facebook-pixel

Letter: One-way streets are not the answer

(Gillian Jones | The Berkshire Eagle via AP file photo) Motorists navigate the intersection of West and Center streets in Pittsfield, Mass., on Sunday, Dec. 1, 2019.

One-way streets enable less vehicle idling at traffic lights; however, they are not an effective strategy to reduce air pollution.

A network of one-way streets requires vehicles to travel circuitously to reach destinations and enables more pollution-generating traffic on a street at a given time. Drivers enjoy the higher speeds enabled by one-way streets at the cost of increased mortality for non-drivers in crashes and reduced comfort for less-polluting alternatives such as walking or bicycling.

Unfortunately, the devil, as always, is in the details.

Michael Baker, Salt Lake City

Submit a letter to the editor