PARKING EVIL.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18923, 11 February 1927, Page 4

PARKING EVIL.

COMPLETE PROHIBITION SUGGESTED. EXPERIENCE IN AMERICA. The following opinion of parking in America, should prove of interest to Chriatcliuroh motorists in view of the fact that the new . traffic regulation comes into force to-day: "The parking evil is the crux of the traffic situation," said Colonel C. 0. Sherrill, city manager, Cincinnati, in the course of a paper read before the annual meeting of the American Electric Railway Association. "On every street where traffic is dense, lines of parked cars can be seen along each kerb. The available space for traffic on these streets is therefore reduced by two full traffic lanes, which is usually from one-third to one-half of the street's capacity. There is only one real and absolute solution of the problem of traffic congestion, and that is the enforcement of necessary laws forbidding the parking of private motorcars in congested areas. This would at once make all streets fully effective, except where interference would occur due to loading and unloading of trucks, which could be so regulated as to have this work done during the hours when trafflo is not dense. Not only would this law automatically release two full lanes of traffio in each street, but indirectly it would be of equally great importance in discouraging the movement into the rintricted areas of large numbers of motor-cars now driven in and parked there unnecessarily. In some cases during; periods of greatest density of traffic it may even be necessary to forbid stopping of cars as well as parking, because a momentarily stopped car at intervals along each square destroys the lane of traffio adjacent to the kerb. "All studies by traffic experts now point to the same conclusion, namoly, that the only solution of the problem of traffic congestion is the complete prohibition of parking within the congested district. "Retail merchants and other commercial interests were formerly a unit in opposing restricted parking, but thev are now fortunately beginning to realise that this parking benefits Buch a small number of individual shoppere as to be negligible in furnishing business to the stores. I feel sure that the time is approaching when parking will be entirely eliminated from the congested area of our principal cities on request of the retail merchants tiwwnselves. Owners of cars will leave them nt home and ride in street cars and buses or will drive their cars to a convenient parking place outsido of the congested district and from there walk, take a taxi, bus, or Btreet car to their place of business." It is probable that at the next meeting of the City Council resolutions will bo submitted, the effect of which will be to niter the present svstcm of parking, particularly in the inner nren. A HINT TO MOTORISTS. In these days of spraying and painting the roads with tar, the owners and drivers of vehicles are put to no little inconvenience and expense in removing tar splashes from their cars, traps, cycles, and tho like. It is not known generally that eucalyptus oil quickly removes tar stains. The oil, when applied with a soft rag, immediately softens old and dry tar splashes, and effectively removes them without in any wny injuring the surfaces which they disfigure. During the cleaning process the tarstained rag should either bo discarded or rearranged so as to obtain a elean surface as often as possible'. This is preferable to attempting to removo the tar stains with an already stained rag. The oil should be applied liberally, and the cleaning should be commenced at the boundary stain and proceed to the centre.