Lessons from community activists around the country provide insight into how ‘freeway fighters’ can leverage recent momentum against road expansions to have more impact in 2023.

Writing in Streetsblog USA, Ben Crowther, Aaron Brown, and Martha Roskowski outline the goals of ‘freeway fighters’ for 2023, noting the successes of the past year, when federal officials finally began centering the equity impacts of transportation planning and promoting policies that purportedly work to address them, such as the Reconnecting Communities Act.
“But rhetoric (and a small pot of money) aside, the reality is that in 2022, not a single highway was removed to reconnect communities. Moreover, only three major highway expansions were dropped: the 710 Freeway in Los Angeles County and I-25 and C-470 in Denver.”
The article describes five key ways that freeway opponents can be successful in their efforts for freeway removal. These include nationwide coordination with other activists that can lead to federal legislation and support for freeway removal efforts; clear and effective communication strategies to assuage common concerns; access to more legal and traffic modeling expertise; collaboration with community organizers; and funding from state and federal transportation agencies.
FULL STORY: Freeway Fighters List Their Top Five Needs For 2023

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Off-Peak is the New On-Peak
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The New Colorado River Deal: An Explainer
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Research Indicates the Large Potential Benefits of Parking Cash-Out Laws
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Through the Eyes of a Journalist: Megan Kimble Reflects on Covering Food Systems, Zoning Changes, and Highway Projects in the Southwest
Kimble’s interest in topics related to urban planning spawned from research and writing about food systems in the borderlands of Arizona. She then moved to Austin in the midst of the city’s update of its Land Development Code.
Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission
Code Studio
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HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Montrose County
Knox County
Wichita-Sedgwick County Metropolitan Area Planning Department
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