Could One Way Streets Be Going Away in Downtown Shreveport?

If you've ever driven downtown, you've probably turned the wrong way on a one-way street at some point. Don't worry, you're not alone.

Get our free mobile app

Liz Swaine, Director of the Downtown Development Authority,  recently told KEEL News that they're looking into the possibly of eliminating a lot of the one-way streets in downtown.

"When you come into downtown Shreveport, there are a VARIETY of one-way streets... Texas Street is 2-way, and there aren't a lot of other streets downtown that are two way streets, and it confuses the blazes out of people, especially those who don't come downtown very often.  People have told me they avoid downtown because they are scared of the one-way streets.  When you're sitting on the corner at Rhino Coffee, you will actually see people going the wrong way down Louisiana..  if you recall, our last mayor was caught going the wrong way down Crockett Street.  It's really easy to do." Liz Swaine  "What if we made downtown easier to get around?"

 

 

The one-way streets downtown make it difficult sometimes to get to a specific business, because you might have to turn onto one street that goes one way, then drive four blocks, make another turn a few blocks over to be able to come back up the street the business is located on. You can see on the map below the direction of each street downtown.

Way back in the day the streets were two-way, and then they became one-way streets, but when asked why the streets became one-way, no one was really sure.  Speculation was it might have had something to do with the trolley system that used to operate downtown many years ago.

Liz said this is going to take some time.

We're talking to the administration right now about the possibility of making some changes, this would come over time.  There would have to be a big educational campaign, because everybody who's familiar with the streets, know them now, so we're going to have to talk to people, find out the pros and cons, but there seemingly are a lot more pros than cons.

The main north/south streets, Spring Street and Market Street would not be able to be changed because those are state roads.  But many of the other streets in downtown may become a lot more user friendly in the future.