Parking—The New Form of Day Garaging.
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THE QUESTION of the parking of motor vehicles in all places where congestion of traffic does, or is e-xpected to, occur is, as we fully anticipated it would be, now being regarded as important enough for the local authorities all over the country to take concerted action' under the guidance of the Ministry of Transport. The motor coach has provided the need, and also the opportunity, because of its greater amenability to control, but the growth of motor travel and private motoring is so great that a vast problem is really confronting us. As compared with the number of horsed carriages, stage and hackney carriages, motor vehicles are considerably more numerous—yet another proof, if our senses had not already brought the fact home to all of us, that facilities create demand and encourage use. ExceptingIthe goods lorry and van, every kind of Motor vehicle can be expected to require to be garaged or parked for some portion of each day of its travel. The joy of pleasure travel, whether by car, motorcycle, or motor coach, lies in the opportunity to see interesting objectsen the places visited, and that jay is enhanced if there is no need to worry about the safety of the vehicle or about finding it when the hour comes for one's return to it. Where there are no parking arrangements, the energies of the police are mainly directed towards moving the vehicle on—getting it away from wherever it may happen to be—with a view to avoiding congestion; hence the difficulty of finding it again.
For all practicable purposes, an open-air park is amply sufficient, and, as consistent advocates of the idea, we welcome the proposals which are now being instituted to establish motor parks and, where necessary, to charge a small fee for looking after the vehicles. The Ministry has instructed the Departmental Committee on Taxation and 'Regulation of Motor Vehicles to consider and report on the question, andlthas strengthened the Committee for the purpose. For some weeks no we have given plans of the-parking arrangements in various localities, and, as a result of a voluminous correspondence between ourselves and the chief constables and the town clerks all over the country, we learn' that a Dumber of them have been urged to make arrangements and provide the facilities which previously had not been thought about.