THE LONDONER GOES MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 190, 14 May 1928, Page 8

THE LONDONER GOES MOTORING

SOME SPLENDID NEW ROADS

STREET PARKING PROBLEMS

Dominion Special Service.

London, March 29.

Week-end motoring was exceptionally heavy, and the summer weather on Saturday and Sunday seemed to have sent half of London into the parks and the other half on to the roads of the Home Counties. The traffic on the great arterial roads out of London was extremely heavy, and as one or two of these have only recently been opened it may be assumed that the majority of motorists were

having their first experience of the joy of driving over them. The great new road from Edgware to Aylesbury is an astonishing success, and gives access to the glorious country which lies between Edgware and Chesham and Chesham and Aylesbury. For Londoners the road scheme has great value in affording a splendid new circular day’s tour running first north, then west, then finally south to join tlie Great West Road, which has been open for three years, and seems to increase in. popularity every year. The other arterial roads to the coast are mostly in operation, and they have brought London perceptibly nearer, to the sea. The Brighton Road, which was anathema to motorists for many years, is now in excellent condition, although it is still too narrow for the traffic in places, and one can reach the sea by this route comfortably in two hours. There is a great deal of speeding on the arterial roads, aiid it may be well to remind motorists of the terror which is threatened for such people in Italy. A lamp is fixed to the speedometer showing outwards and inwards. It changes colour when the speed shown exceeds a certain limit, and it is claimed as a method of eliminating disputes with the authorities. Street Parking Problems. Street parking is becoming an increasingly difficult affair, ami London motorists must envy the M.P.’s the use of Palace Yard and the barristers their open spaces in the Inns. The other evening I was surprised to notice Palace Yard filled with taxis, though the House was in darkness- It . appears that taximen have the. right during their supper hour to drive in there and take .their food in one ot the buildings used as. a stable. It is an old right which comes down from the horse cab days. To attract cab-

bies to Palace Yard and thus serve the convenience of members supper facilities were provided. And the arrangements are still continued, though the unsightly old shed which disfigured Palace Yard- was removed some years ago. Miss Eileen Joel, the millionaires daughter, tells of her unpleasant motoring experiences in London. She took her car to the theatre the other night, and missed the first act through looking for a parking place. Next time she was summoned for leaving the car in a place which was not a park. A complication about the London parking places is that a car may not be kept in any of them for ;nore than two hours. “What is the use of that if you are going to a theatre?” inquires tlie disgruntled motorist. And what is tlie principle on which the two-hours’ limit is fixed? The authorities have quite failed to solve this question, but one thing to their credit is the success of the gyratory, or oneway system. It works well in all the great squares—nowhere better than in Trafalgar Square —and one wonders why it was not thought of before.