Heavens to Murgatroyd ... DNA's national parent has been advocating for two-way streets for over a decade.

On Twitter yesterday, I noted with genuine pleasure that Develop New Albany is using the marquee space in its e-mail newsletter to inform recipients about this evening's council meeting, and the anticipated discussion there of two-way street conversions.

Then I expressed the sincere hope that DNA actually would make two-way streets into an organizational position, even a priority, and something to be advocated. Why is skepticism merited? Because the blatantly obvious has not always passed muster; when the topic was potentially injurious bridge tolls, DNA's response took the form of evasion and prevarication.

But there's been a change of management, and I believe that this time, DNA's going to come down on the right side on the efficacy of two-way street conversions. As Bluegill conveniently reminds us, not only has the National Main Street Center been advocating for two-way streets for more than a decade, but it also urges its affiliates to do precisely the same.

Of course, this fact also very strongly implies that the once staunch DNA servant/savant and non-democratic "Democrat" Bob Caesar spent at least some time actively suppressing Main Street organizational compliance during all those wasted years. Let's stay optimistic. It's been a very long wait, but perhaps DNA is ready to get into the trenches and join a truly worthwhile fight. Now's the time.

Can we please not screw this up?

Converting One-way Streets to Two-way: Managing Traffic on Main Street

By John D. Edwards | From Main Street Story of the Week | June 2002 | 187

There has been a resurgence of interest in downtown redevelopment in the past two decades. Whether this is the result of programs such as Main Street or simply a renewed interest in downtown from "baby boomers" and municipalities that now recognize the importance of the downtown tax base, it is happening. Along with this "broader" interest in traditional commercial districts, we see more concern and interest in the ‘nuts and bolts' of what makes a downtown actually work better. One of those nuts and bolts is the downtown street system.