Morning News Roundup: Massive Edition
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Dallas Highway Interchange (Photo by dherrera_96/flickr via StreetsBlog)
Above is what Witherspoon Street might look like in the future under the Bridges Plan, one block or so east from Waterfront Park and Slugger Field. Our Spaghetti Junction will be bigger than this one from Dallas. Even with a $400 million(+) state budget shortfall, KYTC still thinks the extra $2 Billion is worth it, even though other states are scaling back their road projects. Driving trends and auto sales have been falling for years, too; and already, there’s less expected travel this holiday season. Its also surprising considering Jefferson County is again in violation of the Clean Air Act with way too much fine particulate pollution around. The new SJ could ensure living in downtown Louisville air might kill you. Yes, that is a 4-stack highway, a feature achieved in our own plan. What’s misleading is the lack of stench and noise experience from a photo. These mega-junctions have been described as modern cathedrals… to the worship of cars and anti-urbanism.
Transportation Issues
- The Courier’s coverage of 8664 ‘misleading’ (8664.org)
- C-J Letters on 8664 here and here, and here, and here, and here, and here
- Traffic snarls Southern Indiana arterial highways (N & T)
- The continuing saga of the Harrods Creek bridge (WFPL)
- Aston Martin & Norman Foster design a bus for London (Dezeen)
- Other designer buses here and here and here (Dezeen)
- Cargocycles popular in Boston (CSM via StreetsBlog / More from BS)
- Arguing for an Obama transit stimulus (Seattle PI via StreetsBlog)
- More on the stimulus and transportation (Boston Globe via StreetsBlog)
- SUV production across the country basically dead (NY Times)
- Obama’s Urban Policies will also benefit the “edge city” (MarketWatch via Planetizen)
- 1972 article sounds interestingly important today (Atlantic via StreetsBlog)
Development & Real Estate
- Construction on stadium expansions beginning (Lou Dev)
- New Albany’s riverfront amphitheater gets funding (N & T)
- Clifton Heights apartments being renovated (C-J)
- Developers asking for a bailout (WSJ via Planetizen)
Everything Else
- Old Louisville wants SoBro fire house to stay open (WFPL)
- Study shows city life healthier, suburbanites obese (Sydney MH via Planetizen)
- Public space matters again and city life makes you happier (CitiWire via StreetsBlog)
- Study shows we live in an urban world (Science Daily via Planetizen)
- Local businesses faring better than most this holiday season (C-J)
- Boombozz Pizza & Tap House to open on Bardstown at Eastern in 2009 (Lou.com)
- Delta Queen hopes Bush will allow cruises to continue (WFPL)
- Previous Post: Riverfront Dinosaur Goes Missing
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Dave Reid
December 24th, 2008
4:21 pm
Yea this is still happening all around the country. Here in Milwaukee we just finished the rebuilding of the Marquette Interchange to the tune of $800 million.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23021438@N07/sets/72157607775654053/
And WisDOT is getting ready to spend $1.9 Billion on 1 freeway expansion project and millions more on another interchange rebuild.
All this dollars even the SE Wisconsin has little to no congestion… When will we learn?
Paul Moffett
December 25th, 2008
3:30 pm
Hey, that interchange won an award way back then, if it’s the same one I used to drive over. Really exciting in the winter.
However, the “let’s build more bridges” notion does ignore the ‘peak oil’ problem, as well as the developing depression, which should scramble everybody’s predictions. Most of those are of the ‘things will continue in the future as they have been going in the past’ variety, which are accurate right up until they aren’t.
Having said that, my neighbor Tyler’s notion of tearing down the downtown expressway is mostly just premature; we will be driving cars and trucks over the Interstate system for a while, right up until we don’t. Personally, I favor rail of all sorts.