Over the past few years Rochester has seen several area roadways slimmed down. East and University Avenues in the City and route 590 and Saint Paul Boulevard heading up to the lake have all been reduced from 4 lanes to 2 (usually with a center turning lane). Dan Burden of the Walkable and Livable Communities Institute coined the phrase “road diet”. Basically, a road diet is when one or more auto lanes are removed and replaced with either a center turning lane, bike lanes, wider shoulders, wider sidewalks or any combination of those things.
Personally, I LOVE this. Not only do less auto lanes make me feel more at ease as a pedestrian or riding my bike… but as a driver, I’ve found that I’m much more relaxed when I’m not thinking about the speedy jackass who’s trying to pass me from the righthand lane. And what’s good for my blood pressure is good for everyone. Believe me.
But before you make up your mind, take a look at this video from Streetfilms…