THE PARKED CAR.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 69, 22 March 1928, Page 6

THE PARKED CAR.

In the affirmed principle that local bodies are in no way responsible for providing all-day parking facilities for motor cars in public streets the word "all day" is important. It is possible to accept this principle and yet to argue that provision of parking room is a duty which local bodies cannot put aside. At any rate, motor cars are the largest item in wheeled traffic, and regulation of traffic is one of the obvious duties of municipalities. The motor car may be a nuisance to a city traffic department, but it is a highly necessary one. It is unreasonable to expect all motorists to garage their cars when they get out of them, but at the same time it is not fair either to city businesses or to traffic generally to allow unrestricted parking in certain city areas. A business house is entitled to have its entrance unobstructed, and in narrow streets parking on either side interferes seriously with the flow of traffic. Gradual clearing of the more important city streets, as foreshadowed by the chairman of the Legal Committee, is sound policy. Before long Queen Street may have to be cleared, and persons who wish to do business there will have to leave their cars in Princes Street' or Albert Street. It is a question of a balancing of interests. Every city has the same problem. It has been said—with how much justification we do not know —that the difficulty of parking the cars of business men when they go to work in the mornings has chepked car sales in America, and with continued increase in the use of the motor it may become impossible for many city men to use their cars for this purpose. Motorists deserve consideration, but it may be physically impossible to meet all their requirements, and, of course, the interests of the community at large have to be weighed. There must be careful study of the problem, with selection of special areas for parking in which large stands of cars will do the least mjtry to business and traffic. No donbt the Aotomobile Association will be pleased to eo-operate with the City Council in tins direction.