The Citizens Meet

Not even rain, including the soaking wet kind, could have stopped this meeting. The students with the "foreign cars" had gone too far and now something just had to be done.

"If it takes a legislative act to tow those cars away, I'll get them towed away," a dapper-looking man shouted from the speaker's table to the cheering crowd of 150 citizens. The promise caused considerable stir and it was minutes later before the meeting could be brought to order again.

The man did not introduce himself. He did not have to. This was not the first meeting Councilman Edward J. Sullivan had called with his district's residents and, from the appearance of the problem, it would not be the last. "This meeting has been called, as you all know because the parking problem in this College area has produced a dangerous condition," the Councillor continued. Then he paused. "And it has been proven that the students are the big offenders," he added quickly. The crowd murmured its approval.

Sullivan proceeded to introduce another city official, James Delancy, from the Traffic Bureau. Delancy, he said, had made a survey of the area and also found that the out-of-state cars were to blame.

"With cars parked on both sides of Banks Street, which is two-way, only 12 feet 8 inches is left for the two-way traffic," Delancy explained to the unbelieving citizens.

"Do you know how much room that leaves between two passing cars?" The audience became silent and waited for the answer. "The width of your index finger," the traffic official concluded.

The meeting was in confusion again. Without even waiting for the noisy undertone to clear, and elderly, woman who said she and her sister had lived for 16 years in the district, jumped and pointed to Delancy.

"Why don't the Harvard officers help?" she asked hastily. "During the war, my nephew came home and parked his car in front of the curb by our boarding hall and when he came out the car was gone. A University officer told him it had been towed away. I asked the Cambridge police and they said that was entirely illegal."

Delancy nodded. "There is no satisfactory answer for the traffic problem," he continued. This statement brought another irate citizen to his feet.

"Do you feel there is no satisfactory answer to this problem? We think that one-side parking is the answer."

The sir began again.