April 1, 201411 yr And even though my wife and I can easily afford two cars without compromising our 401(k) and Roth contributions, I'm still eager to see transit options expand in my area. Just because I can drive everywhere doesn't mean I necessarily want to. Likewise with road diets (not to actually get the thread back on topic or anything): the fact that we've very much become suburban types (we still live within the city limits, but in a single-family home with a 2-car garage on a dead-end street ... pretty suburban, at the end of the day) doesn't mean that I'm enthusiastic about expanding every road out there and adding more on top of them. I'm fully in favor of the OH-59 removal even though I'm actually one of that much-smaller-than-anticipated number who regularly uses it. I'd be fine with narrowing High and Broadway through Downtown Akron and the area south of Downtown, too.
April 1, 201411 yr ^yes it's critical for people who can't currently max out their 401k's to at least set that as a goal. I work with many people who drive new or newish vehicles who do not even contribute to the plan. I work with one guy who works a night job just to afford his extra show car and Harley. That same $1,200~/mo put in an IRA would make him rich. He could buy 100 motorcycles when he retires. But he can't be convinced of that.
June 9, 201411 yr No lanes are actually being removed, but -- during the recent resurfacing on Chester Ave. in the CSU where it passes through CSU, Chester has been reduced to one lane each way. Traffic delays do not seem to have increased all that much. Maybe drivers are avoiding the area, but it really makes it feel like we could make Chester one travel lane, one parking lane, and one turn lane (a much longer turn lane before the entrance ramp to I-90 please) and traffic would be just fine. Anyone else notice? I like the bump-outs at the intersections by the new apartments and wish they had built them all the way to E 18th.
June 9, 201411 yr ^ Its actually been pretty bad during the busier times and people are trying to avoid it but it adds a lot of time to the trip. There is no clear benefit for changing it at this point either. Also CSU is on summer break.
June 9, 201411 yr Does anybody know when the left lane of 6th Street between Vine and Walnut in downtown Cincy was converted from a traffic lane to a wide sidewalk? I have a bet going. If anyone can find some evidence showing the date, that would be really helpful.
June 10, 201411 yr Don't recall an exact date, but two summer ago. In the time between Arby's closing and Panera opening.
June 10, 201411 yr Sometime between the beginning of 2011 and August 2012. “All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.” -Friedrich Nietzsche
June 10, 201411 yr That's what my bet is on and the guy I have the bet with has lived on that street since the 80s and is convinced it's been that wide since he moved in. I can't find any DOTE listings or Enquirer articles to back it up with though.
June 10, 201411 yr ^ Its actually been pretty bad during the busier times and people are trying to avoid it but it adds a lot of time to the trip. There is no clear benefit for changing it at this point either. Also CSU is on summer break. Sorry to hear that your experience has been different. I have been very surprised but the resurfacing has not added ANY time to my commute, and in fact many days my commute is faster. The reduction in CSU students is probably more significant than I realized.
June 10, 201411 yr That's what my bet is on and the guy I have the bet with has lived on that street since the 80s and is convinced it's been that wide since he moved in. I can't find any DOTE listings or Enquirer articles to back it up with though. Use Google's new history button on Streetview. According to it the sidewalk was widened between May 2011 and April 2012.
November 6, 201410 yr Tonight, Norwood City Council will vote on a resolution to convert the Norwood Lateral into a boulevard. Whoever wrote this language seems to get it: However, I have my doubts that ODOT would agree to make any change to the lateral. ODOT still sees the Lateral as an eventual part of the I-74 eastward expansion.
December 5, 201410 yr Author A "road diet" for the Akron Innerbelt planned. Get details here:... http://t.co/Bkw738IGh2 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
December 5, 201410 yr Norwood was all in for the Norwood Lateral when it's city streets were completely congested at each shift change at the GM plant - and now they want the reversal. That highway wasn't cheap and it does connect to main interstates - and is really the best west to east freeway in the area that's rarely congested. I am not sure how converting it to a freeway would help. The area was divided then by a major railroad and industry, and would still be divided by a major railroad and industrial and commercial areas.
December 12, 201410 yr Author ICYMI: KC passed a resolution directing that all 4 lane roads be studied for road diet potential. Would love to see similar reviews in all Ohio cities and MPOs. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
January 8, 201510 yr Author Motor City looking to remove urban freeways because they cut off neighborhoods http://t.co/eKlRST9Obu "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
February 19, 201510 yr Author FYI "Drivers’ primary basis for estimating their speed is the visual sensation provided by the highway geometrics" http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/nchrp/nchrp_rpt_600Second.pdf#page=149 "Drivers underestimated travel speed on roads w/ HIGHER DESIGN STANDARDS, greater width, or divided wide urban roads" http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/nchrp/nchrp_rpt_600Second.pdf#page=168 Conversely, drivers "tended to overestimate their speeds on two-lane narrow urban roads." http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/nchrp/nchrp_rpt_600Second.pdf#page=169 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
February 21, 201510 yr Author It's called governmental inertia.... Friday, February 20, 2015 6 Comments Americans Are Driving Less, But Road Expansion Is Accelerating by Angie Schmitt Americans drive fewer miles today than in 2005, but since that time the nation has built 317,000 lane-miles of new roads — or about 40,000 miles per year. Maybe that helps explain why America’s infrastructure is falling apart. The new data on road construction comes from the Federal Highway Administration and reached our attention via Tony Dutzik at the Frontier Group, which studies trends in driving. In 2005, Americans drove just above a combined 3 trillion miles. Almost a decade later, in 2013, the last year for which data was available, they were driving about 45 billion less annually — so total driving behavior had declined slightly. Meanwhile, road construction continued as if demand was never higher. Between 2005 and 2013, states and the federal government poured about $27 billion a year into road expansion. According to FHWA data, road expansion was spread across highways and surface streets fairly uniformly. MORE: http://usa.streetsblog.org/2015/02/20/americans-are-driving-less-but-road-expansion-is-accelerating/ "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 4, 201510 yr Author Awesome graphic! "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 15, 201510 yr Author Some of this has been posted before, but there's some new ones, too.... Six freeway removals that changed their cities forever. http://t.co/qHmF0GSvHm "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 15, 201510 yr Tonight, Norwood City Council will vote on a resolution to convert the Norwood Lateral into a boulevard. Whoever wrote this language seems to get it: However, I have my doubts that ODOT would agree to make any change to the lateral. ODOT still sees the Lateral as an eventual part of the I-74 eastward expansion. Any updates on this?
April 12, 201510 yr Author Awesome! Sesame Street, Disney World/Land's Main Street, etc. aren't free-flowing when it comes to traffic (therefore earning low Level Of Service scores from state DOTs). Yet we consider them ideals in terms of community livability. Oh the irony... Let's be clear here. Sesame Street would score F on #LOS. @DOTsNeverSay http://t.co/z2G5koURLK "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 12, 201510 yr Author Never ceases to amaze me when we don't have threads for common subjects.... like Complete Streets. Most cities have implemented projects to realize Complete Streets policies, yet we discuss them only as bike projects but they're often much more than that, including attractive facilities and settings for transit, pedestrians and, of course, cars. Columbus was the first major city in Ohio to create a Complete Streets policy in 2008: https://columbus.gov/Templates/Detail.aspx?id=64888 Cleveland's policy followed in 2011: http://www.city.cleveland.oh.us/CityofCleveland/Home/Government/CityAgencies/OfficeOfSustainability/SustainableMobility I can't seem to find one for Cincinnati, although I have found articles from recent years saying that one was under consideration. Pittsburgh's mayor just issued an executive order to build a Complete Streets policy: http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/8145444-74/pittsburgh-complete-policy#axzz3X7yrZGiA "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 5, 201510 yr Author "Developers, business leaders call on Toronto Mayor Tory to tear down the Gardiner Expressway" - @globeandmail - http://t.co/H9iy4pm4dR "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 5, 201510 yr Author More... Toronto may replace expressway w/ a blvd. Should #Cleveland replace Shoreway w/ a blvd & intermodal transit ctr? http://t.co/5D4j6lXmZh "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 5, 201510 yr Do you mean west of dead man's curve? That's probably the next logical step after the west side project is done.
June 5, 201510 yr Author Do you mean west of dead man's curve? That's probably the next logical step after the west side project is done. Yes, and tear down the Shoreway bridge over West 3rd, as was shown in the lakefront plan from a decade ago. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 9, 201510 yr Author Update.... Urban Planning @UrbanPlanRR 7m7 minutes ago Gardiner East: Support Builds for "Remove" as Council Faces Vote http://rightrelevance.com/tw/urbanplanrr/805f37b0a35c0abd9b473341c7985c6ccc908130/urban%20planning/urban%20planning … "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 9, 201510 yr I just got back from a week in Vancouver. As the 4th densest city over 100,000 people in North America, it's amazing how anything works properly without a freeway into the heart of the city. Or turn lanes except at only the busiest intersections. Or the copious bike lanes and pedestrian only paths, closed intersections for anything other than people and bikes, etc. As all American data shows us, you NEED to prioritize the car. /sarcasm. For real though, I was so thoroughly impressed by the prioritization of pedestrians and bicyclists. There are no freeways within city limits and it's noticeable. There are also almost no turn lanes which was quite different. But it works just fine. Entire intersections are closed to traffic in certain areas and instead only accessible by pedestrians and bikes. Central planters in intersections forming pseudo roundabouts were common. Roads cut in half to give space to grade separated bike lanes were all over. Wide sidewalks with huge planting beds and massive tree coverage on basically every road. It was amazing how in a city as dense as Vancouver they've managed to fine tune things so well. It was an extremely pleasant city to be a pedestrian in. I loved it and all US cities could learn from it.
June 9, 201510 yr Author I just got back from a week in Vancouver. As the 4th densest city over 100,000 people in North America, it's amazing how anything works properly without a freeway into the heart of the city. Or turn lanes except at only the busiest intersections. Or the copious bike lanes and pedestrian only paths, closed intersections for anything other than people and bikes, etc. As all American data shows us, you NEED to prioritize the car. /sarcasm. For real though, I was so thoroughly impressed by the prioritization of pedestrians and bicyclists. There are no freeways within city limits and it's noticeable. There are also almost no turn lanes which was quite different. But it works just fine. Entire intersections are closed to traffic in certain areas and instead only accessible by pedestrians and bikes. Central planters in intersections forming pseudo roundabouts were common. Roads cut in half to give space to grade separated bike lanes were all over. Wide sidewalks with huge planting beds and massive tree coverage on basically every road. It was amazing how in a city as dense as Vancouver they've managed to fine tune things so well. It was an extremely pleasant city to be a pedestrian in. I loved it and all US cities could learn from it. It's why Vancouver and Toronto are driving Canada's GDP growth since the stagnation of the oil sands regions. People from all over the world want to move there and thus spend money and start businesses there. It's amazing how an attractive city drives economic development all by itself. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 9, 201510 yr It was architecturally not the greatest. I get the glass condo towers and their appeal, but the skylines needs some diversity. But beyond that it was extremely clean, but not in a sterile way. Super friendly, active, fun, quiet when it needed to be and dramatic when it needed to be, supportive of being outdoors, dense, etc. It facilitated really happy people basically. The moment I got back to Cincy a lot of the problems we have with our infrastructure became way more glaring in my mind. As does happen whenever I travel to a city that's way further along in being a livable urban environment in the 21st century than we are currently.
June 9, 201510 yr I don't think it went anywhere, unfortunately. I understand the desire of the people of Norwood to get rid of the Lateral, but that highway actually makes some sense. What's crazy to me is how they could basically eliminate I-71 from Ridge Road to downtown, replace it with three light rail lines on existing rail right-of-way (CLN, Wasson, and that one that goes from Xavier to Reading Road. Yes, I realize they are cut up in places and the Reading Road one isn't totally connected to Xavier) but no one would ever contemplate doing that. Heck, they could even add a line that goes to Ivorydale's Vine street that connects to that Xavier hub. I recognize 2002 was a crappy year, but there were certain things about that MetroMoves plan that were really poorly marketed. Honestly, the best thing that came out of it was the recognition that the County is never going to share any costs of transit.
June 9, 201510 yr It was architecturally not the greatest. I get the glass condo towers and their appeal, but the skylines needs some diversity. But beyond that it was extremely clean, but not in a sterile way. Super friendly, active, fun, quiet when it needed to be and dramatic when it needed to be, supportive of being outdoors, dense, etc. It facilitated really happy people basically. The moment I got back to Cincy a lot of the problems we have with our infrastructure became way more glaring in my mind. As does happen whenever I travel to a city that's way further along in being a livable urban environment in the 21st century than we are currently. Even crazier is how Vancouver can show that even a region about the size of Cincy's could be incredibly vibrant if done right...
June 9, 201510 yr It was architecturally not the greatest. I get the glass condo towers and their appeal, but the skylines needs some diversity. But beyond that it was extremely clean, but not in a sterile way. Super friendly, active, fun, quiet when it needed to be and dramatic when it needed to be, supportive of being outdoors, dense, etc. It facilitated really happy people basically. The moment I got back to Cincy a lot of the problems we have with our infrastructure became way more glaring in my mind. As does happen whenever I travel to a city that's way further along in being a livable urban environment in the 21st century than we are currently. Even crazier is how Vancouver can show that even a region about the size of Cincy's could be incredibly vibrant if done right... Yep. They have multiple employment centers just as we do, but theirs look like cities. Burnaby has its own dramatic skyline. As does West Vancouver. As does North Vancouver. As does New Westminster. The number of tower clusters was insane. And people are fully supportive of their city. They vote for things they don't personally need because they know it'll benefit the region. They support change and are open to new ideas. They adapt with the way people want to live. And the results are a place that, though expensive, you get what you pay for. The same can't be said for places in the US like NYC, SF, LA, etc. where you pay just as much but are left wanting more from how much you're paying.
November 6, 20159 yr Author How urban boulevards, small-town main streets and even rural highways are being redesigned http://www.governing.com/topics/transportation-infrastructure/gov-complete-streets-roads-bikes-pedestrians.html "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
January 21, 20169 yr http://www.seattle.gov/Transportation/docs/ump/06%20SEATTLE%20Case%20studies%20in%20urban%20freeway%20removal.pdf Interesting read of case studies of freeway and ramp removals from USA/Canada
January 25, 20169 yr Author Severe snowstorms have a remarkable way of revealing the portion of roadways we actually use for vehicles, and what parts could be converted to non-vehicular public uses.... With #snowmaggedon2016 the big story, it seems like a good time to discuss the #sneckdown concept. HT @BrooklynSpoke "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
January 26, 20169 yr In between Rocky River and Lakewood, there is a stretch where Lake Rd / Clifton Rd turn from city streets to a 5279 foot long highway, with on-ramps, off-ramps, over passes, and green highway signage. I would put Lake/Clifton on a road diet, 2 lanes each direction, with bike lanes along curbs. I would have Marion be an intersection (stop light), and it would connect over to the beach cliff neighborhood through Arundel Rd. Instead of Battersea dead-ending, it would connect to Beach Cliff Blvd. I would remove all on-ramps and off-ramps. https://www.google.com/maps/@41.4836384,-81.8388196,16.4z Links: Rocky River wants to study feasibility of downgrading Marion Ramp (leading to Lake Rd / Clifton Rd, its a 5279 foot long highway in between River and Lakewood) http://www.rrcity.com/rocky-river-blog/2015/9/24/detroit-road-traffic-parking-analysis-and-marion-ramp-feasibility-study Lakewood wants to put that part of Clifton on a road diet, and add bike lanes. http://www.cleveland.com/lakewood/index.ssf/2014/03/lakewood_group_asks_city_state.html What triggered this thought today was that today I found about an upcoming ODOT meeting at Merwin's Wharf this Wednesday on proposed bike routes. http://www.dot.state.oh.us/districts/D12/Documents/ODOT-BikeRoute-OpenHouse.pdf ODOT Open House Seeks Comments on Proposed Bike Routes: Planning For Greater Cleveland The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) is developing a network of U.S. and state bicycle routes in Ohio and is seeking public feedback at an open house to ensure the routes are as safe as possible. http://tinyurl.com/z8bv2bk I was going to post my route reshaping over in: Cleveland/Akron Bicycling Developments. http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,9873.175.html, but, since it involves my speculative, what-if's, on how bicycling would change if you re-shaped a roadway, then I'll post it here. It would essentially allow for bike paths to connect at Detroit-Marion/Lake/Clifton instead of lots of curvy jogging that will throw bicyclists off their path, and snaked through curvy neighborhood streets. (I will also post over there my opinions on this bike route thing). Attached is: - a current picture of Google Maps of Marion/Lake/Clifton. - my "photoshop the scars off" by the above joining of Marion/Arundel/Lake/Clifton as an intersection, and ramp removal. - ODOT's proposed bike routes, with a new alteration, if Marion/Lake/Clifton were all joined with bike lanes.
January 26, 20169 yr Is there a proposal to even extend rail transit there? That short stub of a highway was constructed in 1964. It carried far more traffic in the past than today, and was completed well before Interstate 90 was finished (circa 1977). It was built as a relief for traffic to bypass Rocky River and Lakewood - for motorists to take Clifton into downtown Cleveland from western suburbs and vice versa. With the interstate completed, it's not that necessary.
January 26, 20169 yr Makes a lot of sense with the other calming projects on Clifton. Too bad Lakewood didn't put in the medians....
January 26, 20169 yr They re-built lake rd in Rocky River just a couple years ago. the community input when planning the rebuild was against bike lanes. you are stuck with what is there for a long time. But a long time might mean 10 years and not never. http://www.cleveland.com/rocky-river/index.ssf/2013/09/rocky_river_seeking_grant_for.html http://www.cleveland.com/lakewood/index.ssf/2014/03/lakewood_group_asks_city_state.html
January 26, 20169 yr Severe snowstorms have a remarkable way of revealing the portion of roadways we actually use for vehicles, and what parts could be converted to non-vehicular public uses.... With #snowmaggedon2016 the big story, it seems like a good time to discuss the #sneckdown concept. HT @BrooklynSpoke While that's certainly true in a lot of cases, some sneckdowns would make it difficult for delivery trucks, emergency vehicles and of course snowplows to get through.
March 26, 20169 yr Author Buffalo! Last week's best news: "Cuomo announces $40m plan to remove Robert Moses Parkway North" https://t.co/hTfEJCNWpT https://t.co/rn9ku4tclb "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 28, 20169 yr Author Study Considers Removing Dallas Freeway | NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth https://t.co/EarhNvhkVV via @nbcdfw "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 28, 20169 yr Author Why cars and cities are a bad match. By Jarrett Walker March 2 Cars don’t work well in cities, and the reason is simple: 1) A city is a place where people live close together, so there’s not much space per person. 2) Cars take up a lot of space per person. 3) Therefore, cities quickly run out of room for cars. This problem is called congestion. When it happens, a city’s options are to: (A) Stop growing — because congestion has become terrible and growth will make it worse. (B) Widen streets. This requires huge amounts of land, and land in cities is very expensive. What’s more, if you tear down enough buildings to widen streets, you are effectively destroying your city in order to save it. © Focus on helping people get around using less space than cars require — through walking, cycling and mass transit. Given the options, it’s not surprising that urban leaders — regardless of political ideology — eventually decide that C is the only real answer. MORE: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/in-theory/wp/2016/03/02/buses-and-trains-thats-what-will-solve-congestion/?tid=ss_tw "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 6, 20169 yr Buffalo! Last week's best news: "Cuomo announces $40m plan to remove Robert Moses Parkway North" https://t.co/hTfEJCNWpT https://t.co/rn9ku4tclb Awesome news! The more freeways Buffalo can remove from its lakefront and riverfront, the better!
April 6, 20169 yr Oakland is currently discussing the removal of I-980. It's one of those short connector freeways that was likely designed to cut off the slums of West Oakland from Downtown. Now that West Oakland is hyper-gentrified, people want it to be connected with Downtown again. *The freeway was always pointless no matter the era. It's obvious it was built as an "infrastructure wall" more than anything else. Judging by crime in Oakland's urban core neighborhoods, it was completely ineffective. It's time to get rid of the freeway! A 500-foot wide swath of land could contain quite a lot of housing, and having a second Transbay Tube on BART land here would not be a bad idea (if the Jack London Square-Alameda proposal doesn't pan out). I also think something should be done to soften the blow of I-880, which cuts off Downtown Oakland from Jack London Square. I know it's not realistic to tear out I-880 since it's one of the busiest freeways in the nation and carries Port of Oakland traffic, but it's a barrier keeping potential tourists out of Oakland's only public waterfront. I think a bunch of high-rises should be built around I-880 in Oakland like San Francisco is doing with I-80 and the Bay Bridge approach ramps. Oakland moving in right direction with idea to replace I-980 By John KingNovember 14, 2015 Updated: November 19, 2015 8:45am The rebirth of the Embarcadero and Hayes Valley in San Francisco shows how a city and its neighborhoods can flourish after the removal of intrusive, invasive freeways. Now Oakland has the potential to see such addition by subtraction — a move that, down the road, could even pay benefits for the region as a whole. The freeway that has outstayed its welcome is Interstate 980, a broad swath of landscaped asphalt that separates residential West Oakland from the city’s downtown. With imaginative engineering and design, it could be replaced by a boulevard lined with housing at all price levels, reknitting the urban landscape. Another dimension to the what-if scenario: Such a conversion could include space for BART beneath the boulevard, a tunnel that could connect to a second BART tube from Oakland to San Francisco. None of this will happen overnight, and other paths for BART 2.0 might turn out to make more sense if such an ambitious expansion is pursued. But I-980 is a relic ripe for change, and its future shouldn’t be taken for granted. Instead, a reconceived roadway needs to be part of the discussion as the Bay Area begins to wrestle with the question of how our region will function and evolve in decades to come. “It’s not just a nice planning theory, it’s an equity issue and a transportation opportunity,” said Matt Nichols, a policy director for Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. “Some agency that’s going to be around for multiple terms needs to say this is on the agenda.” The concept of turning I-980 from a divisive motorway into common ground has been pushed for the past year by a handful of local architects and planners with good intentions but little clout. However, the idea is gaining traction within Oakland’s City Hall. Mayor Schaaf stressed the idea of “vibrant sustainable infrastructure” in her State of the City address this month, and the city has requested $5.2 million from the Alameda County Transportation Authority to begin planning studies of an I-980 conversion and a second BART tube. Simple common sense Getting rid of a freeway in an often-gridlocked region might sound foolhardy — it took the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake to nudge San Francisco to raze the elevated freeways along the Embarcadero and through Hayes Valley that neighbors hated but drivers relied on. That’s also true with the Cypress Freeway in West Oakland, which collapsed during Loma Prieta and was replaced eventually by Mandela Boulevard. With I-980, though, the notion of a fresh look is simple common sense. The artery was conceived to serve a second Bay Bridge that would touch down near Hunters Point in San Francisco, but voters rejected the plan in the early 1970s. By then more than 40 acres in the string of blocks between Brush and Castro streets had been acquired and partially cleared. The argument for the thoroughfare was repackaged as the salvation of downtown Oakland. CONTINUED (great article detailing freeway removals in the Bay) http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Oakland-moving-in-right-direction-with-idea-to-6633056.php
May 6, 20169 yr US-DOT is sponsoring an "Every Place Counts" challenge, where cities can propose changes that remove highways to to heal neighborhoods "difurcated" by past transportation mistakes. https://www.transportation.gov/opportunity/challenge - Encourage communities to reimagine existing transportation projects via innovative and restorative infrastructure design that corrects past mistakes; reconnects people and neighborhoods to opportunity; and reinvigorates opportunity within communities. - Empower communities and decision-makers to work together to develop context-sensitive design solutions that reflect and incorporate Anyone have some obvious winners to try proposing a regional govt to make a case? In Columbus, I'm thinking I-71 is a divisive boundary. Everything West of it is quite nice (i.e. Short North, Clintonville, OSU, Worthington), and to the East is "in transition" (Old Town East, Franklin Park, Linden). Perhaps you could make a "big dig", and put 71 under a park. In Cleveland, I'm not too familiar with everything to know of specific dividing lines. For economic redevelopment, I'd like to see the shoreway from Burke to Edgewater downgraded to a boulevard with intersections, (stop lights / roundabouts), pedestrian crossings, and mixed use development build along it. Then, perhaps see how you can incorporate some "Group Plan" into the redo. (i.e. maybe extend to the mall to Amtrak, and it be a park-bridge overtop of the new shoreway?). Also move the shoreway out of Flats West Bank, and run it from Browns to Wendy Park/Edgewater/Lakewood. I don't know if you could have a bridge that goes up and down, like the train bridge there, or if you'd have to tunnel under the Cuyahoga. The current shoreway It divides downtown from the waterfront, it cuts apart Warehouse district, it cuts apart Flats East Bank, it cuts apart Flats West Bank, it stops Ohio City from expanding north, its cuts off Edgewater from the neighborhoods south of it. I'll pretend that I've been living under a rock for the past year, and haven't noticed all the shoreway conversion they've been doing. (We have an undo button right?). (I agree with spirit, but I would take the shoreway conversion further).
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