Comments on: Freeway Revolts of the Future

By: Charting the Bay Area Seismic Retrofit Effort « Transbay Blog

Charting the Bay Area Seismic Retrofit Effort « Transbay Blog — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:35:34 +0000

[...] killed; thousands injured; significant damage in places like the Marina District; and, of course, the silver lining: the collapse and ultimate removal of the Embarcadero Freeway, the Cypress Structure, and part of [...]

By: Adron

Adron — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 07:59:48 +0000

Cool, I’ll check that list out.

By: Eric

Eric — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 23:19:15 +0000

Adron: please do so! I’ll look forward to reading it. The CNU list has apparently prompted quite a wave of posts across the transit/livability blogosphere. For further reading, the list of blog posts are summarized here:

http://www.cnu.org/node/2400

By: Adron

Adron — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 23:13:02 +0000

Oh wow! You hit that nail on the head.

1. Alaskan Way Viaduct, Seattle, WA
2. Claiborne Expressway, New Orleans, LA

Those two I can state from personal experience, that they’re a sick damnation to the cities that they’re in. Removal of both would be a boon for both cities. Both New Orleans and Seattle have a strong heritage of streetcars, for Seattle just switching their waterfront line back on after the removal would be great, for New Orleans that stretch would be great for light rail. The development that could then occur around those two is huge. Far more than any costs associated with tearing down the damn roads and revitalizing, or just allowing the market to revitalize these areas.

If anything, these monster roads do nothing but drag down the areas they go through in both of those cities.

Two more Interstates that should be added to the list. I-5 and I-405 in Portland, OR. Portland doesn’t need these damn roads. I-205 could be turned into I-5, and the city could finally be rid of the cursed Interstates that forced the removal of minorities including blacks, jews, and others in the 50s and 60s. We could then have back well over 100 blocks worth of develop worthy land, and at least 30 blocks or so of river water front property. That land alone would more than cover the costs of removing the Interstates and be worth far more than the Interstates every were.

I think you’ve conjured me to write a new blog entry!

By: Happybiker

Happybiker — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 06:53:16 +0000

I’m going to get pummeled for this, but the Eastshore Fwy (I-80) thru Emeryville and Berkeley. The Bay Trail would be awesome without the neverending hum of bumper-to-bumper traffic. Also, the shoreline would be more accessible.

Where would all the traffic go? That would be a problem.

By: Corey

Corey — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:25:10 +0000

While it’s not tearing down, as such, I think burying I-5 in downtown Sacramento would make such a huge improvement in the city’s feel and access to the river. Currently, you have beautiful downtown Sacramento, then an ugly freeway, then a beautiful riverfront area. It seems to me like covering up the freeway between these two areas is a no-brainer, especially considering how much the city is about to invest in the railyard project north of downtown. Burying the freeway, building mixed-use development on the newly freed-up land, and running a new light rail line through the new neighborhood would make all parts of downtown and midtown Sacramento much nicer places to be, and would almost certainly put more people on the streets in the evenings, which would be a boost to public safety.

By: Tom Poser

Tom Poser — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 05:25:53 +0000

Great article, thanks for writing it. I am not so interested in the debate about which freeways are better off demolished however, but I love reading historical info about past projects here in the City. The old photos are great as well.

Check my blog when you get a chance as we have covered some of the development that has sprouted in place of the old double-decker freeway.

Tom Poser
http://www.sanfranciscotenantrep.com

By: Josh

Josh — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 23:26:39 +0000

Remember, the Embarcadero Freeway didn’t serve any critical role. Sky: still up, even with it gone.

I agree about the remainder of the Central Freeway on top of Duboce/13th/Division. When they had it torn back to So Van Ness, the intersection of Mission and 13th was like a whole different world. Suddenly it didn;t seem like it was a mile wide. Tear the Central Freeway down and, after Caltrain’s tracks are underground, run light rain the rest of the way down King to Division all the way to Market and the Duboce yard.

I’d even go so far as to say tear the James Lick out too. At least demolish that gigantic tumor that is the C Chav overpass. Good lord! That structure is the single worst-designed piece of road infrastructure I have ever seen.

By: chris

chris — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 19:54:26 +0000

Great post! Alaskan Way has my vote as well.

By: Eric

Eric — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:40:35 +0000

Yes, the Alaskan Way viaduct is quite reminiscent of the Embarcadero Freeway:

http://flickr.com/photos/crumbs/2703242556/
http://flickr.com/photos/cloganese/225568813/
http://flickr.com/photos/eotc/2050896479/
http://flickr.com/photos/wsdot/2353576382/