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Denali between Tudor and Northern Lights is in Midtown.
Why it matters
Short, sourced, and in their own words. Outside studies below looked at other cities, not Denali.
The city's own Denali FAQ says Denali Street is wider than needed
. So they spent money on paint and plastic posts to squeeze it to one lane each way.
What happens after the pilot? Per the city's FAQ, the project team will learn and adapt for future projects
. Your commute is the test.
The Federal Highway Administration's traffic calming guide: it was clear that speed humps, and other traffic calming measures, adversely affected fire vehicle response time.
The city's Denali posters list "Traffic Calming" as a selling point.
Source: FHWA Traffic Calming ePrimer, Module 5; MOA Denali Street posters (PDF)
A peer-reviewed study by San Francisco's own transportation agency and fire department found that lane reductions on highly congested corridors
were associated with slower emergency vehicle speeds and travel times.
Los Angeles cut a lane each way on Vista del Mar in 2017. After weeks of backlash, the councilman behind it admitted most people outright hated
it, apologized to drivers, and said the lanes would be restored.
Source: Los Angeles Times, July 2017
Anchorage has done this before
In 1996 the city rolled out photo radar. It lasted one year. On April 15, 1997, voters passed Proposition 3, requiring a sworn police officer to enforce traffic laws in person. That shut the door on photo radar.
30,919 to 27,993
Mark Begich, who sponsored it on the Assembly, later said: what I learned from that: don't do photo radar.
Unpopular traffic experiments can end. This pilot can too.
Sources: MOA 1997 Regular Election results (PDF); Mark Begich, 2018 Alaska Municipal League forum (YouTube, 35:02)