This paper evaluates the performance of a local switching network using a Manhattan street network (MSN) for high-speed ATM applications. The MSN has a cyclic structure and belongs to the class of deflection-routing networks. We propose the use of shared buffering in the structure of each node. With shared buffers the network operates efficiently since the occurrence of deflections is minimized. We develop a new analytical model for the MSN and use it to study the traffic performance of this network. The key new result of this study is the need to scale the bandwidth of the MSN links in proportion to the network size. Through this evaluation, we determine how much speed advantage an MSN requires to become a practical switch. Numerical results of the analysis are compared with numerical results of an extensive simulation developed for this network.