Salt Lake Tribune | 1917-04-01 | Page 41 | Speed Limit may be Cut 20 Miles

SPEED LIMIT MAY BE CU? TO MILES Regulation to Be Drafted Cannot Be Enforced, Say Police. WILL MEAN ARRESTS New Traffic Semaphore Is Successful; More to Be Installed at Once. IVTotorists of Salt Lake are promised some beautiful funeral marches within tho city limits, providing the regulation reported to have been already drafted by City Attorney A. J. Di ninny, which ' calls for the speed limit of motor vehicles ve-hicles to be cut down to twenty mile an hour and which will be presented to the city commission within a fow days, is passed by that body. The announcement that some regulation regula-tion had been drafted which would eliminate the present " reasonable' speed law caused much delight among the members of the police traffic department de-partment yesterday. However, when they found that the limit was about to be cut probably below that of any city in the country their hands went up in despair and their hopos of enforcing such a regulation rapidly disappeared. Wholesale Arrests. To pass a regulation of this Mnd would work a real hardship on both, tho traffic policeman and the motorist, po-; po-; lice officials said yesterday. In their opinion, the enforcing of such a law would mean the arrest of hundreds of well-meaning motorists daily, in addition addi-tion to creating a situation that could not hope to be coped with even if the traffic department was enlarged to twice its present size. Twenty-five miles' an hour within the limits of the city, with the exception excep-tion of tho business district, would have been far more reasonable and could be onforced properlv, Recording to the police. As the drafted regulation i stands, the motorist will bo tied down , to a speed limit that will be extremely ! difficult to stay within, while the thought that he 'is being held down entirely en-tirely beyond reason will undoubtedly turn many careful drivers into the "outlaw'' division, the police believe. May Be "Killed." It is hoped by both the police department depart-ment and thousands of Salt Lake motorists mo-torists that the regulation will never come before Ibe city commission, or if it does reach this "body of men that it will be quickly eliminated. Two features of the new regulation will be of great assistance in lessening accidents on the city streets. Ono is the setting of speed within the business busi-ness district at fifteen miles an hour. Tho other calls for a limit of eight miles for automobiles crossing street intersections. in-tersections. Semaphores Please. That the traffic semaphores recently purchased by the city for ufo on tho main intersections of the ritr will at once be installed is now prnc-fioally assured, as-sured, following the successful test of the model which hns been working at Third South nnd State street during the past two weeks. Motorists have taken quickly and k indly to the simple sim-ple manner nf signaling whether traffic traf-fic is open or rinsed. M ore than fifty motor ear drivers were stopped and quest ioned at the intersection of Third South nnd Rati streets during tho pavt week by Traffic Traf-fic Sergeant Lester Wire in regard to the new semaphore. Nnt a. dissenting voice was heard from the many ques-1 ques-1 ioned. but, on the other hand, prn jso was given on nil .sides for the new manner in handling the traffic, A can vass of the motor ear den lers in (lie city showed but one that wnn not in favor of the semaphore. Within a few days Sergeant Wire will iiiHtall shades for the lights that will make them easy to dist inguish even in the brightest of sunlight.