Re: [Ebbc-Talk] One-Way Streets: Do Humans Really Think?!

My experience with all the one way streets in downtown Portland, Oregon, is that they were GREAT for bicycles. They simplify traffic a great deal and make it easier for bicycles, which move slower and steer differently than the cars, to navigate intersections safely. In particular, turning left off a busy street works much better.

I lived in Portland, OR for 9 years as the bicycle traffic tripled from 1% of transportation trips to 3% of transportation trips. Bicycling has tripled again since I moved to the bay area. The one way streets in and around Downtown remain. 

One added benefit of one-way streets is that it's easier to get the lights timed. In downtown Portland they were timed at 15 mph, which is a great speed for cycling.

On Oct 10, 2012, at 6:40 PM, [email protected] wrote:

> Message: 1
> Date: Sun, 07 Oct 2012 10:15:54 -0700
> From: Mike Vandeman <mjvande-yBeKhBN/[email protected]>
> To: Recipient list suppressed:;
> Subject: [Ebbc-Talk] One-Way Streets: Do Humans Really Think?!
> Message-ID: <810347.49699.bm-lZTCTkxaLTf8AbloPCyspULUdxTIq2jXG6kzb5Gsg2M@public.gmane.org>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
> 
> It's really not rocket science. If there are no one-way streets, one 
> can always get where one wants to go via the shortest route, saving 
> gas and reducing accidents and global warming (assuming that you are 
> one of those dinosaurs still using motor vehicles). Once you 
> introduce one-way streets, you will often have to drive farther than 
> the shortest route. For a simple example, say you are at one end of a 
> one-way street and want to get to somewhere else on that street.
> 
> While we are on the subject of traffic, have you noticed how many 
> residents have eliminated their off-street parking space, and forced 
> the city to provide them on-street parking at a ridiculously low 
> below-market price? On-street parking -- at least on arterials -- 
> should be eliminated. Instead, those lanes should be for the 
> exclusive use of bicyclists and emergency vehicles. That would 
> provide bicyclists a safe place to ride, and provide ambulances a way 
> to get through when the traffic lanes are full of cars.
> 
> Then we could solve the homelessness problem by using the parking 
> lane on non-arterials for old cars that no longer run, to be used as 
> housing for the homeless. They could have a safe, dry place to sleep 
> and lock up their belongings.
> 
> There! The world's major problems solved in only three paragraphs! 
> Now get to work!

_______________________________________________
Ebbc-Talk mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.ebbc.org/listinfo.cgi/ebbc-talk-ebbc.org