This seems like a really bad idea. I can barely get down some of the one way streets now, with busses and deliveries stopping, construction, etc. If anything we should be moving back to more one way streets to create room for bus and bike lanes, and more sidewalk traffic.
As someone who drives around downtown daily, I couldn’t disagree more. One way streets force you to move through multiple unnecessary intersections in order to get where you’re going and increase traffic. The two-way streets downtown are already much more free flowing (think 5th St and Brazos). If all streets are converted to two-way, it would be easier to circumvent a problem area.
Agree that this is a bad idea.
Small quote from the article:
“The Austin Core Transportation Plan, which is still being developed, aims to prioritize traffic flow, public transit, cycling lanes, pedestrian walkways and overall safety.”
One of these are at direct conflict with the other. You cannot “prioritize traffic flow“ while also making room for public transit, cycling, and walkways.
It’s non-trivial, but the only way to truly expand a downtown’s business district is to increase the population density. Every car parking spot and extra traffic lane is a reduction in population density. Therefore the solution is always something other than “improve the situation for the individual car”.