WELLINGTON COMMENT.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 211, 5 September 1924, Page 10

WELLINGTON COMMENT.

REGULATION OF TRAFFIC.

PROBLEMS OF THE TRAMWAY. (From Our Special Correspondent.) j WELLINGTON, Wednesday, j For years the street traffic of Welling-1 ton has been remarkable for the total disregard of all rules, and this applies _ particularly to foot traffic on the foot-, paths. While it can be said that vehicular traffic has improved out of sight inj respect to the observance of traffic regu- j lations the same cannot be said for the j foot traffic. Pedestrians have long made it a practice to loiter in the streets, to walk abreast and block the entire footpath. It is no uncommon thing to see half-a-dozen women holding an animated conversation in tho middle of a footpath in a busy thoroughfare. Men, too, may be seen engaged in conversation in threes and fours, and when races of any importance are being held anywhere in the] Dominion the entrances to certain hotels; aro invariably blocked. The City Council I tried a few months ago to regulate the foot traffic. Chalk lines were run along the middle of the footpaths, and at i intervals the warning, "Keep to the! left," was stencilled. This was accepted as a huge joke. The regulation was observed by a few for a time, but- they also abandoned their efforts to comply with the regulations. Now the City Council has arranged for an officer to take control of the traffic, and Constable' Hollis, wto has had considerable experi-. ence, has been selected for the position. If he can make Wellingtonians "keep to tho left" he will do good work. The American Bootlegger. A gentleman who. has just returned from a holiday visit to the United States, and who visited several large American cities, stated in the course of a private conversation that the boot-1 legger is a recognised trader in the State 3. The coastline of the United States is so immense, and the frontier line between Canada and the States so long, that the authorities are finding it almost impossible to check tho operations of bootleggers. Liquor is being smuggled into the country in huge quantities, and where it is not Bold openly in saloons as of old it is still sold freely. Those who want liquor have their own bootleggers, just as they have their tailors, and an order by telephone to the bootleggers will result in prompt delivery of the liquor ordered. Even amongst officials whose duty it is to help in the suppression of the illicit traffic there is no respect for the prohibition law. The worst feature is that tho children are being taught to flout the law, and naturally they are growing up.with queer ideas of citizenship. -< Not Quite Level Headed.

The Wellington City Coucil is perhaps no better and no worse .illan other similar bodies, but it can make some costly blunders. The council is laying down a loop tramway line to connect Customhouse Quay with Lambton Quay. The junction -with the latter will he effected at a very.busy intersection and it -wiU be marveUous if there aTe not several accidents at the spot before the people become accustomed to it. But this.-is. not all. Apparently the levels in connection with the laying of the tram rails were not taken, and when the "work was started- it was discovered that, the rails were being laid below the level of Lambton Quay. The'result is that the rails have .to be raised and the whole street re-graded. Instead of doing the rail-laying and the re-grading together, the latter is being deferred until the rails are down. Then the street will be torn up t and it- will-: probably;.be- near Christmas before the street will be fit for traffic. This street was laid down under a coating of bitumen not so very long ago, which means that a lot of money has been squandered. The work is being done by day labour and is going on at an easy pace. Not so very long ago the foreman of another council job was asked if the men could not speed up a 1-little- without , hurting.. themselves. He replied, that they;, could speedup a lot., Asked why he did not make them wake up, lie explained that if he tried to get a full day's work out of them, there would be numerous complaints, and the authorities would most likely judge, from these complaints that he could not. handle'; the men. and sack him. It is time that most of the municipal work was done by contract.