Posted by Dave @ Building Bull City on
URL: https://forum.buildingbullcity.com/147-From-Freeway-to-Boulevard-Pt-1-Design-tp817p826.html

Fair - and if the remaining trips are locally generated, then I am thinking that there should be a more local solution.

The traffic counts on 147 are a good example of induced demand. If 147 didn't exist, the downtown street grid (as imperfect as it is in Durham) would more than be able to absorb the trips due to the fact that a grid of many interconnected streets has a surprising amount of capacity.

A boulevard would be a much better solution for people living in the area. The only people that would be negatively impacted would be the "through traffic", which would now have the connector to 85 to switch to. Traffic counts would be absorbed by:

1. I-85 connector
2. Other routes in/around downtown
3. The boulevard itself. With 4 lanes, albeit slowed down, it will still have decent capacity as a major roadway.

Those numbers are fascinating though regarding the lower volumes as you get towards downtown and lower still as you get to I-85.