One-way pair

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A one-way pair, one-way couple, or couplet refers to that portion of a bi-directional traffic facility – such as a

In the context of roads, a one-way pair consists of two one-way streets whose flows combine on one or both ends into a single two-way street. The one-way streets may be separated by just a single block, such as in a grid network, or may be spaced further apart with intermediate parallel roads.

One use of a one-way pair is to increase the vehicular capacity of a major route through a developed area such as a central business district. If not carefully treated with other traffic calming features, the benefit in vehicular capacity is offset by a potential for increased road user deaths, in particular people walking and biking.^[1] A one-way pair can be created by converting segments of two-way streets into one-way streets, which allows lanes to be added without widening.It also allows easier creation of a green wave by adjusting traffic lights on the through route, because strict left turn phases are no longer required at each intersection.^{[citation needed]}

On occasion, "couplet" has been applied specifically to the point where the one-way streets and the two-way street meet, rather than the paired one-way streets themselves.^[2]

Flows on a one-way pair may follow the

Examples

Australia

The Sydney central business district features a number of one way pairs. One example is Pitt Street with Castlereagh Street. Pitt street carries only northbound traffic from Goulburn Street to Market Street. Castlreagh Street only carries southbound traffic on its entire length from Hunter Street to Hay Street. Trams once ran from Central station to Circular Quay along Pitt Street and back to Central station along Castlereigh, Bligh, Bent and Loftus Streets. Other examples are York and Clarence Streets between the Harbour Bridge and Town Hall, and King and Market Streets between Sussex and Elizabeth Streets.

In Redfern, Elizabeth Street is paired with Chalmers Street between Redfern Street and Eddy Avenue. Prior to the opening of the Eastern Distributor in 1999, Bourke and Crown Streets were paired between Woolloomooloo and Waterloo after which they were converted back to two-way streets.

In the

Alberta Highway 2 is a one-way pair in southern Edmonton on Calgary Trail and Gateway Boulevard between 31 Avenue NW and Whitemud Drive. Alberta Highway 2 is also one-way pair through the towns of Fort Macleod (23 and 25 Streets; cosigned with Alberta Highway 3) and Nanton (20 and 21 Avenues). Alberta Highway 16 (Yellowhead Highway) is a one-way pair through the town of Edson (2nd & 4th Avenues).

British Columbia Highway 99 is a one-way pair in downtown Vancouver on Seymour and Howe Streets between the Granville Street Bridge and Georgia Street. British Columbia Highway 97 is a one-way pair through the community of Westbank in West Kelowna, following Main Street and Dobbin Road.

Saskatchewan Highway 1 (Trans-Canada Highway) splits into a functional one-way pair for 15 km (9 mi) between Uren and Ernfold, with the entire village of Ernfold being located between the eastbound and westbound lanes.

Japan

Japan National Route 340 travels through the central part of Hachinohe in Aomori Prefecture as a one-way pair between its northern terminus at an intersection with Japan National Route 45 and Aomori Prefecture Route 251.

United States

Interstate 78 travels along a one-way pair of surface streets, 12th Street and 14th Street, in Jersey City, New Jersey, between the end of the New Jersey Turnpike Newark Bay Extension and the Holland Tunnel, which leads into New York City, New York.

There are hundreds of one-way pairs among the streets and avenues of New York City. One example is

The east side of Portland, Oregon, features a number of one-way pairs, both north–south and east–west, with the east–west pairs being associated with bridges; these all follow the usual flow convention – see Transportation in Portland, Oregon, for more details. By contrast, the Portland Transit Mall, which is a public transportation (bus and rail) corridor, has the opposite flow, with the westernmost component (6th Avenue) running north, with the eastern component (5th Avenue) running south.

There are a number of one-way pairs in

Levick Street and Robbins Street in

In Virginia Beach, Virginia, the eastern end of Interstate 264 transitions to 21st and 22nd Street, each going in its respective direction.[3]

See also

• Directional running, the equivalent for rail transport