Urban Freeway Caps/Freeway Removal

[TouchTheSky13]

If all of Atlanta's road-capping park dreams happen, it would look like this



http://https://urbanize.city/atlanta...ntown-buckhead

[MAC123]

Originally Posted by TouchTheSky13

If all of Atlanta's road-capping park dreams happen, it would look like this



http://https://urbanize.city/atlanta...ntown-buckhead

Hopefully that's the future for this city. Looks great.

[TouchTheSky13]

Buckhead’s highway-capping park project moves forward as ‘Hub 404’







https://atlanta.curbed.com/2019/6/26...roject-hub-404

[TouchTheSky13]

A freeway ripped the heart out of Black life in Detroit. Now Michigan wants to tear it down.







https://grist.org/equity/a-freeway-r...-tear-it-down/

[H-man]

Albany, NY also has a grass roots group interested in removing I-787 and reconnecting their waterfront of the Hudson River with the rest of the city.

https://www.albanyriverfrontcollaborative.com/

[TouchTheSky13]

$1B for Urban Highway Removals On the Way, More Money Could Follow



http://https://www.route-fifty.com/i...e-bill/186714/

[TouchTheSky13]

Originally Posted by H-man

Albany, NY also has a grass roots group interested in removing I-787 and reconnecting their waterfront of the Hudson River with the rest of the city.

https://www.albanyriverfrontcollaborative.com/

Really Great to see! Wish I could get image links to the existing and proposed schemes but everyone should check the site you posted, as it delves into the idea in great depth.

Here are some others i found

[TouchTheSky13]

‘KC South Loop Link’ Planning Continues as Baltimore Bridge is Replaced - Freeway Deck Park Project Could Stretch Four Blocks





Hopefully this is just the first phase. Much more than four blocks of I-670 could be capped.

https://www.flatlandkc.org/news-issu...e-is-replaced/

[TouchTheSky13]

‘How do we make something out of nothing?’ Group proposes freeway lids to reconnect San Diego’s neighborhoods

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com...o-freeway-lids







^Terralta Park - An existing freeway deck over I-15 in East San Diego

[TouchTheSky13]

I-35 Deck Park by Dallas Zoo Will Have Major Wow Factor—and a Driving Mission









https://dallasinnovates.com/i-35-dec...iving-mission/

[TouchTheSky13]

A Look At I-30’s Hopes in The Canyon: Deck Parks, Complete Streets, and More









https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburne...ate-30-canyon/

[TouchTheSky13]

Phoenix's Margaret T. Hance Park, a freeway deck park that opened 30 years ago, is getting a facelift.

Hance Park Phase One Construction Update







https://downtownphoenixjournal.com/2...uction-update/

[PhilliesPhan]

Thankfully, Philadelphia's comprehensive plan for a highway system was never realized, and we ended up with relatively few miles of highway. A few simple fixes would help the city immensely:

-Cap the Vine Street Expressway (I-676) between 22nd and 9th Streets, and create a direct connection to the Ben Franklin Bridge. Once the direct connection is complete, give the area surrounding Franklin Square a massive road diet.

-Cap 95 between Market and South Streets.

-Cap the Roosevelt Expresssway between 18th Street and Old York Road.

-Submerge the inner lanes of Roosevelt Boulevard between Old York Road and their terminus near the Poquessing Creek. Include space for a double-tracked Boulevard Extension of the Broad Street Line.


In addition to what I've written above, my larger, more comprehensive plan for Philadelphia's PA-NJ-DE-MD Metropolitan Area would be as follows:


-Designate the entirety of the Jersey Turnpike, as well as the section of what is currently I-295 between the 95/295/495 Interchange and the Delaware Memorial Bridge, as I-95. The existing section of I-95 between the PA/DE border and Oregon Avenue would become an extension of I-495, and the existing section of I-95 between the 95/295 interchange in Bristol, PA and the Girard Avenue Interchange would become an extension of I-295.

-Remove the existing section of I-95 between Oregon Avenue and Girard Avenue. The newly-designated I-495 and I-295 would drain into Delaware Avenue/Columbus Boulevard. The existing section of I-95 in between the 95/295/495 Interchange and the US 202 Interchange in Delaware would also be removed. The existing section of I-95 between the PA/DE border and the US-202 Interchange could be designated as I-695.

-Once the aforementioned sections of highway are removed, Philadelphia's connection to the Delaware River will be restored between Northern Liberties and South Philly, and Wilmington's western neighborhoods would be reconnected with Downtown.

-In Chester, cap 95 between Crosby Street and Melrose Avenue.

[MAC123]

Originally Posted by TouchTheSky13

Phoenix's Margaret T. Hance Park, a freeway deck park that opened 30 years ago, is getting a facelift.

Everytime I see proposals from Pheonix with big green fields and urban forests, I'm just so annoyed. Pheonix is literally in the middle of a desert, and I'm pretty sure they're having major water problems right now.
There are plants who have specifically evolved to deal with low amounts of water, just use them.
Not that these projects compare to the ridiculousness of green lawns in people's yards in Pheonix, it's idiotic.

[Busy Bee]

Originally Posted by PhilliesPhan

-Cap 95 between Market and South Streets..

Or an even crazier idea, remove 95 entirely from the Walt Whitman to the Betsy Ross. The world would go on spinning and the damage to Philly's waterfront connection and urban fabric would be repaired. Go big or go home.

[TouchTheSky13]

Originally Posted by MAC123

Everytime I see proposals from Pheonix with big green fields and urban forests, I'm just so annoyed. Pheonix is literally in the middle of a desert, and I'm pretty sure they're having major water problems right now.
There are plants who have specifically evolved to deal with low amounts of water, just use them.
Not that these projects compare to the ridiculousness of green lawns in people's yards in Pheonix, it's idiotic.

Your point is well taken. I'm not trying to defend Phoenix, but the city has done a decent job of implementing water conservation and storage measures in recent years. They're fixing canals to be less leaky, outlawing grass lawns in new homes, and raising water utility prices (though probably not enough) to try and decrease per capita water use.

I think there's some merit to having green space for public use rather than private use in a desert climate and the technology exists to do it responsibly. The biggest source of water consumption in Arizona is agriculture. The state and federal government need to step in with tax credits and low interest loans to help farmers transition to greenhouse farming and drip irrigation systems. That could reduce water consumption for agriculture by 50-80%.

[PhilliesPhan]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

Or an even crazier idea, remove 95 entirely from the Walt Whitman to the Betsy Ross. The world would go on spinning and the damage to Philly's waterfront connection and urban fabric would be repaired. Go big or go home.

Yep, that's pretty close to the second bullet point in my more comprehensive plan below, except I mentioned "Oregon to Girard". I guess I was feeling kinder to motorists than I typically do yesterday.

I'm in total agreement though, something radical must be done. TBH, I-95 shouldn't even exist in PA, as it could run the length of the Jersey Turnpike. Delaware Avenue is large enough to accommodate the level of traffic that 95 currently takes on, which the remaining highways would drain into under my comprehensive plan. Having 95 run the length of the Jersey Turnpike could also enable the City of Wilmington to remove the section of highway between the current 95/295/495 interchange and US-202, enabling it to repair the severed connection between Downtown and its western neighborhoods. There is no need for 95 to exist through Downtown Wilmington.

[thegoatman]

Any decking projects for Chicago?? The Kennedy and LSD could you some serious capping.

[ardecila]

^ Nope, nothing serious. Fifield wanted to privately fund a Kennedy deck park through value capture, but I've heard IDOT killed it. Oak Park fought for years to get a cap over the Eisenhower and now it's looking like the best they get is a bike path and some fancier overpasses.

LSD won't be capped as it's a parkway/scenic drive. The views from your windshield are the whole point. Although I would love if a private company would come in and build an express tunnel from North Ave down to 18th, funded through tolls... this model has worked in Australian cities. That section is really the worst part in terms of cutting the city off from the lakefront, everywhere else LSD sits surrounded by plenty of parkland on both sides with many bridge/tunnel crossings.

[NYCityBoy]

I grew up in the Bronx. I'm very interested to see what solutions they come up with for capping the Cross Bronx Expressway.