A Closer Look at the Ambitious Plans to Cap I-5 in Downtown Seattle

Jen Kinney reports on the details behind an ambitious proposal for a cap park over the I-5 Freeway in Downtown Seattle. The article focuses on the work of Patano Studio Architecture to design and advocate for the so-called Seattle C.A.P. According to Kinney, the designers "see a park atop I-5 solving myriad problems at once: reconnect the severed urban fabric, reduce noise and air pollution, manage stormwater, and create some affordable housing."

Kinney shares renderings of the proposed park, which she describes as a river of trees. Also detailed is the potential for the park to actually be built. "Seattle’s DOT has been receptive, as have other city agencies," writes Kinney, "while the state DOT has generally dismissed the project on basis of further traffic congestion and cost (which Patano estimates at roughly $800 million)."

The Capitol Hill Seattle Blog also provided additional details about the growing support for the cap park plans in December, in connection with a proposed expansion of the adjacent convention center.

The site plan of the Seattle C.A.P. proposal. (Image courtesy of Patano Studio Architects)