The STROAD…. futon of transportation alternatives!

This article from Atlantic cities caught my eye; because I had never heard the term “STROAD,” and because the relationship between STROADs and land use have been hiding in plain view from me.  From the article:

The STROAD design — a street/road hybrid — is the futon of transportation alternatives. Where a futon is a piece of furniture that serves both as an uncomfortable couch and an uncomfortable bed, a STROAD moves cars at speeds too slow to get around efficiently but too fast to support productive private sector investment. The result is an expensive highway and a declining tax base….Anytime you are traveling between 30 and 50 miles per hour, you are basically in an area that is too slow to be efficient yet too fast to provide a framework for capturing a productive rate of return.

What are the STROADs in your community doing to your tax base?  Think about the types of development you find along the 45 mph limit STROADs in your community.  How much of it that is 20 years old or older looks like it is ready for the wrecking ball already?  How many of the businesses along your old STROADS have relocated to your new STROADS, leaving underutilized buildings?

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