Quote:
Originally Posted by Phillip
For a person in a wheelchair I would think crossing a one-way street would be safer than crossing a two-way street, all other factors (number of cars, number of lanes, speed of cars) being equal. They can focus their attention in one direction instead of having to look both ways.
If L and N become two-way there will be more traffic on K and O. There will be no incentive to drive the extra block to get to a one-way street like there is now. K Street, especially at 20th, is already a difficult place for pedestrians to cross and I think that will get worse.
I'm sure I don't fully appreciate the difficulties that bicyclists encounter travelling around Midtown, but the fundamental problem is the volume of traffic passing through Midtown, and turning Midtown streets into two-way won't reduce total traffic volumes.
Midtown would probably be a more pleasant place if those busy one-way thoroughfares were two-way. If I was moving to Midtown I don't think I'd consider an apartment overlooking any of the busy one-way streets. Still, I view the one-ways as a necessary accomodation, moving 21st century traffic volumes through streets laid out in the 19th century.
I think Midtown strikes a good blance now---enough one-ways but not too many. I also agree more could be done to improve safety for bicyclists. At least cyclists know what the bad streets are now and can strive to avoid them, and they do have alternatives.
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It does kind of seem logical that one-ways would be good for pedestrians because they'd only have to watch out for one side. But the problem is the behavior of drivers. Anyone who lives in Midtown or Downtown knows that drivers cruise the one-ways exceeding freeway speed limits at times, hence the term "mini-freeways." They use the two or three-lanes going one-way to cut each other off, burn out, race, etc.. I've had to step back or run to avoid cars coming at an intersection going 60 to 70 mph! This has happened to me specifically on L st. and Q st. which are both streets that aren't recommended for conversions. When I'm on K st. which has been converted to two-ways, I always feel safe crossing and drivers are always driving slow enough to at least see me.