John Norquist was present in Council Chambers today as promised. I’d like to say that the meeting that centered on removing the skyway and redirecting Furman Blvd. was all political/environmental bluster and seriousness. But you don’t know John Norquist, and neither did I before today’s presentation.
The ex-mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin started his meeting by praising the beauty of Buffalo City Hall and the Council Chambers in particular. His Powerpoint presentation started with a 1930’s poster of the Autobahn in Germany along with a picture of industrial designer Norman Bel Geddes, who was an early proponent of separated highways.
During Norquist’s banter that was perfectly reasonable along with some tongue-in-cheek asides, we watched images of cities cut in half by walls (Berlin), faulty hurricane evacuation routes (Houston), and poor planning (Buffalo).
The next images showed splashy ads with SUV’s lingering in beautiful wooden areas, sedans parked by beautiful bodies of water…which brought Norquist to his next subject: Prague. He brought up images of the majestic old-world bridges spanning the water in Prague and, saying that they weren’t up to standard, asked us to think of what we could do for Prague by creating a skyway there.
He mentioned Route 33, and how it cut a scar through an Olmsted creation in order to cater to motorists who wanted the fastest way from here to there, many of whom didn’t live in the area. He showed many cities: New York, San Francisco, Seattle who were “lucky” enough to have natural disasters or poor workmanship claim their huge thruways, and who decided to take them down instead of repairing them.
In every case, property value rose. In every case, the land was made more visually beautiful. He did mention that there were cases that reduced parking lots by the river, where previously, one’s car was able to sit and enjoy the view all day…
Then came quick images of Ipanema, Cannes, Paris and Rotterdam…as they are, and then with a skyway superimposed on them. Norquist said we really could have the same form as the French Riviera, that our waterfront could become a distinction if only we’d embrace the setting, but he lamented that sometimes local officials are afraid to do the right thing. He said we need to re-embrace the urbanism that made Buffalo great in the first place.
It’s time to downsize the freeways, better manage what we have, and bury some mistakes of the past.
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