Agenda - 05-19-1987 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Minor Thoroughfares are more important streets in the city system. They collect traffic from local access streets and carry it to the major thoroughfare system. They may in some instances supplement the major thoroughfare system by facilitat- ing minor through traffic movements. A third function which may be performed is that of providing access to abutting property. They should be designed to serve limited areas so that their development as major thoroughfares will be prevented. Major Thoroughfares are the primary traffic arteries of the city. Their function is to move intra-city and inter-city traffic. The streets which comprise the major thoroughfare system may also serve abutting property; however, their major function is to carry traffic. They should not be bordered by uncontrolled strip development because such development significantly lowers the capacity of the thoroughfare to carry traffic and each driveway is a danger and an impediment to traffic flow. Major thoroughfares may range from a two-lane street carrying minor traffic volumes to major expressways with six or more traffic lanes. Parking normally should not be permitted on major thoroughfares. Idealized Major Thoroughfare System A coordinated system of major thoroughfares forms the basic framework of the urban street system. A major thoroughfare system which is most adaptable to desire lines of travel within an urban area and which permits movement between various areas of the city with maximum directness is the radial-loop system. This system consists of several functional elements. --- radial streets, crosstown streets, loop system streets, and bypasses (Figure 2.1). Radial streets provide for traffic movement between points located in the outskirts of the city and the central area. This is a major traffic movement in most cities, and the economic strength of the central business district depends upon the adequacy of this type of thoroughfare. If all radial streets crossed in the central area, an intolerable congestion problem would result. To avoid this problem, it is very important to have a system of crosstown streets which form a loop around the central business district. This system allows traffic moving from origins on one side of the central area to destinations on the other to follow the area's border and allows central area traffic to circle and then enter the area near a given destination. The effect of a good crosstown system is to free the central area of crosstown traffic, thus permitting the central area to function more adequately in its role as a pedes- trian shopping area. Loop system streets move traffic between suburban areas of the city. Although a loop may completely encircle the city, a typical trip may be from an origin near a radial thoroughfare to a destination near another radial thoroughfare. Loop streets do not necessarily carry heavy volumes of traffic, but they function to help relieve central areas. There may be one or more loops (spaced one to two miles apart), depending on the size of the urban area and intensity of land use. 2.5