The Architect’s News Paper reports that a pair of urban designers came together 2 years ago to float a plan they called A New Dallas . The plan, by Patrick Kennedy and Brandon Hancock, is making waves in Dallas by proposing the complete removal of a 1.4 mile stretch of the 8 lane elevated highway known as I-345. The short highway segment carries 200,000 cars a day as it connects two other highways and completes a superhighway wall around downtown Dallas. This radical plan, in a city proud of its intensive dependency on cars, is gaining substantial attention, as people realize the benefits of highway removal.
The A New Dallas plan illustrates how a tremendous amount of new high-value land would be opened up for development if the highway was gone. In addition to proposed new roads, which tie the street grid back together, and four new parks, the plan documents potential for over $4 Billion in new private development, including a possible 25,000 new residential units. This is not an outrageous sum in fast growing Texas and is a good example of the true cost (in loss of urban value) of these roadways. Planning documents included in the removal proposal clearly show the obscene amount of land that is grabbed for highway use. The more you study the benefits versus losses that result from urban highways the more you realize there are no benefits.
What will it take for Buffalo to realize the insanity of its own highway system? Buffalo move into the modern age of urban thinking by removing its most destructive highways only if it speaks up now. If Dallas can consider moving away from 20th century stupidity, certainly Buffalo can. The Scajaquada Expressway must be removed in whole. The Kensington Expressway must be removed in whole. Then Buffalo must start thinking about removing these superhighway monstrosities from its waterfront. There is no reason that the people of Buffalo need to sacrifice the best parts of their city for the convenience of people who choose to drive everywhere. If you want to live in remote places then fine. But, don’t demand that Buffalo sacrifice its parks and parkways for your driving convenience. The people of Buffalo need to speak up loud and often and make it clear to state and local officials that they do not want high speed high volume roads in their parks.
Oh, and for those people, that insist that Buffalo just cannot, CANNOT POSSIBLY exist without highways cutting up its parks and using up its entire waterfront, ask yourself how they do it in Vancouver British Columbia. Vancouver made a conscious decision to ban highways in the city in the 1960s. Today is one of the most livable and most cherished cities in North America. It is several times bigger than Buffalo has seems to get along pretty well, ditto Paris France. The truth is that urban highways are the biggest big government boondoggle ever foisted on the American tax paying public. Buffalo, take the lead into this young century and get rid of these things.
Images are from the A New Dallas website.