The Public Inquiry re City of London Traffic.
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A Report of the Meeting which Considered the Proposed Regulations.
A public meeting was held at the Guildhall, on Tuesday afternoon, to inquire into the regulations which are suggested by the Lord Mayor and Aldermen under the City of London (Street Traffic) Act, 1909. We made some comment upon these proposed regulations when they were first made public four weeks ago.—[Our issue for 20th January, page 421.]
Mr. Ernest Charles, who appeared for the London Omnibus Federation, in opposition to the regulations, said where omnibuses gathered at certain places, it would be found that, in every case, they were there because of the public demand for them. He pointed out that, when the Bill was before the House of Lords, it was stated by him that in a. whole year there had been only one accident in the City through omnibus traffic. To the sehedule of alterations of traffic proposed he raised an objection to the following : " Every Metropolitan Stage Carriage proceeding from Mansion House Street shall proceed by way of Princes Street, Moorgate Street, London Wall, and Blomfield Street direct into Liverpool Street." Mr. Charles asked if the word " direct " would prevent the buses setting down passengers in between Blomfield Street, and Liverpool Street.
Sir Homewood Crawford, the City Solicitor, said that the regulation would not prevent this; it was only framed to prevent buses loitering in Eldon Street.
The first three regulations were then accepted, the Lord .Nlayor stating that these had long been observed.
Proceeding, Mr. Charles took great exception to proposed regulation 4 :— " (4) Every Metropolitan Stage Carriage proceeding from Mansion House Street to Bishopsgate Street Within or Bishopsgate Street Without shall proceed by way of Threadneedle Street and Bishopsgate Street Within, and every such carriage proceeding from Bishopsgate Street Without or Bishopsgate Street Within to Mansion House Street shall travel by the same route reversed."
He said this regulation would be extraordinarily unsafe, as it would mean two tines of buses in a thoroughfare which was incapable of carrying two motor omnibuses passing each other. They could not pass each other, in fact, without grinding the kerb.
The Lard Mayor said there used to be two lines of traffic here about 14 years ago.
An Alderman : Are the motorbuses wider than the horse buses?
Mr. Charles said the width was the same, but he ventured to think that. if this route at one time were used for a double line and had been dropped, this fact supported his argument. The Commissioner said the object was to relieve the enormous traffic in Broad Street_ Mr. Charles: You are taking out of Broad Street, omnibuses running in only one direction, for the purpose of running a double line in a, narrower street.
Mr_ Pound, Director of the London General Omnibus Co., Ltd., was called ky Mr_ Charles, and he said the double lino of horse buses in Threadneedle Street was removed by the company about 1.5 years ago, because they considered it was dangerous to the public. At the present moment, omnibuses picked up the largest number of passengers at the corner of Liverpool Street and Broad Street, and the proposed alteration would be prejudicial to the convenience of the public. There were 95,000 people passing daily along a route they would not be able to be picked up on, if the alteration were made.
The City Solicitor put it to Mr. Pound that the object of the Com
missioner of Police was to lessen the congestion in Broad Street. Witness denied that the omnibus traffic caused any congestion in Broad Street. The congestion was mused by heavy traffic moving in the opposite direction.
Supt. Nicholls, for the Commissioner, said Threadneedle Street was not much used by industrial traffic, and there was nothing like the stream of pedestrians there was in Broad Street. In reply to the City Solicitor, witness said he had never heard of an accident caused by traffic in Threadneedle Street. It was one of the quietest streets as regards traffic. If the new route were adopted it would lessen the congestion in Broad Street.
In reply to Mr. Charles, witness said he did nob remember that a man was killed in Threadneedle Street by an omnibus three years ago.
Capt. Knott Barr, Commissioner of City Police, said the only opposition to the proposed regulations eanne from the omnibus companies. The police had not received any complaints from the public. Witness said the object of regulation 4 was to relieve the congestion in Broad Street. It might cause some inconvenience, but was likely to
do 0,11-:\ with greater existing inconvenience. The narrowest part of Threadneedle Street was 18 ft., and there would be a clearance of 3 ft. 8 in. between passing buses.
The Court reserved decision on this clause.
Opposition was made to proposed regulation 5, which states that traffic proceeding from Bishopsgate Street to London Bridge shall proceed by way of Bishopsgate Street Within and Gracechurch Street, and make the return journey by this route reversed.
Mr. Charles said that this would mean that no one would be able to get a bus from Liverpool Street Station to Loudon Bridge without going through the traffic ou to the west side of Bishopsgate Street.
Mr. Pound was again called, and gave figures as to the number of passengers using the route in question. He said there would be no direct service to the Bank for the passengers, if the regulation 5 were adopted.
The City Solicitor, in cross-examination, suggested that if the restrictions proposed shut off some existing routes the omnibus companies could start others. Witness said that if they interfered with existing routes it would damage the companies; they would not care to start others.
In reply to the Court, witness said he believed the present arrangement was the very best for the convenience of the public and the general interests_
The Court also reserved its decision on this clause.
Mr. Charles objected to clause 6, which states that no stage carriage shall eater Liverpool Street from the east end, or Old Broad Street from the south end. He said this would affect the bnses very much. To come from Tower Bridge into Liverpool Street, vehicles would have to go round by the Bank and into Blomfield Street. It was proposed to do away with the buses that had stood in Liverpool Street for y-ears, and make the street a sort of " happy Arcadia " for people who did not like buses. A person who came to Broad Street Station and wanted to get to Great Tower Street would have to cross over Bishopsgate Street to Middlesex Street to get a bus.
Mr. Richard S. Tilling said his buses had stood outside Liverpool Street Station for years. They carried over a million passengers on the Tower Street route in a year. If the buses had to stand in Middlesex Street nobody would know where to find them. Decision was reserved in this clause.
All the other clauses were passed, and the Lord Mayor said the Court would give the disputed ones their earnest consideration.