In dealing with the problem of eliminating, or more importantly, preventing traffic congestion, access management must be a major part of the solution. Access management is a formal, structured program to coordinate and maintain the safe and efficient use of the arterial street system, while providing necessary vehicular access to adjacent lands. I am talking about access to major public streets, from intersecting streets, and, equally importantly, from private driveways.
Every urban area has examples of failed or non-existent access management.
Local governments make decisions regarding land use, zoning, and density issues without adequate regard for the ability of the roadway to accommodate these uses. The second failure is that a hierarchy of roadway functions involving mobility and access has not been preserved. Arterial streets must primarily move traffic, with land access provided primarily from collectors and local streets . Intuitively, the failure of our present system should be evident to anyone who has driven on a busy street lined with commercial strip development and uncontrolled driveway access. We have all found ourselves stopped behind a left turning vehicle which is waiting for a gap in opposing traffic, or slowing down to avoid a car turning in front of us from a driveway, or getting the green light at one intersection, only to see the next signal go to yellow just as we get up to speed.