SN: sometimes it’s good to highlight an ‘amen to that article/initiative’. Best to rethink existing highways to fit a more pedestrian and mass transit future now instead of delaying through deliberation.
Residents, urban planner call for Florida to demolish I-275
The effort comes after an urban planner suggested the Florida Department of Transportation review 275, which cuts through Seminole Heights and Tampa Heights, the Tampa Bay Times reports. The highway is “expendable” and has damaged neighborhoods, Joshua Frank said.
In his Master’s degree thesis, Frank proposed an alternative to the Tampa Bay Expressway highway expansion program, known as TBX, the Times explains. “Tear it down,” said Frank, who is the vice president and president-elect of the non-profit Urban Charrette. The group promotes urban design practices within communities.
Frank proposed turning the Interstate into a “wide, landscaped boulevard,” the Times explains. That boulevard would have bike and walking paths, in addition to light commuter rail. The boulevard would be lined with trees, similar to the Embarcadero in San Francisco or the Champs-Élysées in Paris, Frank told the Times. Frank’s idea is called, “Bifurcation to Boulevard.”
The highway has wreaked havoc on neighborhoods, Frank said. He pointed to air pollution, noise levels and lower property values, the Times reports. He called for “reintegrating” six neighborhoods split by 275. That would improve residents’ quality of life and promote economic activity, he argued.
Reaction on social media proved mix. “I’ve studied urban planning for years. Making roads bigger usually makes traffic worse. Tampa highways are ridiculous and ineffective. We’re past that point and need efficient public transportation. There are too many people here now to rely on highways as our sole method of transportation. In other words, the nightmare will continue to get worse until we invest heavily in mass transit and stop trying to make the roads bigger,” one person said in response to the Times article.
