Here's an idea; how about we tear down the highways surrounding our downtown area? Sound Crazy? Well tell that to Vancouver, Canada, who never allowed highways into their city, and is now considered the #4 most livable city in the world. Why is that?
Highways were originally meant to easily transport people and goods from one place to another, however in many cities, even my own San Antonio, Texas, highways actually cause more problems. High air concentration of air-pollution, unnatural boundary of city, underdeveloped area surrounding highways, immense congestion of traffic, with many of which are just passing through and not even going downtown!
Here are some examples of major cities around the world who took the initiative and removed the highway in inner downtown cities and how it helped with the overall common good. More at http://www.anewdallas.com/
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA(Cheonggyecheon)
Removed 8.5 miles of elevated freeway and resurfaced buried stream
Cost $281 million or $33 million/mile
Number of vehicles in area dropped 43% afterwards
50,000 pedestrians visit park each day and 250,000 on weekends
Reduced carcinogenic airborne particulate matter 21%
Reduced summer temperatures 8 degrees Fahrenheit
Added 113,000 jobs along corridor
Long-term benefits expected to exceed $25 billion
Replaced 3-mile long riverfront highway with park and trail in 1978
By 2002, property values tripled, more than anywhere else in the city
Crime dropped 65% since 1990 vs 16% drop citywide
Total vehicular demand in area dropped 9.6%
Imagine what kind of improvements can happen to San Antonio, Texas if we took the same initiative as these cities.
