TWO CARS FOR EVERY GARAGE

To the Editors of the CRIMSON:

Space will not permit a challenge to the statement of Cambridge Police Chief Patrick J. Ready that Cambridge "is no hayfield," but I would like to take issue with the validity of the assumptions upon which the overnight parking ban issued by Cambridge and the University is based.

My understanding is that overnight parking on Cambridge streets is illegal because parked cars (1) constitute a fire hazard and (2) prohibit street cleaning.

The Winthrop House fire was cited as evidence that parked cars hampered fire-fighting operations. It is likely that improperly parked automobiles did slow up their operations. I will agree that cars parked next to hydrants or too far away from the curb can be considered a fire hazard and should be ticketed. However, I have observed that the Cambridge fire department does an excellent job of extinguishing fires during the daytime next to properly parked cars. Also, there is negligible traffic at night to delay their arrival at fires.

The authorities' second assumption for issuing their ban is that overnight parking is detrimental to the efforts of their street cleaning crew. Last summer I had the good fortune to live in the District of Columbia. There, overnight parking on the streets is perfectly legal and yet the street cleaning operation is well executed. There is only a slight bit of residue next to one's tires the next morning. This is my third year in Cambridge and I have yet to witness the streets receiving more than a token cleaning.

I therefore propose that Cambridge and the University permit overnight parking on all streets used for parking during the daytime so that the students who cannot afford to keep their car in a garage will have the opportunity to take their chances on finding a space at night in a spot which will not hamper the fire department in its operations. An enforcement of meter laws during the daytime will eliminate the possibility of business firms suffering from space "hogging." John W. Stephens '55