Article: Practicality, poetry of the white line

The white line painted down the middle of roads around the world may have originated in Redlands.

In 1911, Redlands' young city engineer George Hinckley came up with the idea of a white line in response to concerns about the dangerous curve at the intersection of Cajon and Vine streets.

Hinckley had been appointed city engineer in 1908, "in spite of the protest of one trustee who considered him a mere boy," his wife, Edith Parker Hinckley, wrote in "On the Banks of the Zanja," a history of Redlands published in 1951.

He served as city engineer for nearly 40 years and in that position made many contributions to Redlands over the years.

His wife told the story of the white line in "On the ...

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