There’s gotta be a better way.
Photographer: UCG/Universal Images Group EditorialOne-Way Streets Are the Wrong Way to Tame Downtown Traffic
In the 1950s, US traffic planners thought unidirectional arterials were better for moving cars through urban areas. Now many cities are having second thoughts.
As 1990s high schoolers living in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, my friends and I often drove the dozen miles to Durham, another corner of the Research Triangle, to watch a Durham Bulls minor-league baseball game or see a show. The evening often ended with us growing discombobulated as we tried to make our way home. There was a popular saying at the time: “Durham is a city you can enter but never leave.”
The source of our frustration: Durham’s many one-way, high-speed streets. Driving quickly and unsure where to turn, my friends and I frequently found ourselves going around in circles.