I'll
have “Random Dates in Lexington History” for $200, Alex.
And
the answer is, September 10, 1950.
What
was the day when we got most of our one-way streets?
Correct.
That was the day when, at least, six of the downtown streets were
converted to one-way and new parking limitations for autos and trucks
set in place. Today, many of the parking rules and loading zones are
vastly different, but all but a few of the changed one-way streets are
still with us.
One-way
streets are a hot topic these days and I doubt if it is due to the
changes made back those 61 years ago. Downtown traffic has always
been a sore point and especially since the introduction of the
automobile. Even in the horse drawn buggy and wagons era there were
traffic problems. The conversation today is about slowing down the
traffic which moves through
downtown rather than just getting to and from downtown.
Is it
not odd that the morning rush hour traffic which flows well on the
two-way radial spokes of Richmond, Winchester/Midland, Tates Creek or
Leestown roads need the one-way uses of Main and Vine to get to where
they are going? During off-peak times are all of the vehicles solely
trying to get to the other side of town since many feel that downtown
is not a destination?
The 40
year experiment with one-way traffic on Main & Vine, the pattern
which many now believe that we cannot do without, may be a factor in
the oft referred decline of downtown and its bland atmosphere of
rapidly moving traffic and lack of pedestrians. The nice thing about
experiments like this is that the can be reversed.
Take
the example of East Short St from around the turn of the last
century. The section from Limestone to Walnut (now Martin Luther
King...) was made one-way. In the winter of 1926 a delegation of
Short street property owners petitioned for a repeal of that change
and it returned to a two-way street. Due to the narrowness of the
roadway where it passed the county jail, parking was prohibited for
its full length. Twenty-four years later, during the changes of 1950,
Short St was made one-way from Georgetown St to Deweese.
What
has surprised me most in doing research for this is the Limestone,
then U.S. 27, was still two-way and the oddest change was for Mill
and Upper Streets to assume part of that traffic as it passed through
town. Upper St was a southbound one-way at that point but not a part
of the national highway system and Mill St (or portions of it) was
northbound one-way.
Under
the 1950 change, Upper became northbound and Mill became southbound.
U.S. 27 traffic was diverted from North Broadway at Third and
apparently used Upper and Mill to connect with Bolivar, from which
one used Upper St to proceed south to Limestone and Nicholasville Rd.
This only last a few short years, since, as a pre-teen, I remember
Limestone and Upper as the exist today.
From
the map accompanying the newspaper article, the old version of Vine
St was changed to one-way from Broadway to Kentucky Ave. though I
have no recollection of that at all
The
plan of 1950 shows the westbound changes to Second St for both of its
East and West portions and Church street for its entire length, along
with Corral from Deweese to Midland.
That
leaves High and Maxwell Streets which became the one-way pair as we
know them today. As I have always known them from my days attending
Maxwell School. I don't think that I have ever heard anyone suggest
that it be any different. I do believe that if it is reverted to
two-way, then any parking on them anywhere would have to be
eliminated.
What
will this new, nearly half million dollar study determine for our
downtown streets? Will two-way streets add the necessary vitality to
the streetscape? Will this be another wasted attempt at “bringing
downtown back” which so many suburbanites bemoan from the safety of
their insulated subdivision communities.
Downtown
will never “come back” and I thank God for that. We can make it
better and not just from a traffic standpoint, and I thank a whole
handful of folks for that. But making it better is not as simple as
doing or undoing what may be “failed” experiments. It could be
tweaking some things and wholesale makeovers on others, so we need to
be thoughtful in how we proceed. Since they were looking at parking
restrictions and loading zones/times as part of the traffic(auto and
foot) problem, then maybe we should revisit them as well.
2 comments:
I think families should be encouraged to bike and walk (strollers too!) downtown. Before we get persnickety about the sidewalks, we need to make sure the bike lanes are very safe.
Lacey, I too believe that families should use the downtown facilities. Children up to the age of 12 are allowed to ride on sidewalks in the downtown area and they should be accompanied by their parents. In addition, parents should teach the proper use of bike lanes as the children age.
For that matter, I think that one of the benefits of returning to two way streets, and the slowing of traffic, will be an easing of the fear of using downtown bike lanes. Biking next to a vehicle moving at a slower relative speed is not quite as daunting.
The problem with strollers is the place where the adults wish to place them relative to pedestrian traffic patterns.
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