Louisville, Kentucky - Scrapping one-way streets could reduce accident and crime rates
A recent study found that the number of accidents fell by as much as 60 percent on roads converted to two-way traffic.
Streets were ‘slower and calmer’ than one-way routes and therefore better for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport, as well as drivers.
The researchers claimed crime was reduced while property values rose because of the better living environment.
The study was led by John Gilderbloom, of Louisville University in Kentucky, and William Riggs, at California Polytechnic State University. They analysed two one-way streets in Louisville that had been converted to two-way.
Over three years, collisions dropped by 36 percent on one street and 60 percent on the other - despite an increase in the number of cars using the roads.
Analysis of traffic patterns across the city found the risk of a crash was twice as high in areas with one-way streets.
Automobile Association president Edmund King said: “Instinctively you might think that a one-way street should be safer because traffic is going in the same direction. However, that can tempt motorists to drive faster and may prove a disincentive for pedestrians to stop and look properly before they step out.”
Daily Mail