Reshaping the Riverfront

     I start with this disclaimer:  I’m in an awkward position…I need highways…I use highways as well as the Mississippi River bridges to travel around the region…I am not anti-interstate-infrastructure and don’t want to be perceived as such. Nonetheless, I spotted an intriguing article that was so interestingly counter to conventional wisdom, that I wanted to share it.
     We’ve probably all heard about the community’s desire to improve the physical connection between Downtown St. Louis, the Arch grounds and the riverfront. And the underground interstate always seems to be an impenetrable barrier.  However, this article from The Infrastructurist provides an intriguing approach: remove the highway completely. It’s a radical idea and one which undoubtedly required much thought and community conversation in each instance. But look at the pictures, especially Portland, and see if the “before” doesn’t look familiar. And then wonder how our own “after” could look without the cars (replaced by MetroLink, MetroBuses, bikes and pedestrians instead).