Hi all,
Here is what is being said about freeway fighting this week. If you come across any articles, feel free to share and please let me know if you have any questions.
Request for On the Park Bench webinar participants
CNU would like to leverage our platform to further support the FFN through our webinar series. CNU’s On the Park Bench presents interactive conversations with New Urbanists and allies and provides an opportunity for the audience to engage in real time.
We would like to feature local freeway fighting campaigns in an upcoming webinar. Based on interest, this may be a single webinar featuring a few campaigns or an entire series. We would be looking for a brief presentation on your campaign’s work followed by a discussion with fellow presenters and a Q&A from the audience. This is a great way to publicize your campaign and as all sessions are recorded, can be a helpful online resource for your audience.
All On the Park Bench webinars take place on Tuesdays from 12-1pm ET. If you have an interest in taking part in a webinar, we would like to hear from you. Please respond to lmayer@cnu.org with the name of your campaign, potential speakers, and contact information by June 17.
You can also check out our January “Walls Divide Us: Reconnecting Albany” webinar featuring the Albany Riverfront Collaborative for insights into the general format of our webinar series.
Freeway Fighters news
Metro Leadership Making It an Annual Tradition to Lie about Freeway Expansion Budget
Streetsblog LA – Streetsblog NYC May 21, 2022
It is becoming an annual tradition. At the annual budget hearing, Metro leadership lies through their teeth to justify more and more money for the agency’s annual freeway widening budget.
Public meeting will unpack Fifth Avenue West bridge options in Duluth
Duluth News Tribune May 21, 2022
The future of connectivity between downtown and Canal Park comes into better view Tuesday, when alternatives for a future Fifth Avenue bridge project are the topic of a public meeting.
ICYMI: The Great Highway Is (Still) Engulfed in Sand – The Bold Italic
The Bold Italic May 22, 2022
The Great Highway, which stretches 3.5-miles along San Francisco’s western neighborhoods, has been a subject of debate since more than two miles of it was closed to vehicular traffic in 2020.
Inner-city urban freeway is not progress: David Stout, Iliana Holguin – El Paso Times
El Paso Times May 23, 2022
The $750 million TxDOT highway project known as Downtown 10 fails to prove a sufficient traffic benefit or environmental justice result that warrants the price tag, property takings, and years of freeway closures for construction and must be re-evaluated.
Multiple planning efforts and projects aiming to reconnect Jackson Ward – Richmond BizSense
Richmond BizSense May 24, 2022
With repairs underway to one of the only existing connections linking the Jackson Ward area across Interstate 64-95, a larger effort is being rolled out to further reconnect the neighborhood that the highway cut in half.
Denver Freeway Widening Plans on Hold | Planetizen News
Planetizen May 24, 2022
Plans to widen Interstate 25 through Denver have been shelved by the Colorado Department of Transportation.
Mobility study: Possible lane reductions, and/or removal of I-175 – St. Pete Catalyst
St. Pete Catalyst May 24, 2022
St. Petersburg officials continue to explore modifications to the city’s downtown transportation infrastructure – including the possible removal of I-175 – to adopt a multimodal vision, increase safety and reestablish community connections.
Awful Highway Expansions in Denver and Portland are Halted – Streetsblog USA
Streetsblog USA – Streetsblog NYC May 25, 2022
State transportation agencies halted proposals to widen freeways in Denver and Portland amid rising costs, lawsuits, and stark questions about the projects’ destructive effects on the environment.
Those who live in shadow of Turnpike extension speak out against $4.7 billion widening project
NJ.com May 25, 2022
Hudson County residents who live in the shadow of the elevated highway that serves the Holland Tunnel brought their concerns Tuesday morning to the decision-makers who could OK a $4.7 billion widening of the New Jersey Turnpike extension.
TxDOT’s Official Recommendation for I-345: Don’t Remove It, Bury It – D Magazine
D Magazine May 25, 2022
The Texas Department of Transportation believes the elevated I-345 highway should be buried in a trench between downtown and Deep Ellum, restoring connectivity by way of the existing at-grade city streets; the agency didn’t go so far as to recommend replacing the freeway with a boulevard.
TxDOT wants to lower I-345 in a trench, reconnect roads from downtown Dallas to Deep Ellum
Dallas Morning News May 25, 2022
The state wants to tear down Interstate 345 and rebuild it mostly in a trench, opening the way for new developments and deck parks that reconnect Deep Ellum with downtown.
Parkway concept survives as option for Duluth
Duluth News Tribune May 26, 2022
The state will study traffic impacts of a potential at-grade crossing to replace the Fifth Avenue West bridge connecting downtown and Canal Park.
710 Freeway expansion dropped after decades of planning, marking a milestone for L.A.
Los Angeles Times May 27, 2022
A decades-old plan to widen one of America’s busiest cargo corridors was scrapped Thursday, as transportation officials acknowledged they must find a new way to lessen traffic without adding lanes.
Victory for Community Resistance: LA Cancels Long-Planned $6 Billion Lower 710 Freeway …
Streetsblog LA May 27, 2022
Today, L.A. Metro officially killed its planned widening of the 710 Freeway.
710 Freeway expansion plan canceled as LA Metro opts to allocate $750 million for nearby … – ABC7
ABC7 May 27, 2022
The Metro Board of Directors voted Thursday to end its efforts to widen the 710 Freeway and to use the $750 million allocated to that project instead for improvements to southeast Los Angeles communities along the freeway.
LA Metro kills south 710 Freeway expansion, opting for alternatives – Daily News
Los Angeles Daily News May 27, 2022
The widening of a 19-mile stretch of the 710 Freeway from East Los Angeles to Long Beach was rejected by Los Angeles County’s transit agency on Thursday, putting an end to a contentious project in the works since 2005.
Boise’s New Planning Director Warns Against ‘Dysfunctional Highways’ | Planetizen News
Planetizen May 27, 2022
On the heels of his stint as Atlanta’s planning director, Tim Keane says Boise should avoid following in the path of American cities that have let highway expansion and sprawl go unchecked for decades.
Metro Board opts to provide improvements to communities along 710 Freeway in lieu of …
CBS News May 27, 2022
The effort to widen the 710 Freeway has been rejected by city officials, who instead opted to use the $750 million allocated to their project in order to improve communities bordering the same roadway.
This Video Shows All The Land Highway 413 Would Cut Through – Toronto Storeys
Toronto Storeys May 27, 2022
Ontario’s plan to build Highway 413 has been nothing short of controversial, with many citing the negative environmental impacts building the highway will have.