Road diet on a two lane road that runs though the center of town?

[XamotCGC]

is it possible to do a Road diet on a two lane road(one lane for each way of traffic) that runs though the center of town with adding a turning lane on the existing road?

[froggie]

Technically that would not be a road diet.  A road diet would, for example, take an existing four lane road (2 lanes each way) and convert THAT to a two-lane or three-lane road.

[Max Rockatansky]

So road diet a two lane road into a single lane?  That's relatively easy if you just make particular streets one way.  The real fun would be maintaining in-town two way traffic on a single lane.  That's the reality I face every time my wife and I visit family in Mexico.

[jeffandnicole]

is it possible to do a Road diet on a two lane road(one lane for each way of traffic) that runs though the center of town with adding a turning lane on the existing road?

This would be fairly close to the opposite of a road diet, as it would add a lane to help get traffic that would normally block traffic out of the way.

[kalvado]

Diet, as far as I understand, implies reducing number to gain the quality of road use. Conversion of 2+2 with narrow lanes into ¹+turning+1 with more comfortable lane width and possibly some perks like dedicated bike or better sidewalks.
If you already have 1+1 only footprint... Can you force someone surviving on just bread and water into a diet? Maybe water-only diet, but that would be not a healthy one

[jakeroot]

You can road diet any road by doing the following:

* narrowing lanes
* adding raised crossings
* paving the road with setts or other "rough" treatments to slow traffic
* trees to help narrow sight-lines
* calming circles
* etc.

Adding any lanes will reduce the effectiveness of the above solutions, be it a turn lane or additional through lane(s).

[hotdogPi]

My area has many roads that are two lanes (one each direction) with maybe 16-18 feet per lane. Some of these are explicitly car+bike or car+parking, but not all. These could be "dieted".

[bing101]

is it possible to do a Road diet on a two lane road(one lane for each way of traffic) that runs though the center of town with adding a turning lane on the existing road?

Make it a one way street or paint the sides green as Bike Lanes.

[kalvado]

You can road diet any road by doing the following:

* narrowing lanes
* adding raised crossings
* paving the road with setts or other "rough" treatments to slow traffic
* trees to help narrow sight-lines
* calming circles
* etc.

Adding any lanes will reduce the effectiveness of the above solutions, be it a turn lane or additional through lane(s).

That's not how FHWA sees it. You may be referring to urbanist's hijacking of the term.

[Dough4872]

I don't think it's possible to do a road diet on a two-lane road. The term is meant for narrowing a wider road (for example a four-lane road) to add more features for pedestrians, bicycles, public transit etc.

[1995hoo]

It is certainly possible to reconfigure a two-lane road (one lane in each direction) with some features that are commonly seen in "road diets"–in my neighborhood, for example, the street that leads in and out has one lane in each direction and they narrowed those (very wide) lanes to add bike lanes. But the term "road diet," as noted, normally refers to taking away lanes–hence "diet," which traditionally refers to activity undertaken by person trying to slim down ("I'm going on a diet").

I sometimes wonder whether the impatience of the average rude driver makes "road diets" counterproductive at times. Compare this 2023 post—"road diet" Street View image with this 2014 Street View image of roughly the same spot. The "road diet" was imposed sometime between August 2014 and August 2017; VDOT said that, among other things, the traffic counts were too low to justify two lanes in each direction. People who live at that end of the area complained bitterly that the "road diet" "makes it too hard to pass slowpokes" (the speed limit is 35), and I've seen quite a few people passing in that median area between the double yellow lines because they think they have a right to go 55 mph. That's a safety issue because, among other reasons, there's a T-intersection, a bus stop, and an uncontrolled crosswalk just over the crest of the next hill.

[US 89]

As a driver, there are only two cases where I’ve found road diets that eliminate through lanes to be useful:

1. if there’s a lot of people turning left. People waiting in a through lane for a gap in oncoming traffic is often really annoying and disruptive to straight-through traffic flow.
2. if the original through lanes were super narrow so that they could squeeze them all in. It’s not all that fun to drive on roads like that, and less people are willing to pass slower vehicles anyway if the lanes are narrow enough, especially if it requires being adjacent to oncoming traffic.

[kalvado]

As a driver, there are only two cases where I've found road diets that eliminate through lanes to be useful:

1. if there's a lot of people turning left. People waiting in a through lane for a gap in oncoming traffic is often really annoying and disruptive to straight-through traffic flow.
2. if the original through lanes were super narrow so that they could squeeze them all in. It's not all that fun to drive on roads like that, and less people are willing to pass slower vehicles anyway if the lanes are narrow enough, especially if it requires being adjacent to oncoming traffic.

I would say there are more than a few situations where these two reasons actually come into play. like pretty much any engineering solution this has trade-offs, but having the concept in a toolbox makes perfect sense, IMHO. For me that means the same group as, say,  SPUI and DDI - but  unlike roundabouts, which should be treated as prescription-only controlled substance with high abuse potential. 

[vdeane]

I sometimes wonder whether the impatience of the average rude driver makes "road diets" counterproductive at times. Compare this 2023 post—"road diet" Street View image with this 2014 Street View image of roughly the same spot. The "road diet" was imposed sometime between August 2014 and August 2017; VDOT said that, among other things, the traffic counts were too low to justify two lanes in each direction. People who live at that end of the area complained bitterly that the "road diet" "makes it too hard to pass slowpokes" (the speed limit is 35), and I've seen quite a few people passing in that median area between the double yellow lines because they think they have a right to go 55 mph. That's a safety issue because, among other reasons, there's a T-intersection, a bus stop, and an uncontrolled crosswalk just over the crest of the next hill.

Meanwhile, Urbanists and safety advocates see that as a feature because it forces everyone to drive the speed of the slowest driver.

[jakeroot]

You can road diet any road by doing the following:

* narrowing lanes
* adding raised crossings
* paving the road with setts or other "rough" treatments to slow traffic
* trees to help narrow sight-lines
* calming circles
* etc.

Adding any lanes will reduce the effectiveness of the above solutions, be it a turn lane or additional through lane(s).

That's not how FHWA sees it. You may be referring to urbanist's hijacking of the term.

I am describing "complete street" characteristics which are one of the goals of road dieting, per FHWA:

https://highways.dot.gov/safety/proven-safety-countermeasures/road-diets-roadway-configuration

For the record, FHWA says "typically" when referring to four to three lane conversions, it is not a rule.

[andrepoiy]

I would consider this a road diet of a 2-lane road through a town centre.

Before:




After:




This is in Oakville, Ontario

[Big John]

^^ For the first photo, was the road to the right 2-way traffic?  As the left-turn lane goes the opposite direction of the one-way sign.

[andrepoiy]

^^ For the first photo, was the road to the right 2-way traffic?  As the left-turn lane goes the opposite direction of the one-way sign.

In the old picture, the road to the right was 2-way while the road to the left was one-way.

In the new picture, both sides are now two-way.

[Henry]

The only way I can see a road diet work for a two-lane road is to make it one-way, especially if it's reduced to a single lane. It can work in city neighborhoods where the streets have very low traffic counts, and each connect to at least one major thoroughfare.

[jakeroot]

I would consider this a road diet of a 2-lane road through a town centre.

Before:




After:




This is in Oakville, Ontario

This is a very good example of a two lane road diet.

Some would say the top is sufficiently dieted. All I see is a ton of open space in the middle that visually widens the road and probably encourages higher speeds. Probably. Maybe.\

I do wish more trees were planted, maybe that's coming soon.

[andrepoiy]

I would consider this a road diet of a 2-lane road through a town centre.

Before:




After:




This is in Oakville, Ontario

This is a very good example of a two lane road diet.

Some would say the top is sufficiently dieted. All I see is a ton of open space in the middle that visually widens the road and probably encourages higher speeds. Probably. Maybe.\

I do wish more trees were planted, maybe that's coming soon.

Well, the bottom not only narrowed the physical lanes and removed turning lanes, but also added curb extensions to pedestrian crossings, so that pedestrians are crossing a shorter cross-section. They're also not darting out from behind parked cars. The curb extensions also allows for space such as benches and other sidewalk amenities.

Also, the trees have been planted, but at this stage they're pretty small.

[CardInLex]

I see you are in Kentucky. Yes, Kentucky has done these types of conversions before. I don’t believe it was called a road diet though. See this example from Versailles…

BEFORE 2013 Streetview (toggle back in time if the link doesn’t work for you): https://maps.app.goo.gl/L54hNmKGUJKQrVSD7?g_st=ic

AFTER 2023 Streetview: https://maps.app.goo.gl/CNgMajKhS7VJeH2q9?g_st=ic

The road stayed the same physical width but the lane use changed. It went from one lane in each direction to one lane in each direction with a center turn lane and bike lanes.


Other examples from KY (toggle Streetview back in time for before/after) that don’t add a turn lane but add parking and painted medians:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/jTotMCjVApKtz6FE6?g_st=ic (Georgetown, KY)
https://maps.app.goo.gl/MVpCqWEGrvHecegG9?g_st=ic (Louisville, KY)

[jeffandnicole]

I see you are in Kentucky. Yes, Kentucky has done these types of conversions before. I don't believe it was called a road diet though. See this example from Versailles...

BEFORE 2013 Streetview (toggle back in time if the link doesn't work for you): https://maps.app.goo.gl/L54hNmKGUJKQrVSD7?g_st=ic

AFTER 2023 Streetview: https://maps.app.goo.gl/CNgMajKhS7VJeH2q9?g_st=ic

The road stayed the same physical width but the lane use changed. It went from one lane in each direction to one lane in each direction with a center turn lane and bike lanes.


Other examples from KY (toggle Streetview back in time for before/after) that don't add a turn lane but add parking and painted medians:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/jTotMCjVApKtz6FE6?g_st=ic (Georgetown, KY)
https://maps.app.goo.gl/MVpCqWEGrvHecegG9?g_st=ic (Louisville, KY)

Could be a traffic calming-type measure. It doesn't appear the speed limit changed, but they took a wide lane and narrowed it which tends to reduce travel speeds (based on the vehicle sizes when I turned the GSV, that may be a narrow 10' lane).  Also eliminated the passing zone by adding in the center-turn lane. 

They probably called it a way to more efficiently use the existing pavement, but it's really a way to calm traffic.

What's interesting is by adding in the center turn lane, the new bicycle lanes are now closer to the vehicular traffic than if they just left the road in its original format.

[Scott5114]

I sometimes wonder whether the impatience of the average rude driver makes "road diets" counterproductive at times. Compare this 2023 post—"road diet" Street View image with this 2014 Street View image of roughly the same spot. The "road diet" was imposed sometime between August 2014 and August 2017; VDOT said that, among other things, the traffic counts were too low to justify two lanes in each direction. People who live at that end of the area complained bitterly that the "road diet" "makes it too hard to pass slowpokes" (the speed limit is 35), and I've seen quite a few people passing in that median area between the double yellow lines because they think they have a right to go 55 mph. That's a safety issue because, among other reasons, there's a T-intersection, a bus stop, and an uncontrolled crosswalk just over the crest of the next hill.

Meanwhile, Urbanists and safety advocates see that as a feature because it forces everyone to drive the speed of the slowest driver.

I mean, if you glued the cars to the pavement so they couldn't move at all, that would certainly increase safety. It kind of misses the point of having a car to begin with, though.

[US 89]

I sometimes wonder whether the impatience of the average rude driver makes "road diets" counterproductive at times. Compare this 2023 post—"road diet" Street View image with this 2014 Street View image of roughly the same spot. The "road diet" was imposed sometime between August 2014 and August 2017; VDOT said that, among other things, the traffic counts were too low to justify two lanes in each direction. People who live at that end of the area complained bitterly that the "road diet" "makes it too hard to pass slowpokes" (the speed limit is 35), and I've seen quite a few people passing in that median area between the double yellow lines because they think they have a right to go 55 mph. That's a safety issue because, among other reasons, there's a T-intersection, a bus stop, and an uncontrolled crosswalk just over the crest of the next hill.

Meanwhile, Urbanists and safety advocates see that as a feature because it forces everyone to drive the speed of the slowest driver.

I mean, if you glued the cars to the pavement so they couldn't move at all, that would certainly increase safety. It kind of misses the point of having a car to begin with, though.

But then it would encourage more people to use transit!