Downtown Street Questions

[deinstein]

Boston Ave. - Are they switching this to four lanes, two in each direction with no turning lanes similar to the road south of 10th street? When do they plan to complete this switch?

Also, are there an other streets that are being changed from one way roads to two way?

Only Cincinnati and Detroit seem logical to stay one way, if that.

[inteller]

hahahaha....no boston is going 2 lane with parking on either side.....dreck at it's grandest...gotta recreate that smalltown america feel ya know!

converting the streets back to two way is an admission of failure to big city ambitions.

[cannon_fodder]

One Way Streets definitely help traffic flow.  

But I've never seen evidence that traffic flow is an issue downtown...

[sgrizzle]

I thought they were converting everything but the one way pairs..

[AVERAGE JOE]

quote:Originally posted by inteller

hahahaha....no boston is going 2 lane with parking on either side.....dreck at it's grandest...gotta recreate that smalltown america feel ya know!

converting the streets back to two way is an admission of failure to big city ambitions.

Sorry to derail your usual misguided blather...

- Downtown Tulsa was originally a grid of 2-way streets with parallel parking on both sides of the street.

- During the middle of the 20th century, the streets were converted to one-way (like many downtowns around the country) in response to growing traffic congestion.

- Downtown today doesn't have the traffic counts it did back when because downtown doesn't house most of the major retail in town like the 50s.

- Converting the streets back to two-way traffic makes sense because traffic counts don't require the throughput that one-way streets provide and two-way streets are widely considered more user-friendly.

[TheArtist]

quote:Originally posted by inteller

hahahaha....no boston is going 2 lane with parking on either side.....dreck at it's grandest...gotta recreate that smalltown america feel ya know!

converting the streets back to two way is an admission of failure to big city ambitions.

If there was a "failure to big city ambitions" then good riddance. As I am so fond of saying as pertains to Tulsa, "I would rather us try to be be Florence than Rome." You dont have to be big to have a wonderful lifestyle and have a bustling city core. Aspiring to be big is a fools errand. Aspire to be a quality city, with pleasing walkable streets, great urban and suburban neighborhoods, parks, jobs, arts, entertainment and athletic amenities, schools,,,, quality of life versus quantity of stuff.

[booWorld]

quote:Originally posted by deinstein

Boston Ave. - Are they switching this to four lanes, two in each direction with no turning lanes similar to the road south of 10th street? When do they plan to complete this switch?

Also, are there an other streets that are being changed from one way roads to two way?

Only Cincinnati and Detroit seem logical to stay one way, if that.

From the lane markings on Boston between 8th and 9th, it appears as though it will be 4 traffic lanes, 2 lanes in each direction.

[booWorld]

quote:Originally posted by deinstein

When do they plan to complete this switch?

Also, are there an other streets that are being changed from one way roads to two way?

Only Cincinnati and Detroit seem logical to stay one way, if that.

From the City of Tulsa website:

quote:
1. South Boston Avenue, East Third Street to East Seventh Street: street rehabilitation, sidewalk enhancements and conversion to two-way traffic; South Boston Avenue, East Seventh Street to East 10th Street: conversion to two-way traffic.

Bid opened: January 20, 2006

Contractor: Horizon Construction Co.

Contract amount: $5.5 million

Funding source: 2001 Third Penny Sales Tax

Construction began: April 22, 2006

Completion scheduled: fall 2007

Traffic information: Boston Avenue is limited to two northbound lanes between Seventh Street and Third Street. The south curb lane on Third Street is closed at Boston Avenue. Four-way stop signs are in use at the intersections of Fourth Street, Fifth Street, Sixth Street and Seventh Street with Boston Avenue.

Project details: replacement of waterlines and storm sewers, resurfacing of street, replacement of traffic signals, curb bump-outs at intersections, new trees, decorative pedestrian lights between intersections, brick-like concrete pavers on sidewalks, multi-space parking meters for parallel parking.

I check the City's website from time to time so I can compare the actual progress of the work to what is stated on the website.  I remember something about a completion date of April 2007 being changed to August 2007 being changed to fall 2007.  Some of the traffic lights are installed now, but the project is not complete.  As is the case with many public projects in Tulsa, this one seems to drag on and on.  

Also, I've noticed a few problems with the sidewalks and curb bump-outs, such as improper drainage at the northwest corner at 8th Street.  Curb bump-outs and wheelchairs ramps aren't very useful when they create puddles of water and patches of ice.  It could be awhile before the project is wrapped up, if ever.

I've cited this Tulsa World article from 2004 on another thread already, but it gives a brief overview of the design revisions between 3rd and 6th.

The one-way streets are fairly efficient at moving vehicular traffic when the traffic lights are timed correctly and working in sync.  As a pedestrian I find the one-way streets easier to cross than the two-way.

Most of the time, the stop signs around downtown seem to work as well or better than traffic lights for handling vehicles alone, but when pedestrians are added to the mix, the intersections with traffic lights are superior, especially at the 56 foot wide streets.

I think the City's intent is keep 1st, 7th, 8th, Cincinnati, and Detroit as one-way streets.  I'm not certain about 2nd since it has been cut between Frisco and Denver.  As far as I know, all other streets are to be converted for two-way traffic.