The Legacy of De-Mapping
Every time I drive to Washington in the rain, I think of what could have been.
In the 1970's, the District of Columbia had a robust and ambitious plan for transportation in the city. Interstate 95 completed through the city, completion of Interstate 66, an "Eastern Leg" to avoid the downtown area, and a completed I-270. The maps (here and here) were pretty comprehensively dealing with Downtown's transportation needs.
City and community leaders had other ideas. The projects would displace a large number of low-income families, leading to their eventual demise. The planned projects were "de-mapped" from the Federal Highway System in 1978.
The Legacy of this fight against City Hall has had long-term consequences on the District of Columbia and its environs. On an everyday basis, traffic is absolutely horrendous. It takes a long period of time to go anywhere in the District of Columbia. There are too many cars and not enough lane-miles to accommodate them. Combine that with the downtown traffic structure of streets on a grid and poorly time traffic lights, creates a daily gridlock situation in the Downtown Area. It is an inconvenience to businesses and residences. On top of that, the environmental impact of additional smog and pollution from stalled cars does little to improve the area.
One of the other consequences has not yet readily been discussed. How will the cancelled highway projects effect an evacuation of the city? The main arteries out of town, as it currently sits, are; New York Avenue, Rhode Island Avenue, Pennsylvania Avenue, Kenilworth Avenue, 16th Street, Georgia Avenue, New Hampshire Avenue, Interstate 66, Interstate 395, and the Clara Barton Parkway. Only 66 and 395 qualify as an "expressway" for the purposes of moving traffic without lights or cross-traffic. Additionally, the main two main highway arteries lead into Virginia, across the only major bridges across the Potomac River. There is no major access out of the city via the North. Even a revamped I-95 connector would provide additional access to a northerly escape route.
Baltimore has its own canceled highway projects in its past. I think it is safe to say that while the Interstate 83 project through Fells Point was (and remains) a bad idea, are there projects from the old Baltimore Interstate Plan that should be resurrected (such as the last leg of Interstate 70)?
As painful as it is, perhaps it is time to reconsider some of the old highway projects in the name of Homeland Security. Nobody wants to build roads for the purpose of paving the grass. New highways should, however, be considered and potentially constructed where there is a demonstrable need to relieve traffic congestion or when public safety is a concern. Baltimore and Washington should both dust off their plans and, with their metropolitan area partners, see where the transportation system can be enhanced and improved.
If you wish to learn more about this subject, I highly recommend Scott Kozel's Roads to the Future website which goes into great detail about existing, proposed, and cancelled Baltimore-Washington area transportaton projects.
In the 1970's, the District of Columbia had a robust and ambitious plan for transportation in the city. Interstate 95 completed through the city, completion of Interstate 66, an "Eastern Leg" to avoid the downtown area, and a completed I-270. The maps (here and here) were pretty comprehensively dealing with Downtown's transportation needs.
City and community leaders had other ideas. The projects would displace a large number of low-income families, leading to their eventual demise. The planned projects were "de-mapped" from the Federal Highway System in 1978.
The Legacy of this fight against City Hall has had long-term consequences on the District of Columbia and its environs. On an everyday basis, traffic is absolutely horrendous. It takes a long period of time to go anywhere in the District of Columbia. There are too many cars and not enough lane-miles to accommodate them. Combine that with the downtown traffic structure of streets on a grid and poorly time traffic lights, creates a daily gridlock situation in the Downtown Area. It is an inconvenience to businesses and residences. On top of that, the environmental impact of additional smog and pollution from stalled cars does little to improve the area.
One of the other consequences has not yet readily been discussed. How will the cancelled highway projects effect an evacuation of the city? The main arteries out of town, as it currently sits, are; New York Avenue, Rhode Island Avenue, Pennsylvania Avenue, Kenilworth Avenue, 16th Street, Georgia Avenue, New Hampshire Avenue, Interstate 66, Interstate 395, and the Clara Barton Parkway. Only 66 and 395 qualify as an "expressway" for the purposes of moving traffic without lights or cross-traffic. Additionally, the main two main highway arteries lead into Virginia, across the only major bridges across the Potomac River. There is no major access out of the city via the North. Even a revamped I-95 connector would provide additional access to a northerly escape route.
Baltimore has its own canceled highway projects in its past. I think it is safe to say that while the Interstate 83 project through Fells Point was (and remains) a bad idea, are there projects from the old Baltimore Interstate Plan that should be resurrected (such as the last leg of Interstate 70)?
As painful as it is, perhaps it is time to reconsider some of the old highway projects in the name of Homeland Security. Nobody wants to build roads for the purpose of paving the grass. New highways should, however, be considered and potentially constructed where there is a demonstrable need to relieve traffic congestion or when public safety is a concern. Baltimore and Washington should both dust off their plans and, with their metropolitan area partners, see where the transportation system can be enhanced and improved.
If you wish to learn more about this subject, I highly recommend Scott Kozel's Roads to the Future website which goes into great detail about existing, proposed, and cancelled Baltimore-Washington area transportaton projects.
posted by Brian Griffiths at 9:24 PM
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