Urban Freeway Removal
Urban freeway removal refers to the dismantling of all or a piece of an urban freeway and replacing it with a boulevard or park space. Urban freeways that tend to get slated for dismantling include those that bisect a city, create a barrier between neighborhoods, and/or cut off access to key urban assets such as waterfronts, parks, and stadiums. Additional reasons for state and local governments to investigate freeway removal include:
- Reducing vehicle miles traveled, which has associated benefits for the environment and public health
- Saving money on the maintenance of aging infrastructure
- Catalyzing economic development around, and increasing the value of land adjacent to, the removed freeway
Local and state planners contemplating urban freeway removal can refer to Chapter 6 of the Seattle Mobility Plan – “Case Studies in Freeway Removal” and the Congress For The New Urbanism (CNU) Highways to Boulevards website. “Case Studies in Freeway Removal” identifies a set of lessons learned by the City of Seattle from reviewing ten urban freeway removal projects both in terms of strategies for planning and implementation as well as expected outcomes. The document also provides details of each project including the background to each effort, project design, and a discussion of impacts and post-project evaluation if it has occurred. The CNU Highways to Boulevards website provides a brief overview of the importance and impacts of freeway removal. It also provides four short case studies, lists CNU’s top ten list of highways across the country with the greatest opportunity for removal, and discusses three cities where CNU is partnering with local stakeholders to campaign for a specific removal project. Both resources provide a valuable overview of the urban freeway removal movement, identify best practice communities for local and state planners to connect with, and discuss important lessons learned from prior urban freeway removal projects.
Any party with an interest in an initiative.
