The Key West Citizen Newspaper, May 14, 1954, Page 7

CITY MANAGER RECOMMENDS REMEDIES FOR TRAFFIC CONGESTION A street widening program and More off street parking facilities were among the measures recom- mended by City Manager Victor Lang Wednesday in a speech dis- cussing the city’s downtown park- ing congestion before the Chamber of Commerce Retail Merchants. Division in the LaConcha Hotel. Lang also warned that unless a solution is found to the problem, a serious drop in downtown pro- perty values may result. Lang’s speech: “The City of Key West is vitally and selfishly interested in the down town traffic problem. It is a pro- blem which vitally affects every citizen of our community and par- ticularly our Duval Street business men. Unless a satisfactory solu- tion is found promptly, we can ex- pect a decline in values in the central business district with a ves- ultant loss of revenue from taxa- tion, Probably our largest single source of revenue is being threat- ened. This is no idle fancy — the Chicago Loop has dropped billions in value in the past ten years. “Every city in the United States with’ our problem has lost real and taxable value in the business area, the amount of lost value de- pending upon the acuteness of the traffic problem. We cannot afford to sit nonchalantly chatting about this problem. *Something must be done — done now! Probe Asked . “Several months ago, your City Commission asked me to investi- gate, and I have been studying this problem since. The Traffic Committe has been studying it— and we have. called upon outside help to study it. Today, we are discussing some of the factors in- volved in a solution to this pro- blem. “There dre four ways that peo- ple can get to the downtown area to shop. They can walk. They can ride the bus. They can drive their cars. They can arrive in some other vehicle, horse back, buggy, bicy- cle or scooter. I think you will agree that unless they can arrive by automobile, Duval Street will starve — and so will the City. We must therefore make it easy for your customers to shop by auto- mobile. “If people ‘cannot drive to our main shopping center, they will drive elsewhere to shop. To the extent, if this happens, business on Duval Street will fall off, other business centers will develop with better auto facilities, and property values on Duval Street will depre- ciate. Look at what is happening in every large city in the United States. Drastic Action Needed “Like a cancer, the traffic pro- blem is choking downtown business and choking off time form our citi- zens, and like-a -eancetyj-drastic} cutting operations are’ necessary to cure this sickness of our main shopping district. And like a cancer, cooperation and willing- ness on the part of the patient is necessary for a satisfactory cure. Fortunately, I believe the cancer is being considered early enough to respond to treatment. “There are two conflicting pro- blems involved in getting the auto- mobile to our main shopping cen- ter. First, the driver must be able to travel over our streets. Second- ly, he must be able to park rea- sonably close to his destination. “What can we do to make it eas- ier to get to our destination? Down- town Key West streets are almost invariably 30 feet wide. A satis- factory traffic lane should be 11 feet wide. This leaves 8 feet which is satisfactory for one side park- ing. “No 30-foot street can have two- lane traffic and parking on both sides without serious traffic haz- ards and congestion. “The sooner we all realize this fact, the sooner we can arrive at a solution to our traffic congestion. Futhermore, no traffic lights, traf- fie policemen or other cure-alls will move traffic faster than 600 cars per hour per tfaffic lane. 7 More Traffic Lanes “Relieving congestion, then be- comes a problem of making sure that lanes are wide enough and controlled well enough ts get the sotiniine amount of traffic, moved over the road. And in addition, Providing added traffic lanes for streets needing these lanes. “Here, there are a few common Sense facts which must be under- stood. They apply to 30-foof:streets. “1. If each traffic lane $equires feet, then two-way Tre- quire 22 feet for traffic lanes, leaving 8 feet for parking. This is adequate.for one side parking only. Therefore two-way streets cannot accommodate two side , parking satisfactorily. * “2. If traffic on a one-way street is congested, then another lane must be opened and parking re- stricted to one side. “3. It does not matter whether a car or truck is loading or un- loading in a traffic lane, if.it stops, then that lane of traffic is blocked and is of no value, Practical Application “Practical application. of these facts to the streets of Key West indicate that we must do the fol- lowing to relieve the congested portion of Key West. “1. Duval Street needs two traf- fie lanes. This means that there can be only one side parking. Since this includes loading and unload- ing, we must provide loading zones on both sides of the street, alternat- ing each half block. And since this will require most of the’ available space, parking meters must be re- duced or eliminated on the con- gested part of our main. street. ‘urthermore, no private ‘cars or pseudo - delivery cars cai be per- mitted in this part of Duval Street. “2. Other portions of'!Fleming, Simonton and Southard may re- quire this treatment. “3. All two-way streets must be cut to one side parking. This is the pill which must be swallowed to relieve the pain of traffit'conges- tion and traffic hazards. The bitter part of the pill will be enforcement. This, the City cannot undértake to do without your support. If you come squawking to the‘‘commis- sion every time you get.a ticket, or if you refuse to take-your medi- cine, no cure can be affected. Let’s Bet one thing straight, no law in a democracy can be enforced with- out the help of public opinion. It if na one’s idea to attempt a ‘noble experiment’ in Key West. This is an attempted solution to our traf- fic problems along common sense lines, What About Parking? “Now I can hear you saying, ‘What about parking?’ True enough, traffic congestion and parking offer:conflicts which must. be solved separately. If we relieve the. traffic congestion, we add to parking | difficulties. We must re- member, however, that the primary purpose of streets is to get the peo- ple to their destination and not to provide storage space for their cars after they arrive. On the other hand, there is no need for them to arrive if they cannot store their car reasonably close to their destination. “There are two means of getting more parking space for customers in the business area. “1. Get a more rapid turnover on curb parking. It is amazing how short - sighted some business men can be. They will park’ their own vehicles at the choice spots and feed the meter all day, cutting their own throats. Choking off their customers and aggravating their parking problems. “2. The second means of getting more parking space is off-street parking. Vacant Lots “There are vacant lots within a three-minute walk of practically the entire, congested district for parking several hundred cars. One lot alone will provide parking LAST-WEEK-ONLY. SPECIALS SPREAD SATIN . RUBBER BASE JAPALAC BEACON e CORDED %” . 2.6AL. GARBAGE CANS $i.s9 1.50 7.45 2.20 2.99 “6.25 3.49 teas egal ‘ qt. gal. qt. eles « 6 u@ele 50 ft. ea. Rental Equipment Sanders Paint Waxers Floor Sanders Paint Sprayers Ete. @ Hardware, Plumbing Supplies KEY WEST SUPPLY POWER TOOL RENTALS Phone 2-3193 219 Simonton equal to the entire metered park- ing area now in Key West. “I believe this can be acquired on a lease and purchase option basis at a price, which over a per- iod of years, can be amortized by metered parking receipts. “Specifically then, the parking problem can be resolved by tak- ing the second bitter pill. Extend the metered parking areas to in- clude the entire downtown curb parking areas. This will cut out unrestricted parking for the entire day in the zones near the business districts. And in: the most con- gested areas, meters limiting time to thirty or even 15 minutes should be installed to provide park- ing for the maximum number of citizens during a given time, an not permitting any one car to hog the deisrable parking areas. Off Street Parking . “And, finally, provide conveni- ent metered off-street parking. “Summarizing — Traffic con- gestion is expensive. It drives bus- iness to areas -of less congestion, and it causes expensive accidents which we all pay for in added in- surance costs. “Tt causes inconvenience and lost time for all citizens. “Traffic congestion can be re- lieved by a few comparatively simple changes which ‘unfortunate- ly aggravate the parking problems. “The parking problem can be alleviated by providing for quick turnover of curb parking spaces and by acquiring off-street parking facilities. “Nothing can be accomplished without rigid enforcement backed by public support. “Without public support, enforce- ment is impossible. “Do you want to continue status quo until you choke in your own traffic, or will you support this or a similar program? And will you support rigid enforcement of this program without which enforce- ment, any plan will fail? “If you will, Key West’s traffic problem can be substantially im- proved for the benefit of all of us. Widening Duval “Q. What about widening Duval Street by cutting down the width of the sidewalks? “A, (1) Only 15 parking spaces can be provided per block. _ (2) The cost is high, involving cutting and replacing of two side- walks and curbs as well as rebuild- ing and repaving 8 feet of road. “(3) The sidewalks are not too wide at present, and with increas- ing parking difficulties it will be necessary to walk more from car’s destination. The* pedestrian-parked motorists will lose walking space. “(4) Narrow sidewalks detract from the value of store windows because shoppers get jostled. “These are high prices to pay for a few added parking spaces which will largely be consumed by loading vehicles. “Furthermore, unless the street is widened substantially, (say 8 feet) it will seriously impair two- land traffic movement. “In addition, the slight increase in parking space will solve little or nothing. “As the City/grows, pedestrian traffic should grow. If it doesn’t, then values cannot grow on the street. A shopper must be a ped- estrian between his car and the counter.” An oyster may lay as many as 60 million eggs a year. Many scientists believe the mod- ern varieties of the domestic dog are descended from wolves. Friday, May 14, 1954 THE KEY WEST CITIZEN Page 7 Gar Wood, Eight Others Are Safe After Yacht Breaks Up MIAMI, Fla. @#—The “ansink~ able” twin-hulled yacht Venturi lay in her watery grave off Great Isaac Light in the Bahamas today but Gar Wood, 73-year-old speed- boa: racer and builder, and eight others were safe. ; The 188-foot Venturi broke up in heavy seas while returning to Miami from a round trip to Nassau yesterday. Wood, his secretary, his Negro housekeeper and six crew members were rescued. Wood, who designed the 120-ton craft for use by the Army Air Force in 1944 and reacquired it from the government five years later; his secretary Jean Berry, 24; and the housekeeper, Jodie Rodriguez, were brought to Miami last night. A Coast Guard helicop- ter snatched them from a lifeboat wallowing in heavy seas about 65 miles east of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The others — Capt. C. A. Mac- Callum, R. B. Staysa, C. J. Berger, J. S. Meister, Harry Folsom and M. Vandenberg, all of Miami — were picked up from small boats by the fishing craft, Jerry Mar, and taken to Grea‘ Isaac Light, near the scene of the accident. Plans were to bring them to Miami rad by a Coast Guard patrol jt, b “The Venturi was going 22 to 23 knots in deep water when we ran into a bad storm,” Wood said. “The waves were high, 10 feet or more, and we came into it so sul- an we didn’t have time to slow. mn. “A valve opened on the port side and then another one gave on the starboard side and we began tak- ing water. I was forward checking the compass when this ex‘remely big wave hit. = “Some of the front streamlining on the bow, sort of an_ airlift, broke off and I knew we were in trouble.” Wood, running a tanned hand through his snow-white hair, re- called the Venturi was made of wood and was 10 years old! “I guess maybe she’d beconie brittle,” he said. “The waves kept Pounding the port side and she be- gan to settle down in the water. There are 20 bulkheads in each of the twin bulls and they held a long time. “Capt. MacCallum notified the Coast Guard as soon as we began se‘tling. We stayed aboard about three hours. When the Venturi was about five-feet above water — the deck normally is 22 feet above the waterline—we decided to abandon and got in‘o the lifeboat.” Three Coast Guard planes, .an- swering MacCallum’s radio mes- Sage, rushed to the area. A patrol boat went out from Fort Lauder- dale and the cutter Ariadne sped ow: of Miami. A Coast Guard pa- trol plane hovered over the area until the helicopter arrived to con- tinue rescue operations. The Jerry Mar moved in to pick up the crew members. GETS SIX YEARS TOKYO (®# — The Japanese wife of an American soldier was sen- tenced to six years in prison today for killing her husband as he slept Dec. 7. Things You'll Need for ore Fun Outdoor ent See us now for all yo icnic oo and boacial acl Shing ipme PICNIC TABLE TIRE LANTERN © CAMP STOVE of finest quality. lA NEW Coleman Picaic Table; 28-in. square top, 26% in. high; folds ing case. Coleman up into roomy carry- floodligh its 100- ft. area; lights instantly; safe; stormproof, Stove Coleman pe easily; folds up and carries like a suitcase. FREE Outdoor Book Hel; enjoy the outdoors more! Come ia for in for your free copy. TELEPHONE 2-3122 Thompson Enterprises HARDWARE DIVISION Presbyterians To Consider Ending Segregation ATLANTA (7 — Proposals for abolition of segregation within the Presbyterian Church, U.S., will be Presented to the 94th General Assembly of the denomination in Montreat;'N.C., on May 27. The church will be asked to “lead rather than follow” in the Move to end segregation in a re- Port submitted by the Division of Christian Relations, Board of Church Extension. The report is the result of a study directed by the General Assembly itself in 1953, If approved, the proposals would not be compulsory on local congre- gations. The General Assembly can urge changes in educational and cultural patterns but cannot direct that they be made. The Assembly will be asked to affirm that enforced segregation is discrimination which is out of har- mony with Christian theology and ethics, i VFW Leader Tells Of Korea Misery SAN FRANCISCO — Korea “appears to be a nation of orphans and disabled veterans,” Henry J. Mahady, national commander of the American Veterans of World War II, said today on his return from Korea. “Nothing can describe the mis- ery and horror of ‘he war’s impact on the Koreans,” the Amvets com- mander said. “We can’t let them go by de- fault to the Communists, whose only secret of success is thaf they’ve come to feed hungry people at the opportune time.” The attorney from Latrobe, Pa., was one of six representatives of veterans organizations who toured Korea in connection with the 20- million-dollar relief drive’ of the veterans committee of the Amer- ican-Korean Founda‘ion. The first diesel engines’ were built about 1895. Denmark churns 450 million pounds of butter a year. Librarians Are Needed For Jobs In Washington An examination for Librarian has been announced by the U. S. Civil Service Commission for fill- ing librarian positions paying from $4,205 to $7,040 a year in various Federal agencies in Washington, D. C., and vicinity. To qualify for these positions, ap- plicants must pass a written test and, in addition, have completed pertinent college study or training in a library school and have had appropriate experience in library work. Applications will be accepted un- til further notice and must be filed with the U. S. Civil Service Com-| j mission, Washington 25, D. C. Full information and application forms may be obtained from the Commission’s Examiner in Charge, Bert A. Roberts located at United States Post Office, Key West, Fla. or from the U. S. Civil Service Commission, Washington, D. C. Singer Leaves Small Estate NEW YORK (#—Fritzi Scheff, who once made as much as $4,000 a week during her operatic and light opera career, left an estate of less than $1,000. Miss Scheff died last April 9 at the age of 74. The Viennese-born actress and singer was the toast of two continents 40 years ago. She often traveled by private rail- road car and took over an entire floor when-stopping at hotels. In her 1950 will filed for probaje yesterday, she bequeathed her es- tate to a cousin, Dr. Alfred F. Scheff, and a ring to a friend, Lyman Brown, both of New York. 10,000 MILE Guaranty on USED CARS BE Carlife @uarantp NAVARRO, Inc. 601 Duval St. Tel. 2-7041 Knife Slashing Is Good Deed DETROIT ( — Samuel Wilson stabbed Felix Hammett in the stomach ‘and actually did him a! favor, police reported. They ex- plained it this way: The pair argued and Wilson slashed Hammett. Doctors at De- troit’s Receiving Hospital looked at the wound and discovered Wil- son had laid bare Hammett’s ap- pendix. 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