House and Garden 
“THE octagon” OR CROSSING OF THE GALLERIA VITTORIO EMANUELE IN MILAN 
G. Alengoni, Architect 
out of new avenues through congested quar¬ 
ters are common but very expensive pro¬ 
cesses, for much property must be acquired 
by the city, and the very fact of congestion 
has made it extremely valuable. A solution, 
therefore, which will facilitate the movement 
of pedestrians and short-haul vehicle traffic 
and which is not expensive is not only ur¬ 
gently needed but has not been discovered. 
The prevention of congestion is often dif¬ 
ficult because a street is used by different 
kinds of traffic. When crowded, the slow¬ 
est vehicle sets the pace for all others, and 
often the unloading of a wagon will block a 
whole line for many minutes. Then, too, 
pedestrians are often forced to use the road¬ 
way because of the inadequacy of the sidewalk, 
which they do at considerable risk. When 
the various classes are separated, each moves 
with much greater rapidity and less friction. 
BLOCK AND STREET ARCADES. 
The street arcade is an important means 
to this end. The exclusion of vehicles en¬ 
ables pedestrians to proceed rapidly and 
safely. Its roof serves as a protection from 
heat in summer, cold in winter and stormy 
weather throughout the year. Shop-keepers 
find a financial advantage, because it attracts 
purchasers. The artistic character of the 
street is greatly improved also, and the at¬ 
tractiveness of the city increased. 
The arcade idea is not adaptable to all 
streets with advantage. It presupposes the pos¬ 
sibility of eliminating vehicular traffic, except 
possibly at certain hours when goods are called 
for or delivered. But in every city there are 
districts from which vehicular traffic has 
voluntarily withdrawn almost wholly because 
the business carried on there renders it un¬ 
necessary or because there are other more 
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