One Way Streets

[ChazYEG]

Not sure if this is the best place to bring this up, but I've been studying our road system, since moving to Edmonton, last year, and onde thing strike me as odd:
Why do we have so few one-way streets, especially in the Downtown core?
Most major cities I know use this as a way to better discipline traffic, improve fluidity, reduce accidents and even to activate parts of the city, by turning them into a mandatory route. It would, also, provide the opportunity to reduce lane width and create potential for better landscaping for pedestrians, bicycles, etc (I really see 102 Ave, between 121 Street and 111 Street a fine example of this).
I've seen cities wth very degraded and chaotic areas, such as São Paulo and Rio, in Brazil, New York, Boston and San Diego improve these areas just by doing this somewhat simple change.
Is it cultural? Has it been tried and didn't work? What are your thoughts on this matter?
GO!

 

[_Citizen_Dane_]

Not sure if this is the best place to bring this up, but I've been studying our road system, since moving to Edmonton, last year, and one thing strike me as odd:
Why do we have so few one-way streets, especially in the Downtown core?

We did have a pretty extensive one way street system through the core at one point in time. Talks first began in 1957 for a system of downtown one ways and a plan was adopted in 1958, although it wasn't implemented until 1966-67. By that point Garneau had already been converted into one ways, as had portions of Westmount, most notably 127th Street, both of which remain that way today. The City was actually really on board with it and voted to keep 127th northbound only in 1978, despite pubic opposition, while in 1981-82 the Norwood/Alberta Avenue communities shifted to the Garneau model, again against the public's wishes. As for downtown, they were very divisive. Some loved them, others hated them. Some businesses claimed to see increased foot traffic, others less. They were seen as a contributing factor in downtown's stagnation in the 1990s, and thanks to lobbying from downtown business owners the City reversed its approach in '98.

I’ve attached some newspaper clippings, both reports and op-eds, below. They go into more depth discussing the original plans, to implementation, to public feelings, to reversal.

 

[Kaizen]

I think that the 10 block section of 102 Ave is a great example of a successful one-way street conversion. I like a well thought out one-way in higher density residential areas. Maybe Columbia Ave? The one-way conversion has actually been going on in a few residential neighbourhoods throughout the city. Maybe more could happen in higher density residential areas to slow traffic and beef-up the pedestrian realm? But on a "Main Street" scenario? The cities you mentioned for comparison have been successful-ok. I lived in NYC years ago, it's roads are all mainly one-ways isn't it? - narrow corridors and incredible density, as are your other examples I think. Could YEG be successful with more one-ways? Possibly.
I think 2-way roads are best suited for a lot of mixed-use scenarios such as Jasper Ave, Whyte, 124 street, and for most areas throughout our extensive grid system. 2-way traffic works fine in a lot of our commercial areas mixed in with wide one-way arteries to move high volumes of traffic like the Gateway 103/104 street corridor.
Maybe closing a destination street to motor vehicles and designating parallel neighbouring streets as one-ways would work excellently in the right situation? I think we need to provide a proper working network of transit in various forms first and hopefully reduce vehicle dependence syndrome.

 

[ChazYEG]

Kaizen, I do see your point, regarding streets like Jasper, Whyte or 124 St (altough I Can honestly picture the latter being one-way, forming a binary system with 123st, at least between 107 ave and Jasper). As for the complaints from Downtown business owners, I'm all for one-way narrower streets, with larger sidewalks, bike lanes and on street parking, to reduce traffic speed without slowing the flow so much.
Now, the examples I gave are all very different among themselves. Rio, for example, turned most of the city to one-way, including the downtown and more dense neighborhoods, even though most streets are wide, a result of a parisienne inspired redesign fro the early 1900s, with boulevards, etc... In recent years, the downtown went from super dangerous and degraded to one of the liveliest and most beautiful parts of the city, which was part of a revival centered in repurposing the streets with LRT and bike lanes, new pedestrian boulevards, much like Vancouver.
São Paulo falls into the same category as NY, I'll give you that.
I don't mean to compare these cities, overall, as all of them are so much bigger than YEG that it's not even fair (San Diego is the smallest metro, at roughly 3.5mi and São Paulo the largest, at roughly 10x that), I just meant to use it as a catalyst for the debate.
I'm also aware that the extreme cold for, at least, 3 to 4 months, makes bike lanes and pedestrian outdoor routes underused and it might seem to be a waste of money to build them, here (I strongly disagree, but that's just me, eh?!).
Which streets do you believe would be good options for one-ways? How would you build them? As I said, I've been studying our road and transit systems, so I'd love everyone's input.

 

[cliffapotamus]

I think this is a really interesting concept, and I didn't realize edmonton had dabbled so heavily with it in the past. One point i'll posit is cultural-social resistance to the concept (every time i talk with someone in Edmonton about DT Calgary, their first complaint is about trying to navigate the one-ways (irony of trying to drive through a downtown like that aside). living on the one-way 127 Street, which as Citizen Dane pointed out, has been one-way for almost 50 years, we still get people driving the wrong way down the street daily, even with the new bike lane, signage, etc. This is in contrast to the benefits of such a plan. Narrowing car ROW to the benefit of pedestrian/bike space is much-needed, but given the huge widths of roads in a lot of our downtown/central area (even 124 is 70' wide minimum, i believe it gets bigger at the 107 ave intersection) i think much improvement can be made in regards to pedestrian spaces without adding the complexity of one-ways (which edmonton drivers DO NOT understand or follow consistently) by narrowing lanes, reducing the number of lanes in areas, and reducing parking.
I think doing something like this would have to be a part of a much larger push towards improving literacy surrounding how to navigate the city and use our (surprisingly consistent) numbering system. if all odd streets were NB and even SB city-wide, so people could plan on it as they (drive honestly, drivers are usually the worst navigators) we could do this. but having a one-way grid exist on it's own in downtown, or only a couple neighbourhoods, would confuse people. Given how fickle people can be regarding being able to navigate spaces (again, mostly by car) the consternation might not be worth the effort.
Not trying to be a downer, i just wanted to add a comment about how Edmontonians would probably interact with a system like this. I could be done, but maybe we can achieve the same goals while keeping things idiot-proofed as they are now.

 

[Avenuer]

102 Avenue will go back to a one-way westbound from 107 Street to 95 Street with the completion of the Valley Line West.

 

[Platinum107]

@Nosirrah Yeah that makes sense... considering there's only one lane of car traffic left with the bike lane and LRT. Edmonton's first true complete street ladies and gentlemen!

 

[ChazYEG]

I've been to Calgary a few times over the past two months, for a few different reasons, and it struck me, again, how it seems to me that the one-way streets they have in the Downtown area help a lot with traffic congestion. It also seems to give life to some stretches of street that wouldn't otherwise see any movement, pedestrian or car, by the simple fact that cars NEED to use those streets, rather than concentrating in one or two streets.
I honestly believe that we could very well make good use of it, especially for the N/S streets between 97 and 124 streets (not including these two) and maybe 102 and 103 av (between 101 and 109 st) and , 105 and 106 avenues (between 105 and 116 St).

My proposal would see the following, between 97 St and 124 St and 97 Av and 111 Ave)

2-way streets

97 St
101 St (north of 104 Ave)
109 St
110 St
116 St
121 St
124 St
97 Ave
98 Ave
99 Ave
100 Ave (east of Victoria Park Rd, one-way from VPR to 121 Street)
Jasper Ave
104/103a Ave

1-way streets (South of 104/103a Avenue)

100 St/McDougall Hill Rd - Southbound
101 St/Bellamy Hill Rd - Northbound
102 St - Southbound
103 St - Northbound
104 St (only local traffic between Jasper and 104 Avenues)
105 St - Northbound
106 St - Southbound
107 St - Northbound
108 St - Southbound
112 St - Southbound
113 St - Northbound
114 St - Southbound
115 St - Northbound
117 St - Northbound
118 St - Southbound
119 St - Northbound
120 St - Southbound
122 St - Southbound
123 St - Northbound
102 Ave - Eastbound
103 Ave - Westbound

1-way streets (North of 104/103a Avenue)

116 St (north of 105 Ave) - Northbound (continuing from 116 northbound lanes)
117 St (north of 105 Ave) - Southbound (turning into 116 St southbound lanes)
105 Ave (Between 105 St and 116 St)
106 Ave (Between 105 St and 116 St)

I would end left-turns on Jasper, 104/103a and 107 Avenues, as well as on 97, 101, 109, 116 and 124 Streets (south of Stony Plain Road/104 Ave), which would also make traffic flow better and, where they exist, free the left-turn lane to be converted either in a convertible lane, bike lane or extended sidewalks. I'd also narrow the ROW on Jasper and 107 Ave, (with the new 40 km/h reduced speeds it is entirely possible and would give more space for either bikes, pedestrians or landscaping). and convert the curb lanes, in some sections, to exclusively parking lanes, narrower and that would organize traffic flow a lot more.

I remain convinced that, in the end, over two decades and a huge movement towards densification and urbanization in the core, will have changed the perceptions of business owners and residents. I would also bet a limb that it would be extremely beneficial for businesses, commuters and downtown residents alike.

 

[The_Cat]

Some good ideas. Given that Oliver is a residential neighbourhood, implement the one-way streets there first.