Minutes 02/28/1922 - Laserfiche WebLink

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February 28th, 1922 sp. ap] At the eas~ end of High St. not more than one oa~ from each routs shout~ibe per- mitted to park at the curb to receive passengers up to the schedule time for leaving. Schedules should be adjusted so as to prevent more than one ca~ of each route leaving and one oar of each rou~e entering the High St. terminml at The sams time. Any ca~ arriving ahead of schedule, while two other cars on its route are in the High St. terminal should bs required to turn and proceed back on its route. No jitney should be permitted tc pass another j~itney whether the latter be moving or-standing unless it be broken down. PENALTIES The present penalties seem To be too severe for mino~offenses not involving de- liberate intent and possibly not severe enough for deliberate violations of ordinances. It is believed that the City N~nager should have more power in an executive Kay in the revoking of licenses. Where the jitneur is found guilty of charging more than the regular faze allowed by ordinance, or where any chauffeur is guilty of unbecoming conduct or is shown to ~s mn unfit person to operate a jitney, the City ~nager should have power to summarily suspend or re~oks licenses. The fins provided for in the present ordinance should o~ amended so ms to read from $2.00 to $100.00 instead or,from $10.00 ~o $10~.00. Minor infractions of the law which are evidently not intentional o~which may be due to oversight, like failure to provide proper~ lights, lights out; bus out of rsp~r or not kept olean should be punished by minor fines and license should not be revoked until six convictions are recorded against a chauffeur in the preceding twelve months. ~n offenses, however, involving deliberate intention, like speeding, running past street cars or other jitneys, the punishment should be more severe mhd three convictions in one year should ~utomatioally revoke the license or permit. The m0s~ serious off~nse charged against operators of motor oars of all classes and the one which involves more danager ~o life and limb not only to passengers but to pedestrians is speeding. Form~spe~ding, the first oflense should be punished b~a fine not less than $10.00, the second by a.fins not 'less' than ~50.00, the ~hird by ~ fine not less than $100.00 and thirty days in Jail, the~jail sentence to b~ sus- pended at the discretion of the court, with the understkndi~g that the ~uilt~ ope~a~or~ sD/all not operate a motor car within the Cit~ of Portsmouth for a period of one year and that if he is found operating a car within this period, the jail sentence will go into effect. CONCLUSION The outstanding facts brought out in this report are: let- ~h~t no additional routes are needed in the City of Portsmouth; 2nd- that no mdditio~ml oa~s ~re reGuired on these rouzes but rather a decrease in the number of oars a~d an increase in the minimum Size bf Oars permitted~ As already indicmted, t~e report is made on the basis o~ neglecting consideration of the street railway system altoge,her. This is clsmrly an abnormal situatio~ andwould meet present needs only,~without oonside~i~Ag the future either of the street car or jitney ~rans~ portation in the City. It is therefore my recommendation that only those psmts of ~his repots demling with the better ~on~rol, better condition, be~ter schedules and penalties be 0onsidered mt the prese~t, time~ ~hiie the'question of the modifmcation in the numbe~o£ jitneys and in their Sizes be considered in connection with the trs~usportation problem as a whole. "Yours truly, "J. P. Jervey, City M~nage=.~ On mo~ion of Mr. White, the Clerk was instructed to fuXnish each Councilman with a copy of said report and the report was Imid on the table for f~%~z$ consideration. UNF,_ N!SHED BUSINESS The filling of a vacancy on the School Board from the Third School District, caused bF the resignation therefrom of H. J: Maddest, was taken up. Ih this connection, a communmcation was read from Elm Ave. SchOol League, endorsing H. N. Gumm for the position. Mr. Brooks nominated Mr. ~umm to fill the ~mcmncy, and there being no other nominations he ~as elected, and by the following vote: Ayes-- Brooks, Esleeok, Oast, Smith, White, On motion of Mr. Brooks, action on the following ordinance, which h~d bs~en pl,.ced .on i~s first reading February I4th, was deferred until the next regu~lar meeting of C~unci~l, An 0r~c Au ho 'zin n . e~l ~ ~ ~ the C ~s u~+ oh ~ ~n f th S. ra ~ G S 1~ ,.~ omen o~s 2~th, was t~en up, read, ~d on motion of Mr. Esleeck a~pte~: AN ORDINANCE TO R~PEAL "AN ORDINANCE GRANTING ~ FRANCHISE FOR THE USE OFCER~AIN STREETS OF THE CITY OF PORTSMOUTH 'FOR .AN AuTOMoBILE PAsSENG~BUS LINE FRON THE'C~TY OF pORTSMOUTH TO TR~ CITY OF SUFFOLK, VIRGINIA." And by the following vome: Ayes-- Brooks, Esleeck, Oast, Smith, White, 5. ~ In this co~eotion, ~ Esl~eok moved that a s~ecis~l appropri ation of $293.93 be allow- ,, ed tO refund the PortsmouthLSuffolk Bus Co. for the ~, &ci~, paid for said franchise. The motion was axiopted, and by the following vote: Ayes-- Brooks, Esleeck, Oast, Smith, White, 5. ~E Joiner Resolution p~oposing amendment to Section I?0 of the Constitution of Virginia, which wa~ ~t~ table from meeting January 24th, was, on motion of Mr. Broaks, continued on the table.