Will Detroit have the nerve to remove the aging I-375 expressway that feeds thousands of motorists a day into downtown from I-75 on the near East Side?
The alternative would be a pedestrian-friendly parkway connecting Lafayette Park and Eastern Market with the central business district, John Gallagher reports in the Free Press. Undoing expressways inside big cities is a national trend, Gallagher writes.
Turning the trench-like interstate that runs from I-75 near Gratiot south to Jefferson Avenue into a surface street would make for easier connections between residential areas on the east side and central downtown. Creating that walkable ambiance would come at the cost of high-speed connections on I-375 that suburbanites take to reach the Renaissance Center, Cobo Center and other downtown destinations.
Removing the 1960s-era freeway could sprout residential communities anew in the once-thriving historic black areas known as Black Bottom and Paradise Valley that were torn apart five decades ago by local freeway construction, the same as in cities across the nation.
The area could be developed into some combination of retail, parkland or mixed-use development. There could be several variations on the idea of a surface street. Or, ultimately, the freeway could be rebuilt as is, though that would buck a national trend of removing urban freeways in favor of pedestrian- and bike-friendly areas and greenways.
The City of Detroit and the Michigan Department of Transportation have formed a committee with local stakeholders, including development agencies and downtown employers, to study transforming I-375 into a surface street.
Earlier coverage: One Of The Most Radical Ideas Yet For Downtown: Make I-375 A Boulevard, April 29
