle chatter, and it was essential that the citizens of Auckland 3hould realise this fact. No one objected to a person making reasonable use of the footpath, or stopping to look into shop windows, but it had, to be remembered that I "wherever people stood in groups and im- : peded traffic, Council inspectors and police officials would not hesitate to do their duty.