Preliminary Recommendation to Convert Downtown Couplets to Two-way Traffic
The San Jose Department of Transportation (DOT) and their contractors have completed an initial evaluation of the one way couplets (3rd & 4th, 10th & 11th, Julian & St. James, etc) to see if conversion to two-way traffic is feasible given current traffic and forecasted traffic downtown. DOT presented this evaluation and their preliminary recommendations at the Downtown Access and Circulation Study meeting last night.
DOT is making a preliminary recommendation to convert several of the couplets back to two-way traffic, based on the study results. DOT's study showed that access to the downtown core from the west, east, and north should easily handle the forecasted traffic in these areas. As a result, the one-way couplets serving these areas could be converted to two-way traffic with little impact on traffic flow in these neighborhoods.
DOT's preliminary recommendation is to convert 3rd and 4th Streets north of Julian, 10th and 11th north of Santa Clara, and Julian and St. James east of 4th back to two-way traffic.
Access to the downtown core from the south, however, remains challenging. Currently, 50% of the traffic accessing downtown comes from the south. Forecasts suggest that traffic will exceed capacity at the exits off of 280 and 87 into downtown. Steps that limit capacity, such as converting one-way couplets to two-way traffic may be difficult to justify.
DOT did not, however, recommend against conversion of the couplets serving the southern access points. Their recommendation was to further study traffic access from the south and determine alternatives exist that would allow conversion of some or all of the southern couplets.
DOT will present results from these further studies at the next Downtown Access and Circulation Study meeting on Tuesday, March 19, 2002.
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