PARK CARS IN THE CENTRE OF THE STREET; MELBOURNE SCHEME

Wanganui Chronicle, 23 December 1950, Page 4

PARK CARS IN THE CENTRE OF THE STREET; MELBOURNE SCHEME

“He has got something there.' ’ This was the reply of a Wanganui motorist when asked to comment on the suggestion that parking space fot motor cars in Wanganui be in the centre of the street, and not near the footpaths, as now. Mr. W. H. Bates, who has been on holiday in Australia, was greatly impressed with the central parking of motor vehicles in Melbourne. “There, however , they have no. done away with parking at the sides of the streets and that makes it of less value,” he said. “Here in Wangu.ui, it would be quite easy for cars to be parked in the centre of the road. My idea is that they be parked within zones, marked by whi.e lines, parked at right angles to the footpaths, ana between each parking zone you coulu have pedestrian safety crossings. Those crossings would be well away from the corners. They are too close to corners now to make them as safe as they could be made.”

Mr. Bates said tnat under, the centre of lhe street parking there would be no angle parking, and no motorist would be allowed to back out. In the lanes on either side of the centrally parked cars there would be one way traffic, going up the avenue in one lane, coming down the Avenue in the other. A motorist driving out would have to come Into the particular lane into which his vehicle was facing. If, lor instance, he came into the parking area coming down the Avenue, he would come out into the lane going up the Avenue on the other side, 'there would be no backing out at all. “The Chronicle" sought some comment on the scheme, and one man approached laughingly we'nt back to the days of cabs and the early days of taxis. Cabs were parked right in the centre of Ridgway Street and traffic moved past them on either side. The same applied to taxis when they firs! came into existence. Taxi ranks were in the centre of the streets.

A driver of a heavy vehicle said that parking cars from the kerbs would facilitate delivery of goods to shops.

'With one way traffic up the Avenue a carrier would have to arrange his goods deliveries so that he could discharge at points on that particular side of the street,” he said, “lie would have to con.inue in the one-way traffic and could not cross to the Other side, except at corners. That applies now, so it would not be difficult. 1 '

Another motorist said that the present parking arrangements in Wanganui were not good, and if central parking was welcome in .Melbourne, surely it was good enough for Wanganui. He also referred to the days when taxis wereparked in the centre of the street (Ridgway Street, ana said that for a long time the wooden “cobbles” remained there where the cab stand used to be.