Downtown Austin commission wants to end one-way streets
austincurrent.org
The Downtown Austin commission recently recommended making all downtown streets two-way, citing safety, more direct routes, better emergency vehicle access.

This seems like a really bad idea. I can barely get down some of the one way streets now, with busses and deliveries stopping, construction, etc. If anything we should be moving back to more one way streets to create room for bus and bike lanes, and more sidewalk traffic.

  • SpawnStorm@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    6 days ago

    Agree that this is a bad idea.

    Small quote from the article:

    “The Austin Core Transportation Plan, which is still being developed, aims to prioritize traffic flow, public transit, cycling lanes, pedestrian walkways and overall safety.”

    One of these are at direct conflict with the other. You cannot “prioritize traffic flow“ while also making room for public transit, cycling, and walkways.

    It’s non-trivial, but the only way to truly expand a downtown’s business district is to increase the population density. Every car parking spot and extra traffic lane is a reduction in population density. Therefore the solution is always something other than “improve the situation for the individual car”.