I have not been following the details of the recent discussions about Lyndale Avenue etc., but do want to concur in the implications of Mr. Alberti's comment. Having driven in a number of urban areas, I find that the coordination of traffic signals within Mpls (and the metro area generally) is horrendously done. As others have commented here recently, poor signal coordination not only increases congestion, it increases air pollution (indeed, the last time I checked, signal coordination is one legally recognized basis to reduce air pollution in EPA non-attainment areas).
I also would suggest --largely from my own reaction (and I suppose this is somewhat of a confession) -- that poor signal coordination contributes to aggressive driving. I am familiar with many stretches where one must drive at 15 mph to time the light and then 45 mph to time the following light -- and when missing one light will result in hitting the red lights at each of the next three, or four, or five lights. Speaking for myself -- as the rat in the cage--, this is my major source of stress when driving. I prefer to drive slowly and continuously to my destination. However, the system creates an incentive to drive erratically and magnifies the inconvenience that is posed by the vehicle in front that dithers, stops to turn or wanders into one's lane without signaling. The point being, light coordination on one-way "boulevards" preferenced for arterial travel is much simpler than it is for a two-way grid where preferencing is nearly impossible. I expect that most drivers would gladly trade off velocity for more continuous travel, and that traffic engineers would tell us that more continuous travel yields equivalent capacity at a lower speed limit. Thus, it doesn't seem to me that a strategic grid of one-way streets within the city needs to constitute a set of "concrete highways," but that a boulevard concept, with 25-mph speed limits, traffic calming devices, and the like can be quite compatible with both residential and pedestrian-scale retail while providing ample capacity. Chuck Holtman Prospect Park From: "Bob Alberti" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Mpls Forum" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Sat, 2 Nov 2002 14:28:11 -0600 Subject: [Mpls] one and two-way streets Here's the experience I have every Saturday, when I drive my daughter from Cooper neighborhood to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts: I drive west on the one-way 26th street from Hiawatha to 3rd Ave. If I drive at 28 MPH I rarely have to stop (usually at Portland). I return east on the one-way 28th street from Nicollet to Hiawatha. At 28 MPH I likewise rarely have to stop (usually once at Chicago). The amount of time I spend crossing the city on the one-way 26th and 28th streets is EQUAL to the amount of time it takes me to drive the three blocks south on bidirectional Nicollet Ave. to get from MIA to 28th St. Bob Alberti, CISSP, President Sanction, Inc. Phone: (612) 961-0507 PO Box 583453 http://www.sanction.net Mpls, MN 55458-3453 _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@;mnforum.org Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
