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.
Join us on August 16th from 3:30-4:30pm ET for our next webinar “Creating a Community-Driven Reconnecting Communities Application.” Beth Osborne, director of Transportation for America, will join us with a primer on how to put your best foot forward on Reconnecting Communities applications. Please register here if you’d like to join us, so we have a sense of how many people to expect and can plan accordingly.
Freeway Fighters news
Senate Deal Has $3B for Communities Cut Apart by Highways – Route Fifty
Route Fifty August 6, 2022
More help could be coming from Washington for neighborhoods that have long been cleaved apart by highways and other infrastructure, if a major spending bill now before Congress becomes law.
How freeway builders collided with Oregon’s growth management system – OPB
Oregon Public Broadcasting August 6, 2022
One August evening in 1989, Meeky Blizzard, her husband Dave and two of their children were headed to their rural home not far from Beaverton, Oregon.
Houston’s First Chinatown in $9 Billion Infrastructure Plan’s Way – The Real Deal
The Real Deal August 8, 2022
Houston’s once-bustling original Chinatown faces extinction.
USDOT needs input on pending Thriving Communities Initiative – Mass Transit
Mass Transit August 9, 2022
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) issued a Request for Information (RFI) to receive input from stakeholders about the Thriving Communities Initiative that will launch this fall.
Bipartisan Highway to Hell—or Heaven? – The American Prospect
The American Prospect August 9, 2022
There is a great deal of optimism over the climate provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act; the remnants of what was Build Back Better still include $369 billion in climate spending.
Bisected by highways, a Spokane neighborhood shapes what’s left – Crosscut
Crosscut August 9, 2022
Lili Navarrete stood in a field of overgrown grass in Spokane’s East Central neighborhood, looking west at a stretch of bare city blocks that line Interstate 90.
The Claiborne Expressway: David Waggonner on New Orleans’ “Hulking Mess”
Common Edge August 9, 2022
Architect David Waggonner calls the effort to tear down the Claiborne Expressway in New Orleans—an elevated urban highway that cuts through the historic neighborhood of Treme—a “hero’s project,” and he’s right: removing it is a monumental political, cultural, and logistical challenge.
With I-81 to come down, Syracuse focuses on an equitable redesign – WAER
WAER August 9, 2022
The city is planning for a Syracuse without the elevated I-81 highway, and the infrastructure update is part of a national movement to redesign cities equitably.
How the Inflation Reduction Act Attacks Diesel Pollution – The American Prospect
The American Prospect August 10, 2022
In March, President Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency moved to regulate diesel pollution by regulating nitrogen oxide release from heavy-duty trucks, starting in 2027.
Philadelphia’s Chinatown fighting development: Vine Street Expressway cap moving forward
Billy Penn August 10, 2022
There are two sides to Philadelphia’s Chinatown, one of the oldest in the United States.
More voices must be heard to improve Bayfront Parkway plans, citizens’ group says – GoErie.com
GoErie.com August 11, 2022
Supporters of a federal lawsuit challenging planned Bayfront Parkway improvements hope that there will be new opportunities to share concerns and comments on the project if the suit is successful.
Highway Removal a High Hurdle, Even With New Funding – Governing Magazine
Governing Magazine August 11, 2022
When Patrick Kennedy first moved to Dallas, he lived in Deep Ellum, a historic freedmen’s town established by former slaves after the Civil War that has seen its fortunes as a music-and-arts district rise and fall in cycles for the last hundred years or so.
A How-To for ‘Freeway Fighters’ | Planetizen News
Planetizen August 12, 2022
Writing in Strong Towns outlines 10 recommendations for “aspiring freeway fighters” who want to support highway removal initiatives.
Could the key to revitalizing Trenton, NJ be reconfiguring a highway? – New Jersey 101.5
New Jersey 101.5 August 12, 2022
Municipal officials are trying to rally support for a plan to reconfigure Route 29 in one downtown section of the city.
Jersey City Councilmembers Co-Sponsor Resolution Rejecting Turnpike Expansion
Jersey City Times August 12, 2022
Seven members of the Jersey City Municipal Council are co-sponsoring a resolution rejecting a plan to widen a section of the New Jersey Turnpike.