In this video we’ll dive into some of the key characteristics of these usually hideous arterials: too many travel lanes that are too long, with intersections that are too big and signal cycle lengths that are way too long. And we’ll look at the consequences of typical stroad design: narrow, curb-tight sidewalks, infrequent and under-designed pedestrian crossings, fast food drive-thrus and other auto-oriented sprawl, and…lots and lots of billboards.
One drawback of stroads that’s not often talked about they are horrible for those driving cars as well. A nice driving experience is on a limited access freeway or a rural road, where there’s not much going on other than cars going in the same direction at the same speed. Stroads are complex environments where you have to be constantly paying attention while driving far too fast; it’s so draining.