Earlier today I was talking with Savannah (and commenting on blog posts) and the idea that the urban planning here is in conflict with itself bubbled up.
Case in point: no U-turns.
The city demands recursive reflection since you constantly have to "make the block" (or two or three) to get where you are going. Isn't this the process in life? Getting where you are going rarely involves straight lines, often includes detours, and sometimes ends in getting lost then found then lost again.
Mostly the no left turn rule is a product of water; all of the drainage canals (including the one on Canal St.) are covered over and create small little "bridges" in the middle of the street. These areas are capable of hosting two sets of street car rails (or the equivalent of one or two cars length-wise at best.) Were left turns allowed we'd never get anywhere for the jams created over these covered waterways.
New Orleans' anti-left turn inspires a great appreciation for the few occasions that left turns are actually *allowed*. And highway driving, where they aren't required.
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