# Cities and One-Way Streets



## Chicagoago (Dec 2, 2005)

What's the situation in your city with one-way streets?

Here in Chicago we have roughly 2,080 KM of one-way streets within the city limits. A very large % of the residential streets in Chicago are all one-way streets, and almost all main streets and arteries are all two-way streets. The exception is downtown, where nearly every street except for around 3 are one-ways.

This started in the 1950's and 1960's in the city center as a means to help traffic flow with one-ways on main roads. The program then switched, and thousands of petitions were granted to change smaller, and residential streets to one-way in the 1960's and 1970's. This was because the streets were too thin for two way traffic with parking on each side. If streets were one-way, you could have parking on each side of the street, and a one to one and a half lane space in the center for driving. As a result of this, almost all residential streets in Chicago are now one way streets.

Main city streets are mostly 2-lane, two-way streets that transgress the entire city. Some streets farther out from downtown are 4 lane roads, and a few far out streets are even 6 lanes (but not many).

What's the situation in your city? Are residential areas mostly one-way or two-way?


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## sequoias (Dec 21, 2004)

Most of downtown Seattle is one way streets, few residential areas have it , too. I have no idea how many miles of one way streets in downtown Seattle alone.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

New York has so many of them, especially the east-west streets in Manhattan.


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## gladisimo (Dec 11, 2006)

Same with San Francisco, one way streets everywhere.


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## Xelebes (Apr 1, 2007)

Edmonton has exactly one one-way street (avenue in this particular case) with the exceptions of any single one leading to a bridge (all bridges in Edmonton's downtown are one-way).


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## itsmevishal2k4 (Oct 30, 2006)

mumbai is mostly one way i think

if not 50-50


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## dchengg (Jan 13, 2006)

Vancouver downtown used to be mostly one way streets,
which may get confusing very easily
but then now they converted some streets to two way lanes


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## pilotos (Jan 24, 2007)

Well my city's center is full of one way streets along with pedestrian streets


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## DanielFigFoz (Mar 10, 2007)

pilotos said:


> Well my city's center is full of one way streets along with pedestrian streets


me to


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## Resident (Aug 18, 2006)

Downtown Denver is almost all one-way, I can think of a couple that aren't but not many. I live in cap. hill and alot of the residential streets in my neighborhood are one-way, I'd say maybe 40%, I think thats alot for residential.


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## Xusein (Sep 27, 2005)

Downtown has a few one-ways, but I would say at least 90% of the city has two-way streets.

The problem of this is that many people park their cars on the street, making a drive down a residential street when a car is coming the other side a gamble.


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## invincible (Sep 13, 2002)

Ahh Melbourne, where the CBD streets still have room for 45 degree parking in the middle of the road (or a dual track tram line).

Of course, a lot of people thought that the streets were ridiculously wide when they were first built, but it comes in handy, 150 years and 3.8 million people later.

Some streets here are too narrow to fit two-way traffic along with parking - but it just becomes an etiquette thing when one car pulls over to let the other pass.


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## AltinD (Jul 15, 2004)

DUbai city streets are also one-way and have a speed limit of 80 kph (50 MPH). Only neighbourhood roads are two-way.


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