I’m sorry to hear that Portland is seriously considering this change.  Portland continually exports papers and messages to the rest of the continent about how forward thinking they are about transportation and planning.  To read about their proposal sends the opposite message.  Having lead several one-way to two-way conversions myself, I am  surprised that the business community is not freaking out at the one-way proposal.  The proponents must have quite a spokesperson.  Unless you run a road building company, I cannot imagine a scenario in which this would be good for your business.  Typically, one-waying streets damages business and restoring the two-way operation revives businesses.  It is an access and exchange issue.  However, if the businesses are already not doing well due to the two-way street being too fast, wide, ugly, or whatever, there are usually remedies that do not involve mercy-killing the street with a one-way system.

The pro one-way folks often exalt a variety of virtues of one-way streets but, in my experience, the bottom line is that it harms the place, no matter how well-intended it was ahead of time.  Furthermore, it costs so much to do the one-way system that it gets economically very challenging to undo it if it is allowed to happen.  Chances are, the money that would be spent on ruining the streets with the one-way system could be used to help the streets and the place become better.

Ian Lockwood, P.E.

Principal

Design + Planning

AECOM

www.aecom.com