Parkwood to Become One Way (or Two Ways)
Cars speed through this intersection of Parkwood and Addison.
At the June 14th City Council meeting, 5th district councilman Marty Jewell is introducing an ordinance to change the traffic flow on Parkwood Avenue between Rowland and Stafford.
No. 2010-70 (Patron: Mr. Jewell) – To make the flow of traffic
one-way going west on Parkwood Avenue between its intersections with
Rowland Street and Stafford Avenue.
Currently, cars come off of the Downtown Expressway onto the one-way Parkwood Ave at high speeds and are confronted by head-on traffic at the Rowland intersection and continuing until the road ends at the old bus barn at Stafford Ave. There are no lines on the relatively narrow street. Add into the mix, the popular Lamplighter coffee shop and footbridge to Byrd Park that, together, attract a high volume of pedestrians and cyclists at the Addison intersection.
Making Parkwood one way would prevent high speed head on collisions, but would likely preserve the ‘high-speed off-ramp’ impression that makes Parkwood drivers hazardous to residents. On the other hand, making that stretch of Parkwood bi-directional and increasing signage, might slow the cars down, reducing the velocity of potential collisions. What is missing from the proposal, as it stands, according to local residents who frequent the footbridge to Byrd Park and Lamplighter, is a 4-way stop sign at Addison and Parkwood and a “stop ahead” sign on Parkwood that would alert drivers to the presence of pedestrians and fact that they’re entering a neighborhood.
The obvious fact that is never stated relies on simple physics…
Suppose there is a crash. In one scenario, the crash is head on (two-way) while in the other it’s rear-ended (one-way).
Further suppose CarA is speeding on the off-ramp and traveling 65mph while CarB is traveling 25mph.
In a head-on collision, velocities are added and both parties would feel a 90mph crash.
In a rear-ended collision, velocities are subtracted and both parties would feel a 40mph crash.
If this “debate” is really about safety then it seems making Parkwood one-way is the obvious choice. I would further suggest simply adding a red-light camera at the off-ramp intersection, Richmond City has already added 20, so what’s 1 more? And since there’s a police precinct 1 block away, just stick a police officer there with a radar gun once a week. Not only will the one-way speeders slow down, but the city generates revenue as well.
I think this is a pretty dumb idea. Richmond just finished its Downtown Master Plan less than 2 years ago, and one of the central tenets of that plan is to make many of the one-way streets downtown, two-way. From a traffic-flow standpoint, it introduces a little more delay at intersections, but that is more than offset by reduced travel times from people not having to circle around the block so much.
More importantly, two-way traffic inherently slows people down. Parkwood may be on the narrow side for a two-way street but it is much too wide for a one-way street. This will just INCREASE speeds.
Regarding the comment above from Michael: you are right, head-on collisions are much worse than rear ends. But has there EVER been a head-on collision on Parkwood? It sounds like the real concern here is pedestrian safety, especially with the recent increase in foot traffic. In which case, increasing traffic speeds would be the exact opposite of what we want to do.
Frankly, I’m not sure anything needs to be done, it’s never struck me as that bad an intersection. But if we do do something, I like the idea of an all-way stop at Parkwood and Addison. Even better, maybe some sort of curb bulbouts to narrow down the road and do traffic calming – which also have the benefit of making pedestrians more visible when they cross the street (particularly if we do bulbouts right across from the foot of the footbridge).
If I’m wrong and there really have been head-on collisions in that section, could we make Parkwood one-way EAST between Stafford and Meadow, and completely solving the issue of traffic speeding as they come up the ramp from the Downtown Expwy and cross Meadow?
Hi Marc: Don’t want to get into a debate but I’m pretty sure every one with half a brain has been educated to look both ways before crossing the street. Furthermore, there are ample sidewalks along the route, so I’m confused about pedestrian safety…
Also, you’re assuming a two-way street with two lanes, and a one-way street with one lane. I think it’s only fair to compare them by granting two lanes in both instances (it’s two lanes now). In fact, it seems a one-way with two lanes would only be safer as when drivers parallel park they have a lane to go around in, instead of dangerously going around against oncoming traffic (which would be legal as I don’t imagine them putting a double-yellow there).
And furthermore if two-way is the answer, then it seems you’re committed to changing the flow of traffic all the way to downtown… Parkwood / Cumberland / Canal…
I’m a fan of the 4-way stop at Addison and Parkwood as well…
I think it’s high time the city took initiative to make this section of town more hospitable. Slower traffic is a step in the right direction. I routinely walk with my two year old son to and from Lamplighter and crossing Parkwood at Addison is stressful. The cars come on fast from the EAST and they’re driving is too aggressive and generally inconsiderate.
The stretch of Parkwood that leads to the old bus barn doesn’t seem to get much consideration from the city. Although there is an eclectic mix including families with children living on that street, the high speed thoroughfare is poorly kept up. It seems as if the City is content to let the area go untended until developers swoop in to ride the coattails of whichever initiative eventually takes over the bus barn. Anything that can be done to build community in the meantime is worthwhile and that includes prioritizing the the needs of residents, park enthusiasts, and coffee shop customers over dangerous driving expressway commuters.
One-ways are not safer. Studies show traffic will go faster if it is one-way and property values will decline. Children live on this street; it does not need to be any faster. I live on this street and people drive like they’re still on the highway. We need some stop signs immediately.
Did this get voted on last night?
I drive through that part of Parkwood coming home from work most days–not because I come off of the Downtown Expressway but because it’s part of my path to avoid the expressway–and making it one way seems to make a lot of sense. If they decided to make it two-way they’d really need to have a lot of no-parking areas which would suck for people who live on that street. When I’m driving through there (not speeding, just trundling along with a line of other cars) any time somebody shows up trying to drive east it’s a big mess. I’ve never seen an accident there, but it could easily happen if somebody was driving recklessly.
“One-ways are not safer. Studies show traffic will go faster if it is one-way and property values will decline. Children live on this street; it does not need to be any faster. I live on this street and people drive like they’re still on the highway. We need some stop signs immediately.”
I agree with this sentiment wholeheartedly. Cars go WAY too fast down this road. Some stop signs at the very least would be much appreciated.
What about those big ginormous speed bumps that have in DC? Those seem to work. http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z250/kevin2083/speedBump.jpg
Yes the ordinance was voted on. The ordinance passed city council and was adopted. Here’s the text from the city itself:
“Ord. No. 2010-70-108 (Patron: Mr. Jewell) – To make the flow of traffic one-way going west on Parkwood Avenue between its intersections with Rowland Street and Stafford Avenue.”
[...] Jewell sponsored ordinance to make Parkwood Avenue one way from Rowland to Stafford. On this site, commenters voiced concerns about the speed of the traffic coming off the expressway as it cuts through the residential area [...]