FOOTPATH CONFUSION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18499, 8 September 1923, Page 10

FOOTPATH CONFUSION.

NEW RULE OF THE ROAD. A PERPLEXED COMMUNITY. Footpath traffic in Auckland streets is ■just now ;in ; a transition! state, and the.' result is confusion. ; For about twelve years the citizens have been walking 'according to "a' City 'i Coancil by-law, which required them to " keep to the : light," and which was more or less closely observed. .. On top or this came lately an announcement that the ; representatives of the cities of I New ii: Zealand, :in \ conference at Wellington, had decided upon -the;universal; adoption of a, rule that foot passengers. should " keep to 'the left,'' in; accordance with the practice most commonly, in vogue in southern towns. . i-' ; r. ; The present position in Auckland is that the City Council hag; framed a'by-law, to give effect to the .new, system, but, as it has hot. been confirmed:, it is not yet in operation. However, some .of", public have ; noted that ':; the change is .coming, and have, in their • personal practice, begun ; to act. upon the il new regulation, Others adhere to the still-ruling system. | Consequently, between' : , the two , opposite plans the average i>vayfart?r is in a quandary. Nobody in the streets seems to be certain which side to take. ■•: Accordingly, when meeting traffic from an opposite ] direction, many ..' passengers hesitate and waver, : dodging perhaps :t«i, one aide, perhaps .to the other. The effect of the uncertainty ; is . that there is in actual practice ne regular system at all. Every unit in the stream of traffic obeys his own > sweet will, .or takes the line of least resistance. As a visitor from the South remarked yesterday, the sooner the proposed new by-law becomes municipal law, and is posted boldly in conspicuous places, the sooner will the public know where they really stand. The proposed new by-law is to come up for confirmation at the meeting of the City Council on {September 20.