The Street Type that Breaks the Hierarchy
City Beautiful・2 minutes read
The text discusses the advantages of multi-way boulevards inspired by Paris and Brooklyn as a versatile tool for transportation planners, offering a blend of local access and arterial mobility while challenging traditional street classifications. Boulevards can potentially revolutionize urban road design, creating a non-hierarchical roadway system that improves traffic flow and provides a more pleasant experience for all users.
Insights
- Multi-way boulevards, like Octavia Boulevard in San Francisco, offer a unique design with lanes for thru traffic and local access streets, promoting biking and a park-like ambiance with trees.
- Boulevards challenge traditional transportation planning classifications by blending local access and arterial mobility, showcasing historical significance and potential versatility in replacing suburban arterials to enhance traffic flow and urban experiences.
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Recent questions
What is Nebula?
A platform for original series like "Great Cities."
How did Octavia Boulevard in San Francisco originate?
It replaced an elevated highway after an earthquake.
What are the features of multi-way boulevards?
They have two lanes for thru traffic in each direction.
How are streets classified in transportation planning?
Into local, collector, arterial, and highway types.
What potential benefits do boulevards offer?
They can improve traffic flow and replace suburban arterials.
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Summary
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"Revolutionizing Urban Road Design with Boulevards"
- Nebula is the platform for the new original series "Great Cities," starting with a video on Paris's Boulevards, accessible by signing up for Curiosity Stream and Nebula for under $15 annually.
- Octavia Boulevard in San Francisco replaced an elevated highway after the Loma Prieta earthquake, showcasing the transformation from an ugly highway to a multi-way Boulevard inspired by Paris.
- Multi-way boulevards feature two lanes for thru traffic in each direction, flanked by local access streets with parallel parking, encouraging bike use and creating a park-like atmosphere with trees.
- Functional classification in transportation planning categorizes streets into local, collector, arterial, and highway types, with boulevards offering a blend of local access and arterial mobility, challenging the traditional hierarchy.
- Boulevards, like those in Paris and Brooklyn, have historical significance and can serve as a versatile tool for transportation planners, potentially replacing suburban arterials and improving traffic flow.
- Multi-way boulevards, while rare, could offer solutions for urban and suburban roadways, replacing highways and arterials to create a more pleasant experience for all users, especially businesses along the boulevard.
- Retrofitting existing suburban arterials with multi-way boulevards may be challenging due to existing privately owned parking lots, but could be more feasible in urban areas with integrated land uses.
- Boulevards can provide a non-hierarchical roadway system, suitable for urban and suburban contexts, potentially revolutionizing urban road design and creating a better experience for all users.
