It seemed like a good idea at the time , right-hand ? We ’d build vast , multi - lane roads slice through the center of attention of our cities , bulldozing our most historical architecture and displacing tens of thousands of residents at a time , all in the name of advancement . 50 years later on these genius improvements have lop our neighborhoods , ruin our gentle wind , andmay not even have help that much in the mode of dealings . So why have a motorway reveal like a gaping , transude urban wound when you may put a park on it ?
Freeway cap parks ( or main road cap parks , or turnpike cap parks , depending on your opt regional idiom and/or toll system ) are the red-hot unexampled means for cities to dial down the noise , defilement and blight that number with those pesky interstates . Facing speedily uprise populations as more people move back into urban areas , many cities across the state are looking at them as a way of life to quickly reclaim worthful public blank .
It ’s not a new melodic theme , of course of study . Freeway roof parks have been around for as long as freeways . Technically , theBrooklyn Heights Promenade , where the BQE tucks under a pedestrian paseo , is a freeway cap dating to the fifties . Seattle ’s too - aptly - namedFreeway Park(above ) was manufacture in 1976 as a Brutalist wonderland where thesound of waterfalls(almost ) submerge out the 5 Freeway below . In Phoenix , the 10 Freeway was routed into a tunnel when it was built in 1990 andMargaret T. Hance Parkwas built on top .
Boston ’s grand state highway , the Central Artery , was put back by an secret freeway with a greenbelt at street stage
But expressway detonating machine have issue forth a long way in the last 2o age . Capping , or contribute “ adorn ” to the pike , can be more time- and cost - effective than other redevelopment plan ( Dallas progress theirs in only two years ) and may be eligible for Union transportation money . And because they ’re turn up in already densely inhabit area , many of these parks are n’t just treat eight - lane eyesores , they ’re offer amenities like Fannie Farmer markets , cultural computer programming , transit connections and bike facilities right where neighborhoods need them most . Not to mention the experience - secure social impingement of reuniting communities that were bust apart 50 old age ago . Below , some of the new and most notable freeway cap common to open in the U.S. , and a few on the horizon .
Boston (2008)
Theinfamous Big Dig projectthat relocated several freeways underground ensue in theRose F. Kennedy Greenway , which open in phase beginning in 2008 . The 1.5 international nautical mile , 15 - Accho typewriter ribbon includes five parks , including abrand - new carousel .
Dallas (2012)
Five Akko over the Woodall Rodgers Freeway were reclaimed late last class when theKlyde Warren Parkopened in business district Dallas . The slender park proffer outflow , firedog runs , a biz area , and a $ 3 million yearly operating budget for computer programing .
St. Louis (2015)
Ground broke last calendar month on this parking area over Interstate 70 as part ofCityArchRiver 2015 , a $ 380 million renovation of the Gateway Arch and riverfront . It ’s not a huge parking lot ( fundamentally a closure ) but it will pack a big clout by tie in the Arch ’s priming coat with the rest of the metropolis .
Los Angeles (proposed)
The city that you might say forge the thruway has two marriage proposal on the 101 Freeway alone . In business district , Park 101(top picture ) would link Union Station and the historical nub of L.A. with the Civic Center and rest of business district across the freeway . A few naut mi away , Hollywood Central Parkis a 44 - acre proposal to green the slice through mostly residential locality just east of the Hollywood business organization district . Both proposals are presently approved by the city to seek funding .
Chicago (proposed)
Chicago’sCentral Area Action Planhas long advocated for a motorway cap , but a new proposal called theNew West Loopwould enshroud three blocks of the Kennedy Expressway to create not only a parkland but a raw hub of office buildings for tech firm to take .
[ Top image : Park 101 ; Seattle : Seattle Municipal Archives ; Boston , Mass DOT / gconservancy / Rose F. Kennedy Greenway ; Dallas , Klyde Warren Park ; St. Louis , DOT.gov ; Los Angeles , Park 101 ; Chicago , Yo Chicago / SMPD ]
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