Parking Problems Puzzle Everyone

Cambridge police towed away two student cars Sunday night for illegal parking. On Monday, a city official said, "Don't rush this parking deal too much."

This statement seems typical of the city administration's disinterest in the University's over-night parking problem. Through the existing dilemma has been under "discussion" at City Hall for the past five weeks, students' cars continue to be ticketed and even towed away for illegal parking, when no legal spaces exist. Some officials, nevertheless, are "altting on" the only constructive measure which has been proposed in the last year to alleviate the overcrowded conditions.

On October 12, representatives of the University and the City Council met to formulate a plan to improve the overnight parking situation around Harvard Square. Both sides agreed that some action would have to be taken by the city to provide for more legal parking.

Two plans, both put forward by councillors, came from this meeting. John J. Foley proposed that traffic be made one-way on all city streets under 30 feet wide (later changed to 40 feet) and that over-night parking be permitted on one side of these streets. This plan subsequently was referred by the council to the city Planning Board.

Special Lots

Councillor Edward J. Sullivan proposed the other plan which called for the opening of areas around city-owned playgrounds and commons to over-night parking. Such areas would specifically include the Cambridge Commons and possibly one side of Memorial Drive.

In a resolution passed in the Council on October 15, Sullivan asked the city Traffic Board to make a survey of the available parking spaces around these parks and playgrounds. This survey was to be reported back to the Council as soon as possible.

The Board in turn directed one of its members, City Engineer Edgar Davis, to make this survey. Davis made a progress report to the bl-weekly Traffic Board meeting on November 14, but indicated that he would not be able to complete the survey for some time afterwards.

Davis' secretary maintained, however, that most of the figures in the survey had been completed by November 5. The chairman of the Traffic Board, Police Captain Daniel Meyer, stated yesterday that he thought the survey had already been completed.

May Be Ready Monday

The sponsor of the survey, Sullivan, has predicted for two weeks that the survey would be handed to the Council for action at its "next meeting." Lastly, Mayor Edward A. Crane '35 and John J. Kelliher, the secretary of the Traffic Board, both said yesterday that the council would have the survey before it by next Monday.

The officials also disagree on how the survey can be placed before the council. Meyer insists that it has to be voted on by the Traffic Board, which will not meet again till November 28.

According to Kelliher, however, all the finished survey needs to send it before the council is Meyer's signature. This would mean that the council could enact a new ordinance as early as next Monday. But the survey would probably be referred to a council committee for further study.

Behind the Delay

Behind this apparent administrative confusion, there may be a good reason for the delay. The engineer was not expected to complete the comprehensive survey he is making in just a few days. Much of the committee work is also necessary for accuracy in the final law.

But if the recommendations to the council are complete, as several people have indicated, then the council could act on the survey as soon as possible to rectify the existing over-crowded parking conditions.

Even if one or both of the councillors' proposals were enacted into law, however, the over-crowding would not be completely eliminated. There are just too many cars to be parked, and many of the proposed spaces would be too far from the University to be used consistently.

According to police records, almost 2,700 automobiles have been registered with the University, which can provide for only 600 in its own Western Avenue parking lot. Several hundred more are accommodated in commercial garages by students who can afford to keep them there. But the majority of the students cars are left on the city streets over-night where it is illegal to park after 1 a.m. without dropping coins in the meters.

No Campaign Yet

The police have not been particularly "tough" on illegal parking so far this year. Contrary to earlier statements they have initiated no "drives" to chase illegal parkers off the streets. According to Captain Meyer, the head of the Traffic Division of the Police Department, only a very small number of cars has been toward away by police this fall.

Since more than the usual number of complaints for an area come from individuals living near the University, police are instructed to tag violators in this area even without specific requests to do so. Meyer was surprised that his men receive as few complaints as they do from local residents, since "the students usually monopolize the parking spaces around the College without any courtesy."

Towing Procedure

Under a special ordinance, police can tow away cars which have out-of-state license plates, whose owners have received and failed to respond to one warning ticket at the police station. This ordinance is not usually observed so strictly, however. For Massachusetts plates, the police are authorized to tow away the cars only after a third ignored warning.

Sunday parking has also become a controversial question recently. Last year, police officially allowed students to sleep late on the Sabbath without fear that their cars might be towed away early in the mornings. This year no such official leniency has been granted, though it is generally understood that the policemen will be more lenient than on week-days.

Some opposition has already been expressed to any new ordinance the council might pass to ease the parking situation. Such a regulation would probably be based on the Traffic Board's or the Planning Board's recommendations, and some persons feel that these boards will hand in an unfavorable report.

Sources of Opposition

The city street cleaning and snow removal departments would oppose any all-night parking, Meyer thinks, since it would hinder their efficient operation. Councillor Sullivan answered this by saying that parking could be made one-way one day and reversed the next to allow city vehicles to do their work every other morning.

Meyer also thought that commercial garages would object to allowing street parking, which might take away some of their business. He feels that students would all park out on the streets under the proposed plans, since they could do it free, and this would crowd things even more.

The other foe of change in the parking procedure is the man who is held mainly responsible for bringing it about, Davis, the City Engineer. He recently stated. "Students deserve no consideration at all, the way they stop traffic in the Square. Besides, all the other colleges don't even allow some students to have cars."