Why Stroads Are So Dangerous
If the chicken crossed the stroad, it would probably get run over. Explore what makes stroads different from—and, according to critics, more dangerous than—traditional streets and roads, then discuss with your team: are there any in your community, and are there times when they might be the best choice?
Key concepts
- Movement Versus Place
- Every route has to pick a job. Movement means getting through fast, so you strip out crossings, driveways and shopfronts; place means arriving, so you add them and slow the traffic down. Ask a single route for both and the two demands cancel.
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Every work — at a glance
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The Stroad — Charles Marohn / Strong Towns
Charles Marohn's word for the five-lane hybrid that is too fast to be a street and too interrupted to be a road — the 'futon' of transport, a bad bed and a bad sofa.
What to know
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01
The danger is designed in, not driven in. Road speeds and street-level walking are put in the same space on purpose, so the hazard exists in the geometry before anyone turns a key — which is why blaming individual drivers never fixes one.
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Across subjects
Theme connection
"Are We There Yet?"
Practice — a sample
SOCSomeone who believes a road should move cars fast OR serve shops, never both, is criticizing —
- A The desire path
- B The stroad
- C The holloway
- D The milestone
- E The motel
Sign in to answer and see why each option is right or wrong.
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