1914 - How to Solve Traffic Congestion Problem on Calhoun Street is Committee's Big Task

| - . • - - SATURRDAY, JULY 25, 1914. THE FORT WAYNE SENTINEL, 9. How to Solve Traffic Congestion Problem on Calhoun Street is Committee's Big Task Fort Wayne as a city of narrow Vane and trucks. bound for the Wabash | son street, however, is. said to be in streets in the business district is facing freight station come into Calhoun good condition and there is no excuse a problem in traffo congestion that is and then cross under the Culhoun street that can he offered by teamsters and likely ,to be A hard one to solve. Ac. elevation and around to the freight chauffeurs for not using it. cording to 'business men -the. problem sheds. Why this route is taken almost Is Up to Bosses. must be solved sooner or later, and a known. It be only habit, it It is believed that a certain per cent. every day by nearly all drivers is unmovement started last week by the be that may or may of traffic congestion on South Calhoun streets and boulevards the drivers enjoy the delay and committee of street could be eliminated if the masthe Commercial club is expected to gain therefore momentary rest procured ter teamsters or the employers of teamthe strength enough within a short time to by fic, mixing up congestion sters and truckmen or chauffeurs would in the of traf. at least afford some relief on South of such drivers losers. post notices and give instructions to but to shy the least, the employers Calhoun street, near the railroads, where Business Men Act. their employers that they should avoid are the heavy at certain times during the day it is Calhoun street as much as possible. almost impossible to navigate the mud- It is safe to say that many business According to members of the board dle and jam of trucks, 'street cars, auto- men who are the handlers of freight in of public works. the congestion could mobiles, vans and other vehicles bound large quantities do not that such be reduced if employers would demand to and from the railway freight houses conditions exist. They have, probably that their vans be kept from the main and depots. at times wondered at the exceedingly street, and in leaving the different For some particular reason, it seems, lengthy time it took their truoks to to freight stations or points in the south every truckman, chauffeur, teamster, to and from the stations, but it is likely part of the city, use either Clinton, Lamotor truckman and praotioally every- that they did not consider the fact that fayette or Harrison streeta. They body responsible for the movement their drivers took the longest and most should demand that a teamster in leav• vehicles in the neighborhood of the de- difficult way back to the store or fac- ing the Pennsylvania freight depot pots and freight stations of the city, tory by avoiding the least traveled | down either Clinton or Lafayette, if even go out of their way to reach Cal- streets and using Calhoun street, with bound for some point east of Calhoun houn street. its heavy traffic and resultant delay in street. If en route to some point west Sometimes it takes a large truck fif- movement. of Calhoun street, cross the street inteen minutes, it is said, to traverse. one The conditions, however, are to be stead of traveling on it from the railblock on Calhoun street during the rush called to. the attention of' the shippers roads, and take Harrison street down "and they actually leave Clinton and others whose' business compels town. street, an open and almost unused thor- them to send thir wagons and trucks to This plan if put into effect would not oughfare for business traffic, to mix up the freight defats and to the south only save time, but would save money, in the rush and crowd of rumbling side, because the streets and boulevards for delay means a loss of. money, and " hicles. committee of the. Commercial club. of drivers using Calhoun street for heavy Drivers of heavily laden trucks tak- which William H. Scheimann is chair- trucking surely get delayed sometimes ing freight from the Pennsylvania man, has been instructed by the club's for a longer. period of time. than freight house actually turn from. Clinton directors to investigate the congested would ordinarily take them to reach street, or Calhoun. Lafayette' Drivers street and getting move street, on and the city's submitting main a report business to their thoroughfares. destination had they used other freight at the Wabash station pull the club, petition the city board of pub- Co-operation among merchants. and into Calhoun street. Taxicabs, automobiles, lie works to take up the matter, Other business men is needed this moving vans, buggies and, in fact, every members of this committee R. F. plan a success in solving the congestion sort of vehicle used daily in Fort Diserens, B. Paul Mossman, George W. problem, and it will be the duty of the Wayne, fill the street at certain times Beers and Henry Beadell. Commercial club's committee to seeach day to such an extent that prog- In session last week, the committee cure the co-operation of every business ress at anywhere near normal speed is in discussing the traffic congestion in- house and manufacturing plant in the impossible. eluded in ita deliberations the bad pav- city. In approaching the *depots and freighting conditions on Clinton street,' and it Calhoun stret is too narrow for such sheds, it is the same. Instead of going was decided to ask the board of works a great amount of heavy traffic, and as down either Clinton or Lafayette streets| to make improvements, and making the stated before, the problem of remedying to reach the Pennsylvania freight depot, street more tempting as a way of ap- conditions will not be an easy. one to' the drivers must first, it seems, go as. proach and departure from the Penneyl- solve and it. can' not- be done in a day, far down Calhoun street as possible. / vania station and freight depot. Harri- week or month, but' it must be done sooner or later, and with the tion of the entire eity, in an effort to keep drivers from the street when other Pacific Coast Women Now Engaged in a Desperate War on Liquor Traffic Liquor Barons Label Bottles Beseeching Citizens to Register and VoteBig Issue Comes to Decision in November. San Francisco, July 25.-An anti-prohibition association offered $25,000 to the film producers. of Jack London's "John Barleycorn" to withhold these motion. pictures in California and other states where the liquor question is pending, until after the fall elections. It was refused. That indicates the Intensity of the conflict on the Pacific coast over the proposed drastic embargo on "booze." Prohibitionista in California, Oregon, Washington and Texas are making a whirlwind campaign to prohibit the manufacture as well as the sale of intoxicants. The problematical factor, on which the issue probably depends, is the wom an's vote. And so •bitter has the antagonism become that not one woman's club in California has placed itself on record on the issue. The number of women who will sup: port a licensed trafto has astonished the prohibitionists. They admit their sur. prise, following the open declaration of many suffragets at the' registration booths that they are registering solely to cast a wet vote.. Miss Anna Chase, secretary of the Woman's Christian Temperance union, and an ardent field worker againat. "Barleycorn," explains thin phaze of the situ. ation by asserting that "many women | have been drilled into the belief that prosperity, absolutely depends upon wide open conditions." Some breweries are making, an ingenuous appeal to their patrons through attached to beer bottles. "If California, goes dry it will be due to its neglecting to vote. Save your state. Register 'now!" Thus reads the reminder of civic duty sent out by a Seattle brewery. Liquor delivery wagons carry similar slogans. The particularly stress the' contended ruin a state would wreak upon the wine industry of California with its estimated investment of $150,000,000. To convert to other crops the 170,000 acres now planted to wine grapes, they assert, would entail immense loss. Officials speaking for organized labor contend that about 282,000 men engaged in liquor production and its allied trades would be thrown out of employment in California alone in event of dry victory. Socialists, on the other hand, are de; clared to be for prohibition almost to a man. Social evils and the tremendous cost to the taxpayer involved in the tolerance of the liquor traffic are the argument, emphasized by the prohibitionists. In summing up his call for A statewide embargo, Supt. A. C. Bane, of the Apti-Saloon league, declares that: "California. taxpayers in 1912 for the care of criminals produced by liquor alone, paid. $20,722,776. "For every dollar of revenue received . from liquor we must spend six dollars in caring for ita victima. The toler. ance of the traffic is horrible extravagance, in money as well AA lives." The issue will be decided by initiative in November. HERE, ARE BOTH SIDES OF THE ISSUE. Drys'. Appeal In the manufacture of malt liquors, labor's share is but 20.2 per cent.; in that of distilled liquors, 1.9 per cent., while in other industries labor's share averages 55 per cent. The annual loss in wages by drink• ing men is estimated at $750,000,000 in the United States. TRAFFIC CONGESTION THE CORNER DE AND LEWIS CALHOUN STREETS CLANG CLANG HONK HOW KEER One of the "register now" beer bottles and Jack London, author of "John Bar, leycorn," and below, Miss Anna E. Chase, secretary of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. A SNAPSHOT AT THE CORNER OF WAYNE AND CALHOUN STREETS A VIEW AT HOLMAN AND CLINTON STREETS CONE SQUARE FROM CALHOUN) SHOWING A 'DESERTED" STREET AT THE SAME TIME THAT CALHOUN STREET IS OVERCROWDED streets: could- be used more advantage. | ously, the congestion will be partly re: duced. Here Is an Example, One evening last. week about 5:30 o'clock two large trucks, loaded with coal were coming north near Montgomery street. Behind them first was one street car, unahle to pass because the ers of the trucks could not turn drive because of the narrow space between the tracks and the sidewalk. Then came a few. more trucks and then another street car, and attempting to pass the jam in its entirety were several automobiles and a taxicab. Going south the street was fairly Alled with slowly moving delivery wagons, trucks. street cars, automobiles and other vehicles. This congestion could easily have been had sothe of the trucks and antomobiles, to say nothing of gro: cerv and meat market delivery wagons, went one block. in either direction. to Harrison on the west or Clinton atroct on the east. Why all drivers 1150 Calhoun street. and apparently carefully avoid either Clinton 'or Harrison is mystery. It may be that they enjoy the excitement of the heavily traveled thoroughfare; it may he be that they simply want. tor AP0 the sights, or it may be. for other reasons, but to say the least, they were all there that night, and they are all there. or somebody else 14 in their places, many times each day during the week. Mr. Scheimann Talks. "The work of this committee of which I have the honor of belug chairman will . not be confined alone to South Calhoun street. It will attempt to work out some plan for the elimination of street congestion the entire length of Calhoun. street. through the, business district," Mr. Scheimann. "An Fort Wayne pt any grows, wider, Calhoun and street something does not has to become he done. "We can not ask drivers of heavy trucks to 70 over to Clinton street until the city has repaired the pavement along the street car tracks there, be • cause a heavily loaded truck would find difficulty in getting out of the depres; along the tracks if he was unlucky enough to once get into it. "We, however, ask the city to make the needed repairs there and then consult the city's legal forces in an effort to determine whether or not heavy trucks and wagons can be kept from Calhoun street and forced to use the other north and south streets by an ordinance. If we can eliminate the congestion by ordinance; that would be the easiest and most satisfactory way to. settle thé matter, but If no ordinance can be passed covering problem, we will be compelled to this, matter with the owners of trucks and other vohicles used for ,business purposes. "Harrison street is in good condition and when Clinton street has been repaired, there will be no reason for heavy | passing along Calhoun street. Traffic congestion on the city's main street. is now n mutter of seriousness and our committee proposes to swing into action immediately to relieve the situation. "In coming four blocks on Calhoun street yesterday passed four heavy wagons loaded with dirt. Just a bit south of Jefferson street in my automobile I encountered one inonster motor truck coming north. and another even larger going south, entirely blocking the street for a time. 'That is but one eX a.mple of conditions. Our work in relieving congestion will cover the whole of Calhoun street and we plan 1.0 zet busy nt once, first. in attempting to have Clinton street. repaired, then getting an ordinance making heavy trucks 1150 Clinton or Harrison, and if not An ordinance, we will work personally with the owners of vehicles that The W help daily in ticing up traffic on Calhoan st rent On Market Place, Three days ench week Barr street from Washington boulevard to Columbia street. is tilled each morning with farm wagons. They are there each Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning and they have right to be there, because of the fart that Fort. Wayne's public market located there. It. seems, however, that the conger: tion formed by the congregation of market. wagons does not. worry teamsters In the least. for each market morning one is able to H00 large motor trucks. heavy vans drawn by horses and scores of automobiles attempting to pass along the market place. 'The street 19 50. rested almost every market day that it is nearly impossible for 11 pedestrian to• cross. This condition along market place due directly to the apparent joy of driv-1 era in passing through congested streets. No other reason can he offered, becan4e those 'having no business. on the city market would find traveling much more easy and mike better time by crossing over to Lafayette street and then down on Columbia or East Main streets to their destination. But on market days more than at any other time, it seema, trucks and vehicles of all sorts flock to Barr street And mix up in the jam of truffle, blocking. the street and endangering the lives of marketers and others whose business calls them to this particular portion of the city. Columbia® Street Bad. Congestion on Columbia street for one block, between Harrison and Columbia streets, three times each day, is probably the worst in the city, Each morning about 7 o'clock of perhaps A little later, each noon and each evening between 5 and 6 o'clock, Columbia street is a seething mass of vehicles. The reason. that the congestion is at its height at these particular: hours is due to the fact that at 7 o'clock each morning • drivers of trucks are either going to work for the day, or are en route to the Lake Shore and Lake Erie freight Thouse, the -Nickel Plate freight house or the interurban freight house. At noon the drivers of conimercial vehicles are going and coming from different parts of the city to their stables and later returning to. work for the after... noon. The evening congestion is due to the close of work for' the day, and it is probably greatest at that time.. Vehicles of eVery type are jammed and packed from one curb to the other in one short block between Calhoun and Harrison -and the spectacle even rivals conditions on the famous South Water street, Chicago, on a busy day. Committee to Meet. Realizing that something must be done immediately to relieve traffic congestion in the city's business district, and especially on Calhoun street, Mr. Scheimann will call 8 meeting of his committee on streets and boulevards within the next. few data. A plan for remedying conditiona be discussed. and later. the, cominattee will petition the board of works to make arrangementa to repair Clinton street pavement at the earliest possible date, 40 that. some of the heavy traffic that now makes. the city's main street almost impossible to travel. can. be switched one block east, and an effort will be made to secure an' ordinance enforcing the abandoning of heavy trafflo from Cal-1 houn street.. Will Float Loans on Our Farm Lands Wets' Battle Cry, In California alone a loss. of $150c .000,000 in the wine industry -would be. entailed and over 200,000 men in the production of liquor and its allied trades would immediately be thrown out of employment, in event of state wide prohibition as now proposed. It would be a terrible blow to the Pacific coast states to vote them dry. Frank Odell *Omaha, Neb., July 25.-Frank G. been Odell, chosen editor of a farm of the magazine, nas secretary American Rural Credit association. The purpose of the society is to float long-time loans on farm lands as a means of enabling men to acquire farms, He says there are a hundred millions in European banks that are available.

The Fort Wayne News And Sentinel

1914 - How to Solve Traffic Congestion Problem on Calhoun Street is Committee's Big Task

1914 - How to Solve Traffic Congestion Problem on Calhoun Street is Committee's Big Task

The Fort Wayne News And Sentinel