EDITORIAL: Parking Angles-This Day in Norwood History-July 22, 1949

Anyone who drives his car downtown has come in contact with Norwood’s parking experiment which has banned angle parking on the east side of Washington Street.

This experiment came about as a result of protests to authorities that traffic through the center of town was moving too slowly, especially during the rush hours. Consequently, a plan designed to speed the flow of traffic, was adopted by the Selectmen on a 30-day trial basis and extended Tuesday night for two more weeks. Businessmen and motorists alike have now had ample opportunity to observe the results, and they’re far from favorable.

Women generally and a great many men drivers do not like parallel parking and they never will. It takes a peculiar type of strength to turn the wheel of a car which will manipulate the vehicle gracefully into a curb space between two other cars. If it is done expertly the first time luck probably was a factor even among the most expert drivers. If there is a slight misjudgment of distance the operation has to be started all over again while horns honk and the driver sweats as he frantically spins the wheel and cranes his neck. The feat accomplished, the operator is often in a state of near physical and nervous exhaustion Medical men will tell you that patients have suffered strokes after the ordeal of trying to park a car in a confined space.

As for accelerating traffic through the main street, the plan has unquestionably worked too well. The fact is that fewer motorists are stopping to shop on Washington Street and business has suffered. One merchant claims that the experiment has cost him $2,000. Certainly, the ultimate in accelerated traffic would be to have an overhead highway with cars whizzing through town overhead and plenty of empty parking spaces below with merchants closing up shop and seeking business elsewhere. The question, then, is one of accelerated traffic vs. a decline in business.

If we are to insist on speeding up traffic through town there seems to be a fairly simple solution without hurting anyone — return to angle parking and compensate for the reduced street width by cutting down the sidewalks a foot and a half or two on each side.

In the meantime, motorists can exercise patience and restraint when going through town and take full advantage of angle parking, which we hope will return soon.

(All articles were originally published in the Norwood Messenger unless otherwise noted)

For the full photo of Washington Street from 1943, click below.

Downtown Norwood Looking North From Day St-1943