As a growing number of communities study freeway removal, what if the decision was no longer controversial? In Long Beach, California, two city-owned freeways carry less traffic than some neighborhood streets. Would anyone notice if they were gone?
Brian Ulaszewski discusses a handful of recent examples of freeway teardowns that were replaced with little effect, like the Park East Freeway in Milwaukee:
"The original plan called for this freeway to reach the downtown waterfront, but community backlash against the destruction of neighborhoods prevented the plan from being completely realized. In 2003, city officials eventually decided to remove the mile of the freeway that had been built (and was carrying 54,000 vehicles daily). What motivated this decision was the realization that demolishing the aging freeway would cost $25 million, but rebuilding it would have cost four times as much. Concerns over congestion were misplaced: the reestablished street grid largely absorbed the traffic, while additionally creating nearly 40 acres of land for private development."
Ulaszewski is proposing the removal of a couple of lengths of freeway in Long Beach, California.
Thanks to Brian Ulaszewski
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