Get Started Studio | One-Way Couplet

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Photo: The wide-open design of this one-way street invites speeding.

Description of Problem: This one-way street is a highway business route through town in a small mid-west community. The street is part of a couplet, which means that there is a matching one-way street going in the opposite direction, in this case one block to the south. There is also a school several blocks to the east of this road, so children from the residential neighborhoods must cross both of the couplets in order to access the school property.

From looking at the street, there's little indication that people live here, or that they may want to walk along or across the road, or possibly bicycle down it. While two parking lanes are provided, they aren't getting much use. In its current configuration, the road "sends the message" to motorists that it's okay to drive fast here. It would be easy for motorists' speeds to creep up to 45mph or even higher, considering that the driver has just entered the community from a highway where the posted speed is 60mph.

Problem Statement: What can be done to slow motorists' speeds, and to make this a safer, more inviting place for pedestrians and bicyclists?

One-Way Couplet Ideas

Photo: A suggested treatment for the one-way couplet, narrowing the lanes to accommodate a bike lane and curb extensions.

Here are a couple of ideas that would help to slow traffic on this street and make it a better place for pedestrians and bicyclists. (Cost Estimate: $1,000-5,000 per block, to account for variations in curb extension situations.)

- The photo above shows what could be done with crosswalk and bike lane markings and a few curb extensions to delineate parking areas at key locations (for example, to the right of the bicyclist). Curb extensions reduce the crossing distance for pedestrians and provide a more noticeable place for them to stop and look for traffic.

- Note that the bicycle lane passes to the left of the curb extension; bike lanes should never run into the curb extensions, or else bicyclists will have to move left into the travel lane and then back again.

- One additional feature that might help keep speeds down is to somehow "terminate" the vista. For a motorist, it looks like the street goes on forever. If there were an occasional median island with plantings, it would make the street even better.

- Note that the bike lane is red. A number of communities have used color on their bike lanes and have found it emphasizes the bike lane while visually narrowing the roadway. Products like "Asphacolor" or "Ride-A-Way" can tint the asphalt without applying a potentially-slippery painted surface.

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