One-Way Streets to Improve Traffic Flow

The article “Stern Strategy Unveiled to Stem Traffic Congestion” by James Quinn (Jan. 28) discussed several proposals made by a body of San Fernando Valley elected and civic officials to combat Valley traffic congestion.

They included blocking off side streets, banning on-street parking and left turns, prohibiting daytime deliveries in busy commercial areas, staggering working hours, building bridges over certain intersections, extending several streets across railroad tracks, extending some avenues, relocating certain on- and off-ramps to the freeway, limiting access to some streets and converting some lanes on roads, reversing their directional flows at different rush-hour times.

The roughly rectangular area, bounded on the north by the Simi Valley Freeway, on the east by the Hollywood Freeway, on the south by the Ventura Freeway and on the west by Topanga Canyon Boulevard is blessed with major traffic arteries that in general go at right angles to each other in either a north-south or east-west direction. This area does not require the multiplicity of strategies offered above, some of which may prove to be quite expensive to implement, in order to stem traffic congestion.

A time-proven method of improving traffic flow used in many large cities quite successfully could be used in the rectangular area described that is the center of the San Fernando Valley. The method is making the major traffic arteries one way. One-way traffic flow results in less stop and go such that fuel utilization becomes more efficient and air pollution is reduced. One-way traffic results in elimination of turns across oncoming traffic. One-way traffic eliminates sudden stops and turns and forces people to plan their trips more wisely and efficiently. One-way traffic is far easier and cheaper to implement than bridges and extending streets, and is less confusing than having lanes that change directions dependent on the time of day. One-way traffic will cost less in terms of reduction of numbers of commercial customers than limiting access to some streets and banning parking. There will be less expense to businesses in having one-way traffic than the costs related to banning or limiting daytime deliveries.

Maybe the biggest problem with implementation of one-way traffic on major traffic arteries is that it costs so little, is so simple and so effective that it doesn’t need to be studied and analyzed for years and requires so little money to implement that there is no greater glory to be gained by it.

Should such one-way traffic be implemented and not result in the desired effect to the extent expected or wished, then, and only then, should other alternative strategies be explored.

SYLVAIN FRIBOURG

Woodland Hills