Downtown Streets
Are We Strangling Ourselves on One-Way Networks?
Source: Transportation Research Board
As many communities are in the process of revitalizing their downtowns, a common issue is the prevalence of intricate and often confusing one-way street networks. This paper provides a comparison of one-way versus two-way street systems for downtowns and presents an evaluation methodology for considering two-way conversion. The analysis gives equal weight to all modes of travel and includes the non-regular visitor to downtown. Motorist analysis factors include mobility, vehicle miles of travel, number of turning movements, travel time, vehicle capacity, and parking supply. Pedestrian factors analyzed are number and severity of pedestrian/vehicle crossing conflicts. Direction and symmetry of routes comprise the transit analysis factors, and retail factors measure the visibility of street front locations.
