One Way to Two Way

One Way

As we in the City of Chico prepare to convert more two-way road sections into one-way road sections, I thought that it was facinating to hear about some street sections in Sacramento going in the oposite direction of our travel:

From the Sacramento Business Journal:

Crews from the city of Sacramento Department of Transportation will convert J Street between 30th Street and Alhambra Boulevard from one-way to two-way traffic Tuesday, weather permitting.

The project, which includes adding bike lanes and parking in both directions, is part of the city’s push to make the neighborhood more livable and improve safety for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists. According to the city, traffic travels slower on two-way streets than on two-lane, one-way streets.

From the SacramentoPress.com :

The following is the complete list of first priority streets that have been converted from one-way to two-way or from three lanes to two lanes since 2007:

• J Street (30th Street to Alhambra Boulevard, to two-way, to be completed March 16)
• 19th Street (H Street to Broadway, from three lanes to two lanes with bike lanes, completed)
• 21st Street (I Street to W Street, from three lanes to two lanes with bike lanes, completed)
• N Street (21st Street to 28th Street, to two-way, completed)
• 3rd Street (I Street to J Street, to two-way, completed)
• 9th Street (E Street to I Street, to two-way, completed)
• 10th Street (E Street to I Street, to two-way, completed

In the  current episode of converting roadways to one-way travel in Chico, there is an effort to address the major traffic bottlenecks which occur from the left turns from 2nd Street onto Main and Broadway by converting a section of 2nd Street to one-way East Bound, and by converting one of the few remaining sections of 1st Street to one-way West Bound.

*Note that by John Bidwell’s intended design downtown streets do not run exactly East-West or North-South, but you get the idea

For some reason, I always expected that 3rd Street’s use as a West Bound artery would be expanded upon as part of the solution to the problem of the left turns from 2nd Street.

I’m still not very enthusiastic about the 1st Street Couplet idea. Particularly the idea of the loop sending traffic down 1st Street to be redirected Southerly at Salem to get back to 2nd Street seems odd. And the thought of all that traffic on one lane going down 1st Street to Salem and back to 2nd Street with people trying to get into and out of parking places along the way. That area is a bit difficult to navigate at peak times today.  I still have not heard about any other alternatives that were being considered or exactly how the City arrived at this particular solution.  But I am not a traffic engineer, and I do not play one on TV.

The City has done an excellent job of putting together graphics depicting the plan HERE. They communicate the plan so well, that even I can understand it.

Here are a few shots of the plan. Click for a slightly larger version, or see them in full living color at the City web site.

1st & 2nd Street Couplet

Couplet Legend

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Here’s a close up of the intersections of Salem at 1st Street (left), and Broadway at 1st Street (right):

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And, a close up of the intersection of 1st Street, 2nd Street and Flume Street near the Camellia Way Bridge:

03/25/10 Update: After attending the City’s latest presentation of the 1^st-2^nd Street Couplet project last night I had some additional ideas for clarifications and amplifications.

A Welcoming Downtown?: As it is, many people will not venture downtown because they do not want to deal with the traffic congestion, the labyrinth of one-way streets, the complexities of trying to find a parking spot and getting into and out of a parking spot, or all of the above.

Some folks waive those objections during the summer months – when there are many thousand fewer residents of the downtown area.

I can remember hearing those downtown objections when I worked downtown in the 1970’s, when my own business was downtown in the 1990’s, and I still hear them today.

I am afraid that the couplet project will add strength to those objections.

Some downtown business owners are definitely concerned about the potential effect of repelling customers with more traffic complexities, and worry that the change in traffic circulation patterns will have an adverse impact on the visibility of and accessibility to their location and therefore on their business.

City Staff are working to strike a balance among various concerns and objectives. Here are a few:

-          Reduce vehicle congestion. Most notably the bottlenecks currently caused by the left turns from 2^nd Street to Main and Broadway.

-          Improve bicycle traffic flow and safety. One example is that it is currently problematic to move to and from the Esplanade and downtown.

-          Improve pedestrian traffic flow and safety.

-          Increase parking places.

-          Better accommodate truck deliveries.

-          Improve the drop off opportunities to CSU-Chico

-          Better utilize existing right of way, and better allocate the existing area to the uses above.

I’m still having trouble working up much enthusiasm for the project, but unfortunately I do not see any obvious and simple answers to the issues at hand.

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