Freeway Fighters Digest (week of 10/24)

Lauren MayerWeekly News Digest

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.

Freeway Fighters news

How car infrastructure is changing cities | Nation & World
Stacker October 22, 2022
In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower passed the Federal-Aid Highway Act, which authorized the construction and funding of 41,000 miles of interstate highways. 

Maryland’s congressional delegation pushes for funding to revive highway to nowhere
WBFF October 24, 2022
Members of Maryland Congressional Delegation have written a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Transportation urging him to fund provide funding for the redevelopment of the “highway to nowhere” in west Baltimore.

They said it: Milwaukee execs open to push for demolition of I-794 to make room for development
Milwaukee Business Journal October 24, 2022
The Milwaukee Business Journal asked a group of business and community leaders if they supported the effort to remove the east-west I-794 highway bridges roughly from Sixth Street to Lincoln Memorial Drive to make way for a boulevard and additional development?

‘Rethink I-794’ proposes turning stretch of freeway into a boulevard
Fox 6 Milwaukee October 24, 2022
The Grassroot organization Rethink I-794 proposes turning a portion of I-794 into a boulevard that will connect downtown Milwaukee and the Historic Third Ward.

Highway Removals: Communities Reunite, Breaking Down Barriers, and Righting Wrongs of the Past
Urban Land Magazine – Urban Land Institute October 25, 2022
For decades, highways nationwide were built to connect roads and cities but often came with the added consequence of cutting off those who were already disenfranchised. 

The Highway Boondoggles Report – Strong Towns
Strong Towns October 25, 2022
We began building the Interstate Highway System in the 1950s, and we completed the majority of it by the end of the 1960s. 

Metro Council president has written a book on ‘Roadways for People’ – BikePortland
BikePortland October 25, 2022
Metro Council President Lynn Peterson will look to burnish her low-car bona fides with a new book due out in December.

New district developments in Milwaukee
Wisconsin Public Radio October 26, 2022
A transit activist discusses a proposal to dismantle portions of I-794 and promote walkable and bikeable communities. 

Oakland County cities apply for grant for 11 Mile improvements – C&G Newspapers
C&G Newspapers October 27, 2022
The cities of Berkley, Huntington Woods, Oak Park and Royal Oak are partnering to attain a grant for a “reconnecting communities pilot” project on 11 Mile Road.

Tampa seeks grant to fund Ashley Drive ramp teardown – The Business Journals
The Business Journals October 27, 2022
Hillsborough County transportation leaders have thrown their support behind Tampa’s request for federal dollars to improve the urban core’s connectivity.

Baltimore could receive a federal grant to demolish ‘Highway to Nowhere’ expressway
Baltimore Sun October 27, 2022
As the Baltimore Department of Transportation eyes tearing out the infamous “Highway to Nowhere” that bisects West Baltimore, the agency has applied for a Federal Highway Administration grant of up to $2 million to help with planning.

New Orleans’ Claiborne Expressway: “There’s Really Only One Option” – Common Edge
Common Edge October 27, 2022
Earlier this year, I wrote a piece for Metropolis about Amy Stelly, a citizen planner in New Orleans fighting to tear down the elevated highway that rips through the historic Treme neighborhood.

Elevated highway demolition eyed in Milwaukee
Construction & Demolition Recycling October 27, 2022
A stretch of Interstate 794 in Milwaukee is being pointed to by urban planners as a prior highway project mistake that should be corrected, or at least updated.

The future of Kensington Expressway: what the community wants to see restored – WKBW
WKBW October 27, 2022
Terrance Robinson said he’s lived through all the phases of the Kensington Expressway. 

Lawsuit Challenges Maryland’s Big Highway Widening Plans | Planetizen News
Planetizen October 28, 2022
“The Maryland chapter of the Sierra Club and three other groups filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against a state plan to widen Interstate 270 and part of the Capital Beltway with toll lanes, saying the proposal’s environmental analysis was ‘deficient,'” reports Katherine Shaver for the Washington Post. 

This Seattle Highway Is Facing a $29 Million Financial Crisis – Strong Towns
Strong Towns October 28, 2022
During the winter of 2019, a tunnel for State Route 99 (SR 99) opened, running beneath downtown Seattle, Washington.