Cul-de-sac controversy

My libertarian leanings were stirred up by an article in today's Wall Street Journal (subscription required) that starts off like this:

One of the most popular features of suburbia is under attack.

For many families, cul-de-sac living represents the epitome of suburban bliss: a traffic-free play zone for children, a ready roster of neighbors with extra gas for the lawnmower and a communal gathering space for sharing gin and tonics. But thanks to a growing chorus of critics, ranging from city planners and traffic engineers to snowplow drivers, hundreds of local governments from San Luis Obispo, Calif., to Charlotte, N.C., have passed zoning ordinances to limit cul-de-sacs or even ban them in the future.

In Oregon, about 90% of the state's 241 cities have changed their laws to limit cul-de-sacs, while 40 small municipalities outside Philadelphia have adopted restrictions or bans. Even when they're not trying to stamp them out, some towns are keeping a close eye on how cul-de-sacs are being built. Earlier this year, the city of Pekin, Ill., established new rules to make cul-de-sacs more maneuverable for service vehicles like fire trucks and school buses.

Who knew that there is increasing resistance to the harmless cul-de-sac? Well, The Mister does, and we have talked about them over the years as he has schooled me in the art of community building. There was a period of time many years ago, during the planning phase of Morrison Ranch, when we would be driving along and he would point out various cul-de-sacs to me. "Look at that one," he'd say. "They put a six foot wall around the cul-de-sac to limit access, and the end result is completely blocking the view down the street. It feels more like a fortress than a neighborhood. Plus, it's bone ugly." A little later, he'd point again. "At least that one uses wrought iron rails, so you can see through it. But they've achieved the goal of no access all right; the houses on the end there have no access to that lovely park. The open space is wasted, except for being visually pleasant from the arterial road."

The Mister is a firm believer in making efficient use of the land; he was raised that way as a farmer, after all. He also believes in trying to provide the maximum benefit for the residents of the community rather than what might be easiest for everyone else. This, of course, can cause some tensions occasionally with builders and with the town. Not everyone agrees on who benefits from what. All of the cul-de-sacs in Morrison Ranch can accommodate school buses and ladder trucks from the fire department, but it does require them to go slow and use caution on the turns. The article continues:

While homes on cul-de-sacs are still being built in large numbers and continue to fetch premiums from buyers who prefer them, the opposition has only been growing. The most common complaint: traffic. Because most of the roads in a neighborhood of cul-de-sacs are dead ends, some traffic experts say the only way to navigate around the neighborhood is to take peripheral roads that are already cluttered with traffic. And because most cul-de-sacs aren't connected by sidewalks, the only way for people who live there to run errands is to get in their cars and join the traffic.

Pedestrians are held in high regard in the planning of Morrison Ranch. We recognize that we live in a car-dominated society, and so we must provide for that as well; but one reason that we rely so heavily on parks and interconnected shady trail systems throughout the entire master-planned community is to provide access for our residents by foot (or bicycle or stroller or pogo-stick). If folks choose to walk to the grocery store, they can do so in comfort, without having to battle major roads and traffic. Of course there are major roads to cross; there must be vehicular access as well. And traffic can indeed be one of those tensions, like when the tee ball practice is held in the park next to your cul-de-sac. But that seems to be part of living in community, to me; sometimes my parties also fill up the cul-de-sac with parked cars. We share.

The WSJ article goes on to detail some specific stories of cul-de-sac zoning fights; but I think the salient paragraph is this one:

For all the criticism aimed at them, cul-de-sacs do seem to have one last defender: the free market. Real-estate brokers say that despite the recent opposition by policy makers, homes on cul-de-sacs still tend to sell faster than other homes -- and often command a comfortable premium. Ralph Spargo, the vice president of product development for Standard Pacific Homes in Irvine, Calif., says his company charges as much as 5% more for a home located on one. (For a house that sells for the April 2006 national median price of $223,000, that works out to about $11,000).

In Morrison Ranch, if you live on a cul-de-sac, you most likely also live on a park; and yes, the builders charge premiums for those lots, and yes, residents pay those premiums to receive the benefit. Including The Mister and me. We think it's worth it.