Planners regret them, neighbors dislike them, and they gobble up valuable real estate in the center city. The downtown expressway is a much-disliked reality in most American cities. Now's the time to do something about them.
Planners regret them, neighbors dislike them, and they gobble up valuable real estate in the center city. The downtown expressway is a much-disliked reality in most American cities. Now's the time to do something about them.
The distain of center city highways is so strong that some cities have gone so far as to construct fantastically expensive lids or tunnels to replace them with parks. The Trust for Public Land's Center for City Park Excellence found 20 existing highway parks and plans for 12 more in the works for a recent study. In an article in April's Urban Land summarizing their findings, the group reports on successful freeway parks in cities as varied as Trenton, New Jersey, Phoenix, Arizona, and Duluth, Minnesota, and plans underway in Dallas and San Diego. Of course, the most well known example of this is Boston's Big Dig, where construction of the "Rose Kennedy Greenway" on the former site of the Central Artery has finally begun. I was pleasantly surprised to discover my hometown of Portland, Maine is even beginning to reconsider a high-capacity arterial that has long divided neighborhoods and hogged precious urban land.
For the time being, however, the most logical solution to the downtown freeway problem seems completely off the table: outright removal. Why not? Their negative impacts on downtown neighborhoods and encouraging urban sprawl are well documented. Many cities are investing heavily in public transportation systems, and gas prices are heading up. Finally, the impact of removing them may not be as bad as we fear. Like many, I was surprised to read the recent San Francisco highway collapse caused not gridlock, but a decrease in traffic as commuters hit the rails in record numbers.
Converting downtown expressways into at-grade boulevards or parks could free up valuable real estate for development and boost real estate values. The idea is not without precedent -- and other advocates -- in the U.S. Freeways have been removed successfully in Portland, OR, San Francisco, and Milwaukee, and certainly many more discussed.
However, for the time being the option seems unmentionable. During the APA conference in Philadelphia, I listened as planners explained how they had struggled to connect the campus to the Schuykill River during the Penn Connects planning process due to the presence of the the Schuylkill Expressway. Ruling out decking as too expensive, they discretely mentioned they would of course support its removal should that option arise.
Maybe it's time to bring it up.
The Mall Is Dead — Long Live the Mall
The American shopping mall may be closer to its original vision than ever.
The Paradox of American Housing
How the tension between housing as an asset and as an essential good keeps the supply inadequate and costs high.
Report: Las Vegas, Houston Top List of Least Affordable Cities
The report assesses the availability of affordable rental units for low-income households.
Anchorage Leaders Debate Zoning Reform Plan
Last year, the city produced the fewest new housing units in a decade.
How to Protect Pedestrians With Disabilities
Public agencies don’t track traffic deaths and injuries involving disabled people, leaving a gap in data to guide safety interventions.
Colorado Town Fills Workforce Housing Need With ‘Dorm-Style’ Housing
Median rent in Steamboat Springs is $4,000 per month.
City of Yakima
City of Auburn
Baylands Development Inc.
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Town of Zionsville
Write for Planetizen
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.