WANDERERS

NZ Truth, Issue 1201, 6 December 1928, Page 6

WANDERERS

Pedestrians and' Their Meanderings "Ue Who Stops and Looks Both ** Ways," Lives to Cross on Other Days." AUCKLAND, which boasts of its ** floating population, and prides itself on its method of traffic control, offers the beat playground m the Dominion for that pest, the jay-walking 1 pedestrian, who flits from kerb to kerb with scarcely a thought of the danger on ,the road. He is indeed a carefree bird, and lumbering lorries, hooting motor-cars or clanging trams hold little fear for him. Indeed, he seems to be m his element when dodging traffic, and the best idea of his agility m this sport may be gained by a close observance of his antics at Auckland's busiest traffic \ centre, where Queen and Custom Streets meet. Here a lone policeman controls the traffic, apparently to allow the pedestrian to cross where and when he . likes, and great is the joy of the footslogger as he takes full advantage of this favor, while drivers of every vehicle, from brewer's lorry to limousine, crane >their necks to catch a glimpse of the signals of the man on point duty through the maze of hurrying, scurrying pedestrians. To thorn the signals of the human semaphore count for nothing. There is perhaps no other city m New Zealand which enforces its traffic laws more than does Auckland, and all honor is due to the police who wave their arms at the cross-roads fir their strenuous efforts to keep the tide of traffic going smoothly. "While the foot traffic, however, is allowed to impede the roads at will, then any chanoe |of order being made out of chaos seems very remote' indeed. If the authorities have overlooked, the pedestrian muddle because of their concentration on the road traffic, then they have overlooked one of the most important factors m the elimination of the higgledy-piggledy state of traffic at the intersections.