TRAFFIC CONTROL.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 184, 6 August 1925, Page 2 (Supplement)

TRAFFIC CONTROL.

THE PROBLEM IN AUCKLAND. WHAT CIVIC AUTHORITIES HAVE DONE. IMPORTANT RECENT BY-LAWS. The control of the traffic is a problem which has faced, or is facing, every city, and it has been intensified by the advent of the motor vehicle into the social and business life of the community. Those responsible for the civic administration have a difficult charge ever before them: they have not only to safeguard the pedestrian, but to protect the wheeled traffic against itself, and also to facilitate its flow. Auckland is growing apace and has already found that its main street !s inadequate to cope with all the traffic that desires to ply through it. With between 3000 and 4000 additional vehicles appearing on the streets annually, the traffic problem in Auckland has become a vital one, and the past twelve months has 6een many alterations and additions to the street regulations. Auckland has fol-

I lowed closely on the heels of the most i j advanced cities of the world in coping with the trouble, and the control locally, whatever may be its shortcora- I ings, is in advance of many larger cities, and is an instructive model to others. ! The advent of the motor bus as a means of transportation created a fur-! ; ther problem this year, for of the 186 I I omnibuses licensed, 50 of them plied , through Queen Street, running just on '1600 trips. How the council was forced: to close the street to the bus traffic, and \ had its decree upheld by the Court is j 'now past history. It has. however, a i most important bearing on the subject under discussion in that it saved the city from a form of congestion that is ! j so seriously hampering the activities of ; the great cities of the world, London ; and New York. One-way traffic is one of the remedial i i measures against congestion in practice ! overseas, the nearest example being Syd- j ! ney, and Auckland adopted it on a modi- j ] tied scale early in theaaar. At present it j j is limited to the intersection in! j Queen Street at certain times of the day, j j but the day may come -when the strictly j one-way traffic rule may be applied. Another recent innovation is the use of traffic domes at intersections where no officials are on duty; these "silent policemen" have proved effective in keeping the traffic to regular lines. An important decision has also been made with a view to eliminating the danger from brilliant and dazzling head- I

I lights. The beam of light is to be reI stricted to a length of 75 feet at a maxi- | mum height of 3ft 6in from the ground. I This change has been favourably ; accepted by the motoring fraternity, and ! the testing station, which the council es- , tablished, is being kept busy. The equip- ' ment of cars with front mirrors, a very I helpful aid to driving, was enforced by another by-law. The passing of the Motor Vehicles Act ! and its provision for the annual licen- ! sing of drivers threw a heavy burden on | the traffic department. Since April last no fewer than 10.000 licenses have been issued. The testing of applicants for driving licenses is an every-day duty of j the department, and while there has been ' comment that the test is not sufficiently exacting and a reliable proof of a driver's 1 competency, it is interesting to note that | 138 applicants have been refused licenses ! since April. j That thfemotor should bear a fair proj portion of the upkeep of roads was a j principle incorporated in the Motor Vehi- ! cles Act and anticipated by the council. I Its heavy traffic by-laws were challenged j but upheld by the Court. Taken by and large traffic control in Auckland is now fairly successful under the existing conditions. But it will be a problem that grows with the city, and in consequence one demanding ceaseless vigilance and judicious handling if the congestion which has interfered with the community life of other great cities is to Ibe avoided.