Salt Lake Telegram | 1941-01-20 | Page 6 | $142,844 for Traffic Control

$142,844 for Traffic Control THE ENTIRE cost of traffic enforcement, engineering and operation of equipment in Salt Lake City last year was $142,844. That's the figure shown In a carefully compiled report breaking down public safety department and other expenditures for the year to determine how much of the city's budget actually went to various forms of traffic control work carried on by the city. The sum Includes the salaries of traffic officers, cost of radio and ambulance service, operating costs.' repairs to equipment, operation opera-tion of traffic signals, engineering work, street striping, etc. It's all Included and the total is just $142,844. It's well that we have this figure. We now have the facts on which to base the contention that city commissioners are not living up to their pledge to use parking meter revenue for additional traffic safety work. This year the meters will bring In almost $150,000. Net gain to the city, after cost f " maintaining and operating the meters is subtracted, sub-tracted, will be about $135,000. Last year meter revenue for the city amounted to around $75,000. Obviously neither last year nor this year was this meter money applied to extra traffic safety work. If it had been last year the total expenditure for traffic control would have been closer to $200,000 and for the current year they would be from $250,000 to $275,000. Despite all the promises and the bookkeeping bookkeep-ing gestures of setting aside meter revenue for traffic control, the fact remains we are spending spend-ing little more on traffic control today than we were before the meters were installed. The extra revenue from the meters haa just gone Into city coffers and been used for other purposes. pur-poses. -There Isn't anything we can do about the situation this year. The budget Is drawn up and we'll have to make the best of it. But an-' an-' other year is coming and all those Interested In trafflo safety for Salt Lake City should set their sights toward increasing the amount of meter money used for additional safety work next year. The figures on 1940 expenditures for traffic control work, which prove that little If any of the meter money was actually used for additional addi-tional safety work, should be helpful in bolstering bol-stering efforts to persuade city commissioners to live up to their promises when they draw up the budget for 1942.