No Space At The Kerb WORLD’S GREATEST TRAFFIC PROBLEM

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28490, 21 January 1958, Page 10

No Space At The Kerb WORLD’S GREATEST TRAFFIC PROBLEM

[By

M. W. CHASELING]

, Assistant Superintendent Of Traffic, N.S.W. Police Department.]

(Reprinted by Arrangement with the “Sydney Morning Herald”)

The kerb has become a duelling line beside which a battle is being fought in almost every city in the world. A report prepared in Copenhagen reads: “A perusal of information collected from all the principal cities of the world compels the conviction that parking is nearly everywhere the greatest traffic problem of' the present day. . .

Engineers of long ago conceived the idea of constructing a footway on a higher level than, and protected from, the carriageway, thus affording those who walk protection from the wheels of carriages and horses’ hooves. A further advantage was that the platform so provided aided in alighting from or boarding carriages and facilitated in some measure the task of loading and unloading merchandise. What has happened since our forefathers gave us the kerbstone and footway? Commercial Needs

Shops, hotels, department stores and emporiums developed, banks, office blocks, and professional chambers have been constructed, all necessitating the use of kerb space for loading and unloading goods and passengers. Goods in increasing volume are now carried by hand over footways which are often filled to capacity with pedestrians, perambulators and pushcarts.

The need for parking space near those buildings to allow for attention to such things as gas, electricity, coal, lifts, airconditioning, fire extinguishing, blinds, towel supply, garbage collection, and the like becomes greater with more intensive development and population. There is created a battle of tactics to gain the kerbside.

The trend for replacing trams, which pick up and set down passengers near the centre of the carriageway, by buses, which operate at the kerbside, has made a further demand for kerb space. The modern trend is for motor vehicles to be made use of by people travelling to and from business or when shopping, or attending the theatre or other places of amusement and by professional people, commercial travellers, estate agents, and others whose duties take them from place to place and who must of necessity use motor transport.

Their- vehicles are usually parked at the kerb, but this is not satisfactory in busy commercial centres. Beating The Squatter A businessman in the suburbs told me recently that he brings his car from the garage at _ae rear of his shop early every morning and leaves it at the kerb, removing it only when a lorryload of produce arrives. He then moves the car to make way for the lorry, which cannot be double parked to unload because it would be on the tramline.

If he did not park his car there, others would park there all day. Loading docks are essential. In many places loading docks 25ft in depth were constructed, and as a large number of present-day commercial vehicles are 30ft and up to 45ft in length, it is not unusual to see the driver’s cabin protruding out of the building into or across the footway, and, indeed, in some cases, well out into the carriageway while the vehicle is being unloaded. Country towns and cities are affected. Busy centres have developed beside highways com--parable in density to capital cities, and the need for through highway traffic to negotiate the main thoroughfare without obstruction or accident is vitally essential to the economy of the State. There must be a minimum use of kerb space, limited to essential purposes, in busy thoroughfares whether in a city, suburb, or country town. The negative approach of parking restrictions and penalties is not sufficient and is not the answer.

Progress in Sydney The improvement of road systems is imperative and the roadmaking authorities in this State must in fairness be credited with progressive plans in the city of Sydney and elsewhere. But to take full advantage of the road systems, it is necessary that there be no obstruction, that only essential, vehicles be permitted at the kerbside and that adequate facilities are available for non-essential vehicles to be parked off the street. Buildings should be provided with loading docks of a size and number adequate for the business therein. There should also be stalls for parking cars. Some progressive retail houses, when erecting branch premises in the suburbs, have reserved a floor or areas for parking. One suburban branch has accommodation on the top floor for 180 cars and it is reasonable to assume that much good will result from this venture.

A well-ordered parking floor with easily accessible up and down ramps can accommodate, many cars and ensure continuous business. The modern multiplestorey city office building should have accommodation for parking stalls and loading docks to meet future requirements. If a city is to survive, it must plan and cater for its needs in moving traffic, loading and unloading requirements, the picking up and setting down of passengers, and adequate off-street parking facilities. Balance in Parking There must be evenly balanced central and perimeter off-street parking stations or lots so that all cars are not drawn towards congested centres. There is a growing tendency for city workers to drive their cars to the vicinity of a suburban railway station or wharf, leaving them for nine hours or so, to the obstruction and inconvenience of others. The time is not far distant when Sydney must prepare itself for the loading and unloading of goods to be carried out at night or within buildings; for sufficient parking areas off-street and for greater accommodation for pedestrian and moving vehicular traffic. It is the pedestrian who buys goods. Suburban centres must accept drastic peak-hour restrictions and modified parking privileges through the day and should all have off-street parking lots or

stations to remain efficient and attractive. Country centres through which highways pass must submit to restrictions on the highway and not seal up access streets with overcrowded kerbs which cause double parking of essential vehicles. A policeman’s pencil and notebook are not good enough and can never satisfy the public need. Motorists’ Attitude The average motorist does not want to cause obstruction and break the law. He just wants to leave his car and he doesn’t mind paying the fee fixed for a parking station if it is reasonably dose. He has the security of freedom from prosecution and theft, possibly also against bad weather which in time can cause deterioration to his vehicle.

A much more harmonious relationship exists between the motoring public, business establishments and law-enforcing bodies when -ordered traffic arrangements, loading docks and parking facilities adequate to the requirements of a business centre are provided.

The effect on man-hours and operating costs caused by delay, depreciation, frustration, high accident potential and inefficiency can be overcome by wise planning and remedial treatment. The cost may be great but the benefits would be immeasurable.