CityNerd | The Stroad: A Case Study // Intended (and Unintended) Consequences of Car-Oriented Street Design @CityNerd | Uploaded January 2022 | Updated October 2024, 3 hours ago.
Charles Marohn (Strong Towns) coined the word "stroad" (a portmanteau of "street" and "road") to describe roadway facilities that simultaneously attempt to function as urban commercial streets and high-speed, high-throughput motor vehicle thoroughfares -- and manage to fail miserably at both.
(For a more thorough walkthrough of what stroads are and why they might not be a great idea, check out the great primer from @NotJustBikes -- youtu.be/ORzNZUeUHAM )
In this video we'll dive into some of the key characteristics of these usually hideous arterials: too many travel lanes that are too long, with intersections that are too big and signal cycle lengths that are way too long. And we'll look at the consequences of typical stroad design: narrow, curb-tight sidewalks, infrequent and under-designed pedestrian crossings, fast food drive-thrus and other auto-oriented sprawl, and...lots and lots of billboards.
Check out these other CityNerd videos on urban traffic:
- Exponential Traffic: youtu.be/cHSCmQnGH9Q
- On Induced Demand: youtu.be/za56H2BGamQ
- Tunnels: youtu.be/POWAulNuX3Y
Not Just Bikes' excellent primer on stroads (with telling comparisons to Dutch roadway facilities): youtu.be/ORzNZUeUHAM
Resources:
- Stroad entry from the universe's foremost clearing house for factual information: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroad
Image Credits:
- Northern Spotted Owl By Hollingsworth, John and Karen; photo by USFS Region 5 (Pacific Southwest) - US Fish and Wildlife Servicedigitalmedia.fws.gov/cdm/singleitem/collection/natdiglib/id/2222flickr.com/photos/usfsregion5/3699675982/, Public Domain, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10435
Music:
CityNerd background: Caipirinha in Hawaii by Carmen María and Edu Espinal (YouTube music library)
Twitter: @nerd4cities
Instagram: @nerd4cities
Contact: nerd4cities@gmail.com
Charles Marohn (Strong Towns) coined the word "stroad" (a portmanteau of "street" and "road") to describe roadway facilities that simultaneously attempt to function as urban commercial streets and high-speed, high-throughput motor vehicle thoroughfares -- and manage to fail miserably at both.
(For a more thorough walkthrough of what stroads are and why they might not be a great idea, check out the great primer from @NotJustBikes -- youtu.be/ORzNZUeUHAM )
In this video we'll dive into some of the key characteristics of these usually hideous arterials: too many travel lanes that are too long, with intersections that are too big and signal cycle lengths that are way too long. And we'll look at the consequences of typical stroad design: narrow, curb-tight sidewalks, infrequent and under-designed pedestrian crossings, fast food drive-thrus and other auto-oriented sprawl, and...lots and lots of billboards.
Check out these other CityNerd videos on urban traffic:
- Exponential Traffic: youtu.be/cHSCmQnGH9Q
- On Induced Demand: youtu.be/za56H2BGamQ
- Tunnels: youtu.be/POWAulNuX3Y
Not Just Bikes' excellent primer on stroads (with telling comparisons to Dutch roadway facilities): youtu.be/ORzNZUeUHAM
Resources:
- Stroad entry from the universe's foremost clearing house for factual information: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroad
Image Credits:
- Northern Spotted Owl By Hollingsworth, John and Karen; photo by USFS Region 5 (Pacific Southwest) - US Fish and Wildlife Servicedigitalmedia.fws.gov/cdm/singleitem/collection/natdiglib/id/2222flickr.com/photos/usfsregion5/3699675982/, Public Domain, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10435
Music:
CityNerd background: Caipirinha in Hawaii by Carmen María and Edu Espinal (YouTube music library)
Twitter: @nerd4cities
Instagram: @nerd4cities
Contact: nerd4cities@gmail.com
