Freeways in Business Districts?

Here’s a question and a bit of commentary that showed up in our inbox recently – Why are some business districts more successful than others? Is it the affluent residential areas that surround some business districts but not others? Proximity to parks and recreation areas? Or simply—the number of lanes of traffic passing through the business district?

Picture the business districts you think of as successful (Old Town, Proctor, Sixth Avenue and Fern Hill might come to mind). They all have one lane of traffic in each direction. And instead of a second lane of traffic, they have on-street parking instead, which creates a narrower street, slowing drivers. The result is a much friendlier atmosphere for pedestrians.

The situation is much different in Lincoln, South Tacoma, Portland Avenue, and Oakland/Madrona, which don’t feel as accessible. In these business districts, two lanes in each direction are devoted to cars. There is often no on-street parking.

Cars have no incentive to slow down, so they drive down the street as though on a freeway. The result is an uncomfortable environment for pedestrians, and the lack of parking keeps businesses away.

If some of our business districts are indeed hurting because of a structural problem, the solution seems almost too simple. Create on-street parking, two lanes of traffic (with possibly a center turn lane) and your business district starts to look a lot more like a neighborhood.

Would you be willing to slow down?