Cover Article - Bergmann
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Back to the Future: Turning a Highway Back into a Neighborhood
A conceptual rendering of the restoration of the Franklin Square green space. (Source: Bergmann)
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s our highway infrastructure across the nation is reaching the end of its lifecycle, some cities are faced with having to choose whether to rebuild them or reconceptualize them. Either way, now is the time to decide. Wait, what? Reimagining a modern-day city is an option? A growing number of cities, like Rochester, NY, are choosing to rethink their roadway systems by turning highways back into block configurations that support and connect neighborhoods--like they used to. In fact, according to The Congress for the New Urbanism, a group that tracks highway removals, in 2021, they counted “33 proposed projects in 28 American cities.” This is going to take a lot more than just moving streets. The first phase of Rochester’s Inner Loop transformation, Inner Loop East, has already been completed. Now, a multi-disciplinary team from Bergmann – including transportation engineers,
14 | The ROCHESTER ENGINEER AUGUST 2022
urban planners and landscape architects - have been working closely with the City of Rochester and its residents to develop a comprehensive strategy for how to approach the next phase deconstruction—Inner Loop North. Here’s how it happened The 1930s profile of downtown Rochester looked a lot different than it does now. The roadway system focused on connecting neighborhoods in a typical city grid pattern. But by the 1950s, with the “car in every garage” mentality, people began traveling outside the city to live in surrounding suburban communities, while commuting into the City downtown to work. This gave way to highway design that focused on getting commuters to and from downtown destinations as quickly as possible, while reshaping downtown infrastructure. More specifically, Rochester fell victim to the inner loop cover article - bergmann
