A one-way street is a street on which vehicles should only move in one direction. On this type of street a sign is posted showing which direction the vehicles can move in: commonly an upward arrow, or on a T junction where the main road is one-way, an arrow to the left or right. At the end of the street through which vehicles may not enter, a prohibitory traffic sign "Do Not Enter", "Wrong Way", or "No Entry" sign is posted, e.g. with that text, or a round red sign with a white horizontal bar. Sometimes one portion of a street is one-way. another portion two-way. An advantage of one-way streets is that drivers do not have to watch for cars coming in the opposite direction on this type of street.
One-way streets may also be part of a one-way system, which facilitates a smoother flow of traffic through, for example, a city centre grid; as in the case of Bangalore, India. This is achieved by arranging one-way streets that cross in such a fashion as to eliminate right turns (for driving on left) or left turns (for driving on right). Traffic light systems at such junctions may be simpler, and may be coordinated to produce a green wave.
The abstract 'No Entry' sign was officially adopted to standardization at the League of Nations convention in Geneva in 1931. the sign was adapted from Swiss usage. The Swiss, in turn, adopted the practice of former European states that marked their boundaries with their formal shields and, when not wishing visitors to enter, would indicate so by tying a blood-red ribbon horizontally around the shield.[citation needed] The sign is also known as C1, from its definition in the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals.
The European 'No Entry' sign was adopted into North American uniform signage in the 1970s, replacing its rectangular, white "Do Not Enter" sign, although the U.S. version retains the wording "Do Not Enter" where the European version typically has no wording on it.
The first one-way street was established in Lima, the capital metropolis of Peru. The first one-way street in London was Albemarle Street in Mayfair, the location of the Royal Institution. It was designated London's first one-way street because the public science lectures there were so popular [1]. The first one-way streets in Paris were the Rue de Mogador and the Rue de la Chaussée-d'Antin, created on 13 December 1909.
In addition to one-way streets, one-way traffic is also seen on highway entrance and exit ramps.
Reasons for being one-way
- Street is too narrow for movement in both directions-in this case parking will only be allowed on one side of the street or not at all.
- To prevent drivers from cutting through residential streets rat runs to bypass traffic lights or other requirements to stop.
- Part of a one-way pair of two parallel one-way streets in opposite directions (a divided highway).
- For a proper functioning of a system of paid parking or other paid access. Traditional names for such products are: traffic spikes, tiger teeth, alligator teeth, tire spikes, and flow plates.
- To calm traffic, especially if the street is historic.
- To eliminate turns that involve crossing in front of oncoming traffic.
- To reduce pollution from automobiles.
One-way traffic of people
Sometimes there is one-way walking for people, for smooth traffic flow, or in the case of entrance checks (such as ticket checks) and exit checks (e.g. the check-out in a shop). They may be outdoors, e.g. an extra exit of a zoo, or in a building, or in a vehicle, e.g. a tram.
In addition to just signs, there may be various forms and levels of enforcement, such as:
- personnel
- a turnstile; turnstile jumping is possible
- a High Entrance/Exit Turnstile (HEET)
- a door or gate that can only be opened from one side (a manual or electric lock, or simply a door that is pushed open and has no doorknob on the other side), or automatically opens from one side; with help from someone on the other side, it can usually conveniently be passed in the "wrong" direction. Examples:
- entrance of a shop
- an emergency exit; it may activate an alarm, useful both for proper and improper use of the door
- an escalator; the escalator can be passed in opposite direction, climbing up or down the stairs faster than it moves
- a one-way revolving door
Sometimes a "soft" traffic control system is supported by personnel keeping an eye on things.
Sometimes a door or gate can be opened freely from one side, and only with a key or by inserting a coin from the other side (house door, door with a coin slot, e.g. giving entrance to a pay toilet). The latter can be passed without paying when somebody else leaves, and by multiple persons if only one pays (as opposed to a coin-operated turnstile).
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