Official Suggests More Tickets for Overnight Autos

The Cambridge Commissioner of Public Works yesterday called for increased ticketing of cars parked overnight as "the only way of keeping the streets clean."

Ralph Dunphy, commenting on the condition of Cambridge roads, said, "A good street cleaning job cannot be accomplished unless there is cooperation with the city regarding parked cars." He advocated that the police department increase the number of men it normally assigns to ticketing cars.

At present, Dunphy said, there are but two city policemen who issue tickets, and they have to cover the entire city. Thus, they can only cover an area about once a week. The Harvard area, while no worse than other parts of Cambridge, is a trouble spot, Dunphy indicated.

"If the police would ticket steadily for about a week," he said, "the streets would be quickly cleared of cars." The Cambridge streets are pretty dirty in many sections, he said, because the cleaning machines are virtually ineffective wherever cars are parked.

Side Parking a Solution

Dunphy said that he had suggested that the city use alternate side parking as a possible solution to the problem, but so far his solution has been turned down. This system of parking would allow a different side of the street to be free every day.

Discussing the streets around the University, Dunphy said that the area near the Houses is not as bad as that near the graduate schools. He commented that Irving St. between Cambridge and Kirkland Sts, was especially difficult to clean because of parked cars.

"The only way to clear the streets," he said, "is either to construct some parking places, or to make an example of a few people."