100 years ago in Spokane: Some drivers were creating dangerous roadways not by going too fast, but too slow

A Spokane police captain proposed a new law aimed at a growing highway menace: drivers who were going too slow.

Capt. Martin J. Burns proposed a minimum speed of 20 miles an hour on state highways.

“The extreme slow rate at which some people travel on the highways results in many accidents, when people wishing to get somewhere at 20 to 30 miles per hour try to pass the sightseers,” said Burns. “The other evening, I was driving in from Liberty Lake and got into a jam near Opportunity. I had to slow down to about 10 miles per hour.”

The jam, he said, was caused by “an old couple in an ancient machine,” who were “showing friends all the nice orchards along the road.”

A similar law had just been proposed in Oregon.

From the stadium beat: Gonzaga University awarded a contract for a new stadium, built partially on the site of a smaller current athletic field. This stadium would be much larger – 607 by 437 feet – and would occupy ground previously covered by lumber piles from the McGoldrick Lumber Co. Also, three houses on DeSmet Avenue would be moved to new locations.

The new running track “will be one of the fastest anywhere in the country,” the architect said. It would be constructed in a five-layer bed.

Also on this date

(onthisday.com)

1923: The Hollywood Sign is officially dedicated in the hills above Hollywood, Los Angeles. It originally read “Hollywoodland” but the four last letters were dropped after renovation in 1949.