If there was no BAltimore Beltway, or Tunnels through the harbor, all hell would break looses. Howvere, many rural highways (not interstates) are choked. Through HArford County, Rt24 has around 80,000 people living within 5 miles from this road. It is 2 lanes wide, and clogged at all hours. The road that is congested is also around 10 miles long. HAve fun! Oh and highways that were in the planned town of Columbia are the worse-possibly worse that the DC beltway. But have highways helped YOUR town?
Have the fwy/expy scars in your city healed yet?
Let's face it....when those expressways and freeways of the interstate hwy. system came ripping through your cities in the 1950's and 1960's (and paved the path to exodus to suburbia), they tore into the urban fabric, separated neighborhood from neighborhood, and brutalized their immediate environment.
But now we're close to 40 years removed from the destruction the expressway/freeway system did....and during that time, greenery has been placed on road embankments, new and sometimes quality construction has gone up alongside the highways, parts of roads have been placed underground and a general desire to soften the effect of the 1950's-1960's has been evident in many cities.
So how about your home town? Have the scars of the way the expressways and freeways been healed? Have their sides been softened? Has new costruction drawn to their sides? And, most importantly, have they actually become a valued part of the urban framework?
HAVE THE SCARS OF YOUR CITY'S FREEWAY OR EXPRESSWAY SYSTEM FINALLY HEALED....OR IS THE SYSTEM STILL AN UGLY AND DIVISIVE MESS?
But now we're close to 40 years removed from the destruction the expressway/freeway system did....and during that time, greenery has been placed on road embankments, new and sometimes quality construction has gone up alongside the highways, parts of roads have been placed underground and a general desire to soften the effect of the 1950's-1960's has been evident in many cities.
So how about your home town? Have the scars of the way the expressways and freeways been healed? Have their sides been softened? Has new costruction drawn to their sides? And, most importantly, have they actually become a valued part of the urban framework?
HAVE THE SCARS OF YOUR CITY'S FREEWAY OR EXPRESSWAY SYSTEM FINALLY HEALED....OR IS THE SYSTEM STILL AN UGLY AND DIVISIVE MESS?
1 - 20 of 46 Posts
In Houston, some freeways are only becoming "pretty" now. For example, the Katy Freeway (I-10 west) and the 610 (west loop) around the Galleria area are becoming modernized and tasteful. Also, 59 (south). But only because those areas have established themselves as the "nicer" and "richer" areas of town. But freeways like I-10 (east) that head into the ship channel and port, are looking the same as they did when built (ugly). And I-45 (north) is probibly the ugliest freeway in the world. But hopefully, the plants/trees/greenary they planted along 45 North will let drivers pass threw without noticing the crack motels on the side of the road.
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Highways killed downtown Jacksonville (granted it was by far not the only factor but a big one). We'll never heal from that. I've seen pics of Jacksonville in the 1940's and it looked like a mini Manhattan.
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From this:
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To this:
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We finally have lots of growth downtown again with 7,400 residential units planned, approved or under construction but nothing like the past.
From this:
To this:
We finally have lots of growth downtown again with 7,400 residential units planned, approved or under construction but nothing like the past.
Good question, for Atlanta - no they haven't. The most significant issue being how the freeway, strategically placed, divisively split Black Atlanta from the White majority downtown of the 1950's. Splitting downtown from the lower income minority neighborhoods, in most cases Atlanta's only true pre-1900 "urban" (not inner-ring / streetcar) were isolated & eventually in most cases destroyed. The freeway was used as a catalyst, which is a sign even in from the far right (democrats at the time) used transportation for social engineering.
The fallout since has been this - most of 'intown' Atlanta has witnessed a massive building explosion & major investment. While downtown has benefited from a number of high profile projects, it has yet to truly take advantage of the new prosperous residents that have moved into Atlanta. While other downtowns across the country have become anew as a cultural & entertainment center for nearby residents - downtown has become even more isolated.
Residents in nearby neighborhoods don't venture into downtown, for a number of reasons - but I theorize that the freeway, often reffered to as 'the Grady Curve' due to a line up that curves & wraps downtown on 2 sides is viewed as a psycological barrier.
On another concern, the neighborhoods - such as mine in Grant Park - have been divided permenately. Whereas my side, is now often reffered to as a seperate entity or part of a nearby neighborhood of Cabbagetown. This is due to the destruction of street connectivity. Rather than 10 & more streets crossing, the number has declined to just 3, with 2 of the streets serving as interchanges. So - again a psycological barrier, those 2 streets serving as interchanges make it very difficult to navigate on foot - forcing most to visit bars & parks on the opposite side of 'the neighborhood center'.
Over time - the only true solution will be projects such as Atlanta's 5th St, which is a bridge widening - but is widened to minimize the negative aura of the freeway with parks space. Or, my preffered solution - the High St freeway crossing in Columbus, OH which seamlessly integrates retail into the commercial corridor.
The fallout since has been this - most of 'intown' Atlanta has witnessed a massive building explosion & major investment. While downtown has benefited from a number of high profile projects, it has yet to truly take advantage of the new prosperous residents that have moved into Atlanta. While other downtowns across the country have become anew as a cultural & entertainment center for nearby residents - downtown has become even more isolated.
Residents in nearby neighborhoods don't venture into downtown, for a number of reasons - but I theorize that the freeway, often reffered to as 'the Grady Curve' due to a line up that curves & wraps downtown on 2 sides is viewed as a psycological barrier.
On another concern, the neighborhoods - such as mine in Grant Park - have been divided permenately. Whereas my side, is now often reffered to as a seperate entity or part of a nearby neighborhood of Cabbagetown. This is due to the destruction of street connectivity. Rather than 10 & more streets crossing, the number has declined to just 3, with 2 of the streets serving as interchanges. So - again a psycological barrier, those 2 streets serving as interchanges make it very difficult to navigate on foot - forcing most to visit bars & parks on the opposite side of 'the neighborhood center'.
Over time - the only true solution will be projects such as Atlanta's 5th St, which is a bridge widening - but is widened to minimize the negative aura of the freeway with parks space. Or, my preffered solution - the High St freeway crossing in Columbus, OH which seamlessly integrates retail into the commercial corridor.
Seattle has softened things a bit.
I-5 has been spanned twice in Downtown Seattle, first by Freeway Park in 1977 and then by the Convention Center in 1989 or so. This provides a few blocks where it's a nice walk across.
In Downtown proper, most streets cross the freeway. But north of Downtown there's still a whole half-mile starting at Denny where you can't cross -- this area desperately needs a pedestrian skybridge or two.
When I-90 was rebuilt from the suburbs to I-5 about 15(?) years ago, they covered big chunks on rich Mercer Island and in a poor part of Seattle. That's helped both areas.
The best part of Highway 99 is a six-block stretch through Belltown where it's a tunnel. This was built before the interstate system.
I-5 has been spanned twice in Downtown Seattle, first by Freeway Park in 1977 and then by the Convention Center in 1989 or so. This provides a few blocks where it's a nice walk across.
In Downtown proper, most streets cross the freeway. But north of Downtown there's still a whole half-mile starting at Denny where you can't cross -- this area desperately needs a pedestrian skybridge or two.
When I-90 was rebuilt from the suburbs to I-5 about 15(?) years ago, they covered big chunks on rich Mercer Island and in a poor part of Seattle. That's helped both areas.
The best part of Highway 99 is a six-block stretch through Belltown where it's a tunnel. This was built before the interstate system.
The 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake condemned two of San Francisco's freeways. The Embarcadero and the Central. The City has since tore down these condemned elevated freeways and replaced them with boulevards. Both boulevards have beautiful landscaping and ornamental lighting.
for a city famous for its freeway revolt, San Francisco still had to put up witht he abomination that was the Embracadero Freeway. The Embarcadero and the waterfront have been beautifully openned up by its removal and the Ferry Building has been rightfully returned to its commanding position at the foot of Market Street.urban lover said:The 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake condemned two of San Francisco's freeways. The Embarcadero and the Central. The City has since tore down these condemned elevated freeways and replaced them with boulevards. Both boulevards have beautiful landscaping and ornamental lighting.
SF's current mid-Market revival never would have occurred without the removal of the Central Fwy.
Buffalo - downtown, NO.
rest of the city, yes.
rest of the city, yes.
In Indy interstates 65 and 70 have torn right through the heart of the working class community here, taking out hundreds of houses. Many were historic rowhouses. Some neighborhoods, like Brightwood for example, have been severed in half by the highways. So I dont think the scars have healed quite yet.
Evidently this has also happened in Milwaukee and Louisville, and has plans in Buffalo (not the earthquake part, but the torn down part). Definitely think it yields a far nicer result, don't know what these idiots were thinking cutting off downtowns from water.urban lover said:The 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake condemned two of San Francisco's freeways. The Embarcadero and the Central. The City has since tore down these condemned elevated freeways and replaced them with boulevards. Both boulevards have beautiful landscaping and ornamental lighting.
Sadly no, though there are plans to put underground the I-395 which slices through the northern end of Downtown on its way to South Beach cutting downtown off from the growing arts/entertainment district just to the north. A massive condo project was stopped because the government wanted to take the land for the burrying of the freeway but not much seems to have happened since then. Our state government is a little starved on funds (yet we have a surplus) right now.
(the elevated freeway in the middle of the pic)
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(the elevated freeway in the middle of the pic)
Dark, Boston is the poster child city in removing the scars!DarkFenX said:For Boston, it's almost fully heal. Just need to wait until the parks are built above the old artery.[/IMG]
very cool, and good to see they are putting it back into the tax base.
Thankfully, South Carolina got it right on this one and did not allow interstates to rip through downtown and interrupt the urban fabric of our cities.
I think the positive impacts of freeways and the rest of the freeway network on U.S. cities greatly outweighs the negatives. Imagine still having to drive cross country or commute on our old U.S. Highways with traffic lights and slow speeds.
Like HoustonTexas mentioned about Houston, Austin's new highways are much more appealing to the eyes. I think for Austin, they've healed. The problems is we need more highways to make our freeway/tollway system more efficieint. There are too many gaps and abrupt endpoints but they're fixing that with tollways and upgrading existing highways to freeways.
Like HoustonTexas mentioned about Houston, Austin's new highways are much more appealing to the eyes. I think for Austin, they've healed. The problems is we need more highways to make our freeway/tollway system more efficieint. There are too many gaps and abrupt endpoints but they're fixing that with tollways and upgrading existing highways to freeways.
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