Raise the Hammer

Spacemonkey,

While it is true that a one way street is likely to offer more frequent synchronized gaps in traffic for pedestrians to cross at non-signalized places, it creates more hazards than it removes.

The worst is for pedestrians walking along a one way street and travelling against the flow of traffic. Drivers are used to worrying only about traffic coming from the "correct direction" and it is very common for motorists to pull their car across a side street's crosswalk while looking only toward oncoming traffic. I have personally witnessed (many times) pedestrians being cut off because they were coming from the "wrong way" (luckily I have not witnessed actual injuries) and the driver approaching from the cross street didn't bother to look in their direction. I believe that pedestrian safety studies on one way streets have found this to be a major contributor to pedestrian "incidents".

There are other problems too - compounded on our own streets which also have timed lights. Motorists get lulled into a sense of security when moving with the flow for blocks and blocks, and less attention is paid to what's happening on sidewalks, crosswalks and side streets. Add to that the speed with which people drive when compared to a "Real" city like toronto, and you create a recipe for more pedestrian/vehicular incidents (And far worse injuries when they do occur)

I used to be literally in love with our one way flows - until I actually got out of the car and spent more time on foot and on bike. I still drive, cycle and walk - I don't discriminate against any form of transport :-)

In the end we have to remember that we are all pedestrians by nature, and that for many people, walking is the only safe and legal form of transportation available to them.

We need to put pedestrian safety (and convenience) first, followed by human powered wheeled transportation, followed by transit and commercial vehicles. Personal automobiles should be at the bottom of the convenience ladder.