Today the Congress for the New Urbanism, a national advocacy group, published a list of the top ten highway removal projects with the most potential to stimulate urban revitalization. Three projects TSTC has worked on cracked the list, with a total of five listed in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
The Sheridan Expressway in the Bronx made No. 2 on the list, with CNU highlighting the Southern Bronx River Watershed Alliance‘s teardown plan to replace the elevated highway with affordable housing, community-appropriate development, and open space. Coming in at No. 4 was the removal of Route 34 in downtown New Haven, CT to reconnect city streets. A project to open up access to the Delaware River waterfront in Trenton by turning Route 29 in a boulevard came in at No. 8.
Also listed were projects to boulevard-ize the Skyway in Buffalo, NY, and I-81 in Syracuse, NY, both of which MTR looked at in “Highway Removal Olympics: Who Will Win the Gold?” last month.
The top project? Seattle’s Alaskan Way Viaduct, which after a few years’ gestation is now moving ahead quickly. For more information on each project, read the full list here.
Boulevards serve less vehicular traffic then grade separated highways and increase vehicular – pedestrian conflict.
While some grade separated highway designs can be improved, wholesale removal of such is unfounded, especially with below grade highway’s as New Haven’s Route 34 which is having its right of way robbed from the public to satisfy Yale’s selfishness and lack of imagination.
http://cos-mobile.blogspot.com/2008/04/yales-parochialist-messiah-john.html
http://cos-mobile.blogspot.com/2008/04/harvard-defeats-yale.html
The NYS DOT Sheridan project is an example of how the state can promote smart growth.
Where is NYS DOT Commissioner Astrid Glynn on this issue?