Freeways: divide and pollute cities today - greenspace tomorrow?

Image via WikipediaAre freeways doomed? -Several cities are tearing down highways, creating bold new public spaces -- and building a future without cars (Dream City, Nov. 30, 2011)

Also discussed here: Carmageddon - Complete coverage of the 405 freeway closure during July 16-18 (Los Angeles Times, Aug. 2, 2011)
Video: A time-lapse of the Mulholland Drive bridge demolition

A number of cities in the USA have seen the light and replaced expensive, ineffective, polluting freeways that divide communities with parks and tourist vistas that unite them. The article under review today summarizes the situation across the country in recent days from New jersey to San Francisco to New York to Minneapolis. Soon many more will reap the benefits and quality of life that freewayless cities such as Vancouver BC have enjoyed for years.

Bottom line “Improved traffic flow, fewer roads to maintain, nicer neighborhoods — what’s not to love?”

Key Quotes:

“The drive to tear down the huge freeways that many blame for the inner-city blight of the ’60s and ’70s is one of the most dramatic signs of the new urban order”

“For some cities, this means a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reclaim a vast amount of downtown land and turn it into the public space of their dreams”

• “Trenton, N.J….is looking at converting the four-lane highway that runs along the Delaware River into a vibrant waterfront of parks and buildings”
• “as New Orleans implements a new master plan for the city following Hurricane Katrina, anything seems possible — including a pitch to tear down the Claiborne Expressway, the freeway that divided several of the city’s historically black neighborhoods when it was erected decades ago.. It would also reunite the neighborhoods the freeway divided, allowing residents of the north side to benefit from the south side’s proximity to the French Quarter.”
• “San Francisco .. demolished the bay-adjacent double-decker Embarcadero Freeway after it was damaged in an earthquake. Today, the area .. has evolved from a forbidding dead zone to a bustling waterfront and tourist magnet”
• “New York is studying plans to tear down the Sheridan, which runs along the Bronx River”

“the dirty secret of freeways is that they don’t reduce traffic, they create it”

Related articles

• How Freeways Came About from Cities Designed for Cars (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
• The Case for Tearing Down Urban Freeways (forbes.com)
• Mid-Town Freeways, Sprawl and Quality of Life (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
• 7 of 10 most congested freeway segments are here (laobserved.com)
• Do Freeways Deter Development? (andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com)
• Freeways: Speed vs. Throughput (forbes.com)
• Chuck Schumer on Niagara Falls Highway: "Tear Down This Road" (streetsblog.org)
• The Problem With Urban Freeways (thinkprogress.org)
• The Arrogance of Suburbia (forbes.com)
• Do Freeways Deter Development? (pinkbananaworld.com)
• Overnight closures for 60, 5 and 405 freeways (latimesblogs.latimes.com)
• Freeway explosion: Crumbling bridge 'definitely coming down' (latimesblogs.latimes.com)
• Safety of California freeways under question (abclocal.go.com)