Quote Originally Posted by justishudd View Post
While I understand not wanting a parking lot at an intersection, narrowing all downtown streets to two lanes just to make street parking would result in absolute gridlock in the not-so-distant future. We're already on the verge of becoming the next Dallas (terrible traffic, not enough space for expansion, overpopulation of the roads, etc.). Instead of narrowing down to two lanes, the city should focus on expanding the lanes (where possible) and perhaps converting streets to alternating one way avenues as a way to relieve traffic. When it comes to parking the city should shift focus to parking garages (don't hate me yet) that are either underground, or are first level retail friendly so as to not dissuade foot traffic.
Downtown is probably one of the least congested areas of the city at drive times. What little backs ups there are can pretty much be placed at the feet of ODOT who thinks building bigger freeways with less access points is how you manage "traffic".