Quote:
Originally Posted by NYC2ATX
As I see all the areas around Highland and Mueller being redeveloped, I can't help but wonder the chances of 290, west of 35 in this area, before it becomes Koenig, could be downgraded. It just seems an unnecessary highway stub that is only serving to hinder free movement in the neighborhood.
It seems like the type of highway that was once intended to travel further west, but now, there's really no reason it needs to continue past I-35 as a limited-access freeway for just a smidge further.
|
Devil’s advocate: Having it extend just enough further west ensures that traffic never backs up far enough to impede the functioning of the intersection with the interstate AND allows the area to develop with greater intensity. This area is ripe for a conditional overlay allowing more height with strings attached. For instance, if the eastern suburbs ever boom the same way the north suburbs have, this area could become a viable secondary mixed-use business district rather than simply a community college and civic services district.
It also is not an example of a highway that was built by tearing up a preexisting urban community displacing many, nor even a suburban parallel to that, but rather this is an example of a freeway built past the urban core, past the streetcar suburbia, past the initial suburbs built for cars, and when built this area was largely cow pastures (many of these neighborhoods were built up in the late 60s to early 80s). In essence, the neighborhood is built around the infrastructure rather than the infrastructure being shoehorned in to an urban area. Further, I rarely think it wise for the government to give up its right of way. Reserve it for future use.
Prev
. Gotta thank compatibility standards for the taper to just 3 stories across the eastern half.
).
Linear Mode
