THE LAND OF BIG THINGS.

Shannon News, 2 October 1928, Page 3

THE LAND OF BIG THINGS.

STRIKING DISCLOSURES AS TO MOTOR TRAFFIC. '* MR M. A. ELIOTT'S ADDRESS. Wonderful revelations of modern .traffic development were brought hometo members of the Levin Chamber of Commerce Lungh Club at the monthly gathering held in the Oxford Tea-rooms ' on Friday,'" when an address was give a ■by Mr M. A. Eliott, of Palmerston North, whose subject was "Motor Traffic in New York," but who also gave much interesting information on transport matters in general. The attendance was one of the best yet recorded, 25 being present. Mr P. W. Goldsmith was in the chair, and he extended a welcome to Mr Eliott, also to guests making their first appearance —Messrs J. T. M. Brewster (Cotmty Engineer), J. S. Bain, W. J. Gmnan. (Borough Inspector), S. W. Carter, and G. G. Jackson (relieving stationmaster). A'pologies for absence were received'from the Rev. W. Beckett, Mr J. W. Gibson, aiM Mr J. A. Smith. Mr Eliott said that he appreciated as a very great compliment the Club's invitation to him to address one of their gatherings. This would be the first time that he had spoken in this " connection outside his own town, and he hoped that his hearers would pardoir- ,' any shortcomings. In considering the choice of a subject, he might have taken the Levin-Greatford railway proposal or the Massey College question, but thought that he had better avoid those subjects, as they were rather controversial, and speak on one in which everybody was interested—that of motor traffic. - __^ NEW ZEALANDERS SECOND -GREATEST USERS OF CARS. They knew how much New Zealand ■■ had progressed in.that respect. It was the second country in the world in respect to the number of motor vehicles to the population, the United States being first. This Dominion's proportion 'of motor vehicles was one to 60 habi--tantsr while Canada's was one to 90 and other countries' were much further behind. So far New Zealand had not had a'sufficient number of motors to,' 'seriously interfere, with the traffic Aa- „ cities and towns, but that position; would soon be reached at thespresentrate of'increase. The centres of population were accoidingly, all making some provision with regard to parking places and regulations, but these were more or less of a tentative nature, and " the municipalities would be forced into ' the-p"ositioir- of providing proper facilities for adequate motor transport. Mr Eliott stated that he was in New York about two years ago, and he made as .many observations as he could of the traffic question. ' ROAD VERSUS RAIL TRANSPORTA- ' -••- TION. ■{«Civilisation to the extent that we now enjoy it," the speaker continued, ''■'*' would not have been possible without safe, quick and adequate transport. The cost of-living and general comfort "are dependent on transport facilities, and in a number of .cases this service costs as much as the article itself. Roads were built ages before railways were thought of, and the roads built by the Romans when they conquered ' oßsatanpw-ete .one of the first in c&Hlwro3*sf-*lhe Homeland, j The'advent of railways in 1825, some 1800 another, great ad*vimee*w Apj§»-Tidw in our lifetime we '?a*e'4£e%iiig*3f'third step in the evolu-. ::ti&n of transport. But in saying this ■.ttftffiflj.will: Supersede railway-transport. the one will in time setfixed and definite sphere each', in turn helping and assisting the other and not running in opposition, fit-js not a question of the survival lafflorie'-and' the downfall of the is-required is to find the desirable economic balance, with a fairly *Hmitation of fields, with wise co-ordination so that each method of transportation may function with the maximum of efficiency. A DIMINISHING RATIO.

"The test of efficiency is, of course, that of lowest economic cost for the services given, and it is interesting to enquire into the economic basis of mo-, tor transport: Tho transport' manager for Lipton 's, Ltd., proves .by actual costs that 77.-miles* is-the maximum distance by which goods flan be economically taken by road haulage; above that. distance it is -cheaper by "rail. In the 'World Motor Transport Congress', it is stated that, in.a survey covering a year in the -State- of. Connecticut, U.S. A.,- motor transport had the following radius of economic action: 1 ton truck, 15 miles; 2 ton- truck, 25 miles; 3 ton truck, 30 mile's; 4 ton truck,'3s miles; 5 ton truck, .45 miles; .6 ton truck, 50 miles. therefore, is that for short hauls the motor vehicle scores. bu£ immediately the cost of haulage becomes sufficiently great to offset the saving l fit handling, then rail'ways have:the sadyantage," ■ As far as, passenger traffic was concerned, oth'eif elements ''dame in. The travellers might want to see the country at their leisure, or stopen route to meet friends«-«■•• " - •The speaker thought it would be found that, af fer a -while, motor haulage would be done„. oyer comparatively short distances, an&the railways would do the longer carrying? One system ■would supplement the other, instead of running in opposition. SIDE STREETS UTILISED TO RELIEVE CONGESTION.

' -The enormous increase iri the nuin- , ber of motor vehicles in New Zealand

—which rate -of increase showed no

signs.of slackening—had led him to ex- \~ amine' the conditions existing in Amer- •'- ica, where in some cities, such as New • r York, the streets were now fast ap'V.proaching their maximum carrying ca"'p'acity. New York had a marvellous traffic system, based upon long-wide >, ;avenues and short, narrow-* cross streets. York had been.'called "the city Of busted hearts and bent mudguards."

Bent mudguards were the solution of the traffic problem in New York. By a system of synchronised control by tall signal towers placed where traffic officers could see them from several blocks distant, traffic up and down the great avenues ran for three minutes and then traffic was turned into the cross streets for one minute. New York's traffic was a stupendous and staggering exhibition of human enterprise. It moved very fast when it moved, and when it stood still it stood for long minutes at a time. The first fact that struck the visitor down in the heart of the old business section where traffic was at its worst, was the entire absence of private motor cars. Ninety per cent, of the traffic consisted of taxi-cabs and trucks. On Fifth Avenue, Seventh Avenue and Madison Avenue, during the business hour movement in the morning, there would be a certain number of magnificent private cars rolling down town containing big business men. The very magnificence of these private limousines protected them. They moved with security amidst the throng of outlaw taxis and trucks. They -were given a respectfully wide berth simply because they were coloured gorgeously—protective coloration. Even a New York taximan was moved by a respect for persons, when the person was adequately advertised.

MANY CARS LEFT AT RAILWAY

STATIONS

"Comparatively few of the plain people risk their cars coming down-town into New York's heart," Mr Eliott explained. "The majority of ordinary car owners use their cars in moving about the smaller cities where they li ve —the suburbs of New York. Large numbers of wealthy men drive from j their homes to the nearest express subway station and come into the city itself by sub-way rather than risk their cars and waste their time trying to I thrust a way through the central down- I town traffic. These, mind you, are men who can s afford chauffeurs. The only ones who actually drive into the heart, of the city to their offices are millionaires who can afford one of those monster jewelled cars that command the respect of other drivers and policemen. COMICAL TRAM CARS. ■ '"New York's chief delight are the new chums from the rest of the world. But New York cannot.know what delight the new chums take out of many of her own comic aspects—first .of all perhaps, her street cars. These street cars are unbelievably comic. The trolley in comic papers is taken direct from them. No little town anywhere has anything so bunty, shabby, slow and. worn-out as New York's surface ears. They move with incredible slowness, halting for traffic at every cross street, jammed with people lame, lazy or otherwise unable to walk. For walking, I definitely proved in a six-block race, is actually faster than' the New York surface cars in the down-town district at any hour of the day. OVERHEAD AND UNDERGROUND. "New York mass traffic moves by Tube or Elevated. The Fifth Avenue buses run up the main central thoroughfare, but at ten cents, and. with so .limited a route, they are not able to be considered as main factors in the traffic problem. New Yorkers suffocate underground, or die of dust and disappointment riding high up in the air on a level with the second sjtbreys of bat-tered-looking slums in order that the streets may be kept free for motor traffic. In vain. The streets are jammed with racing, stopping, colliding cars that rarely sound their horns since it would-be of little use. Nobody would pay any: attention, anyway. Only one thing can be said in favour of NewYork traffic: the brakes of the cars are certainly in good working order. ■■■ ■ PARKING RESTRICTIONS. "In New York, the police impound the improperly parked car. That is, the parking officer has master keys; when he finds a car parked on the prohibited roadside, he just gets in and drives it to the pound, where the owner can get it out by paying the fine. LEAKAGE IN FREIGHT TRANSPORT. "The principal costs-of freight ship-., ment in New York are the trucking to and from rail or ship. An importer purchased a considerable quantity of goods in -Hamburg. ~When landed .in. New York they were loaded on motor trucks and carried four miles through the streets to the warehouse. When the total charges were computed it was found that the four-mile transportation cost more than the 3000 miles of transAtlantic shipment. 'This , .was to a great extent due to the loss of time owing to traffic congestion. It has been calculated that this loss in New Yqrk city alone amounts to £300,000 per day? That "Time is moirey" was never so well illustrated as in transportation delay. A motor truck is economical when it can work at high capacity and at a comparatively high speed.' Cut down that speed to a crawl, and it represents no advantage over a horse' or even a push-cart. But insurance, drivers' wages, interest, and other it-ems continue whether the truck is moving or standing still. The minimum cost of a motor lorry i 3 3d per minute',-whether travelling at zero or at 15 miles an hour, and it has been ascertained that the average waiting time of each motor truck in New York, at, the piers, is 68 minutes, including 14 minutes loading and unloading time. Furthermore, because of this waste of time, the average load is only H tons, so it is not difficult to calculate what the monetary loss amounts to. Every man, woman and child in every large city in the United States is paying- approximately £SO per annum ■ that would not have to be paid if street freight could be handled efficiently. "Naturally the most efficient traffic is that which can move rapidly. Every stationary vehicle represents a direct impediment to efficient transportation. The stationary vehicle is the real problem in traffic congestion. 'A place for every stationary vehicle' should be i the slogan of every modern town." I "A NATION ON WHEELS." Mr Eliott stated that America to-

day could be described as a nation on wke«ls. Years ago Henry Ford predicted the present situation to a nicety. The United States now paid £2,800,000,000 for its annual automobile bill. The 20 million cars for 115 million people meant that the entire population of the United States might be moved almost on instant notice by motor car. There was nothing to parallel the motor-car business. Economic historv recorded nothing like it, Social and economic life had .been revolutionised. The situation compared to the ushering-in of mechanical inventions back in the period from 1700 to 1820. In this revolution America had been benefited through the improvement in health, cutting down of the. death-rate, and in re-distribution of the population. In New -Zealand they knew to what extent .motor vehicles" had been imported. Yet the country had been able to absorb them without any great dislocation of finance. The production of automobiles in the United States.for the first three months of this year was 1,518,000, or more than one for every man, 'woman and child iii New Zealand. The motor fatalities in the United States during 1925 totalled 22,500 on a conservative estimate. Level rail;, wav crossing fatalities increased from 1688 in 1924 to 17,94 in 1925. The automobile death-rate per 100,000 increased from 15.7 in 1924 to 17.2 in 1925, and this included 0300 children under 15 years of" age. Over 250,000 motor vehicles were stolen in the United States last year, and, estimating that 80 per: cent, were recovered, the loss to motorists amounted to £7,000,000. ..-If tvres and parts were included the total would reach £10,000,000. MOTOR CAMPING.

During last summer, over £200,0.00,000 was spent by motor campers in the United States. Three million cars, containing twelve million people, enjoyed motori'ifg vacations. The average time spent was 33 days, and the average monev spout by each- camping party was £l-83 per day. Motor camping was rapidly increasing in New Zealand, and country towns would find that the motor camper was well worth catering for.

The address was listened to with keen attention-/ and was roundly applauded. APPRECIATION OF ADDRESS.

A hearty vote of thanks was passed to Mr Eliott on the motion of Mr K. Aitken, who said that those present must have greatly enjoyed the impressions conveyed to them. Mr Aitken mentioned that a friend of his, who recently returned from a trip abroad, hadcompared the traffic conditions in New York and Paris and stated that in the latter city the traffic was vcry badTy "controlled. The Parisian taxis were fairly reasonable as to the charges, but tliere were thousands of these vehicles, and it was a very difficult matter to cross the street. If a man was found in the middle of the road, he was. arrested for attempted suicide. As to the fares in Paris, the' passenger could start for 2d and could go a good many miles for a shilling. Mr Goldsmith also expressed the thanks) of the gathering to 'Mr Eliott for his. interesting address. They were glad that lie had thought it worth while to come to Levin and speak to the Club, and they hoped that he would pav them another visit. Mr Eliott thanked the speakers for their kind remarks and the members for,the attention they had given him. He remarked that clubs such as this an excellent means for citizens to nice/ one another. He hoped that the Palmerston Lunch Club would have the opportunity of hearing an address by one of the members of the Levin Lunch Club.