Originally Posted by
ridelikeaturtle
Can you imagine the uproar regarding safety there'd be, if it were decided today, that all road users, from buses to cyclists and pedestrians, would share the road, at great speed differentials, even coming within 1 meter of each other in opposite directions at relatively high speeds... there's no way anyone would think that's a good idea.
It is interesting.
Freeways, of course, were designed with 2 or more lanes going in the same direction, and a median strip or physical barrier separating traffic from opposite directions.
In a sense, one-way streets in cities are an extension of that concept.
But, it is far less common in rural areas where governments put in 2-lane roads, and allow passing cars to move into the oncoming lane (less asphalt needed).
Then, of course, mix in bicycles, pedestrians, horses, tractors, etc... and one gets a mess.
It would be nice to have separate but equal bike paths everywhere, but one still has issues with intersections. And, it is expensive for the very few actual users.
100, or 120 years ago, who would have predicted how dominant cars would become?
What about adding seatbelt alarms, and perhaps ignition lockouts in the top of the line cars?