The city of Meridian may revert to two-way streets, eliminating one-way thoroughfares implemented in the 1980s to speed traffic through town.

Mayor John Robert Smith is embracing the idea as a way to increase pedestrian safety and slow down vehicular traffic.

Smith says slower traffic downtown will give drivers a chance to look more closely at businesses and two-way streets will make navigation much easier for visitors.

The Mississippi Department of Transportation will spend $191,000 to determine the best way to implement two-way traffic.

Smith says MDOT agreed to the study in part because many of Meridian’s downtown streets are parts of state highways.