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I'm fine with one-way roads.
As a pedestrian/cyclist it’s nice to know you don’t have cars coming from every direction.
but do you
It’s better than the stroad intersections I have to cross to get to the grocery store. Multiple turning lanes, right turn on red, and a crosswalk timer of just 45 seconds.
A slow, one lane road would be fine. But specifically in the context of US downtowns, we had a bunch of two-way roads converted to two or three lane one ways so that speeds could be dramatically increased. In my city, virtually all of the pedestrians who die in downtown, die crossing these roads. They are particularly dangerous because when someone is crossing, the closest car will often stop and then someone behind will swerve around at high speeds to continue their rate of travel, and can’t see a pedestrian as they step into the next lane due to the height of the stopped vehicle.
It's insane to me how many people would rather swerve around someone rather than take a second to ease into a stop together. Though, I will admit that half the time I stop behind someone, 5 to 10 seconds later they either turn on their hazards or they let someone out of their car, including on one way streets like that.
Basically everything is garbage with having to drive everywhere, all the time.
It’s actually a legal requirement to stop when another car stops at a crosswalk, at least in California. But of course this is widely flouted.
I think it’s just one of those things that seems obvious when you think about it, but most people just don’t. Human beings didn’t evolve to operate heavy machinery at speed, and our brains aren’t well suited for it. So that’s why we need to change the infrastructure to enforce safety. I don’t think we can get there through education or enforcement.
I don’t think we can get there through education or enforcement.
It's far worse in the US than it is in some other countries I've lived in. So education and enforcement can probably make a significant difference.
Sounds like it's the inappropriate speed limit and failure to control crosswalks that are more deadly than the direction of travel.
Sure but they’re not disconnected from one another. People naturally drive slower when there’s oncoming traffic.
I agree, thats the one point of this video I questioned, but I think he's talking about the way they specifically work when used in these already car-centric US cities.
I'm general this video is spot on. It's sad that honestly most of the US is like this. I want to live somewhere that's made for people.
I will not state this was the main reason for my return to EU after US, but it’s definitely a very important perk of being back. The main reason was social security - I could not live in a country that is not a society
Yeah, I don't get that point either. Just as cul-de-sacs, one-way streets are a great way to prevent through-traffic in a neighborhood. But then again, I'm not from the US, so maybe it's just because our streets are designed differently.
Where I'm from, most one-way streets are single lane, 20 or 30km/h and allow cyclists in both directions. Emergency vehicles usually don't have a problem with them, as they can drive through them in the wrong direction anyway.
Many cul-de-sacs also allow cyclists and pedestrians through, acting as a modal filter. If I understand the video correctly, they also don't have a problem with the cul-de-sac itself but with the stroad it is connected to. So just fix the stroad, then.
The video is very americentric. Most of the issues are with implementation. Many of the things are only a problem in the way that they are used in the US.
Streets that are one way for cars as a consequence of reducing cars to a single lane are a good thing. The american version is keeping the street the same size when making it one way. The result is turning an entire downtown block into a highway median with 4-6 lane one-way roads on either side.
Modal filters are a good thing, but that's basically never done in the US. Culs-de-sacs are always built in car dependent suburbs. Culs-de-sacs are not connected to stroads, but small neighborhood streets. They're deliberately constructed dead ends to prevent thru traffic with no consideration for anyone outside of a car.
Its pretty common for there to be dirt paths through someone's yard. A few sympathetic homeowners will let people walk through their property when they realize the neighborhood was designed to require children walk 30 minutes in the wrong way to get to school.
One ways and dead ends are good tools for building urban places, but they are never used well in the us.
Can I get a writeup for those of us who can't watch videos right now?
Title: Every Urban Design That RUINS Your Life Explained in 9 Minutes
- Stroads combine the worst of streets and roads, causing slow traffic and danger for pedestrians.
- Parking craters destroy vibrant city blocks, replacing buildings with unnecessary parking lots.
- Car suburbs force dependency on vehicles, making life difficult for those without cars.
- Dead plazas lack shops and cafes, making them empty and uninviting public spaces.
- Highway cuts divide communities, often disproportionately affecting low-income neighborhoods.
- Drive-thrus redesign streets around cars, eliminating pedestrian-friendly spaces.
- Cul-de-sacs create car-dependent neighborhoods with poor emergency access and higher childhood obesity rates.
- One-way streets optimize traffic flow but eliminate street life and make pedestrian crossing dangerous.
- Urban design choices often prioritize cars over community well-being and pedestrian safety.
- Poor urban planning leads to long-term negative impacts on communities and their residents.
And then there's the abomination known as Hawthorne Blvd that I need to cross on the regular (so uniquely stupid that you can spot it in IdiotsInCars on the regular.). I'm not sure there's a classification for the divider also being a parking lot and turn lane combo.
Just went to look at it on a satelite image. And I mean, i apprechiate the try to make a street smaller and a bit greener. But why in the name of lungcancer would you ever want to park your car in the middle of two 2-4 wide roads?? And then there are still cars parked on the side/paving..?
this post was submitted on 30 Aug 2025
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