Less Is More: Highway Removal Could Make Buffalo a Better City

Harvard Economist Ed Glaeser wrote a controversial article a few years ago that highlighted the multiple, failed, federal government-backed interventions aimed at saving Buffalo from post-industrial decline.

The city tried a $9 million downtown urban renewal project, a $50 million waterfront redevelopment project and $500 million metro rail project with mixed results, leading Glaeser to argue for a complete reversal of federal policies toward the struggling city.

Here's an idea that Glaeser probably never considered: Maybe the solution to Buffalo's woes isn't adding something new, but taking something away. The Congress for New Urbanism has cited Buffalo's Route 5 -- which serves as a barrier to its waterfront -- as one of ten freeways nationally which are ripe for demolition.

Route 5 isn't the only Buffalo highway whose absence would make the city better, says Streetsblog Network member Andy Nash. There are a host of freeways in the City of Good Neighbors that scream for removal. Nash writes that a good place to start is NY 198 (right), which bisects Delaware Park and mars some of the city's great landmarks:

Elsewhere on the Network today: New Jersey Future reports that the Garden State lost more of its farmland to sprawl -- 27 percent -- than any other state in the country over the last 25 years. Biking in L.A. reports that Orange County continues to be deadly for cyclists, claiming another victim just days after the county announced a crackdown on cyclists and drivers. And the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation outlines "power mapping," a strategy for effective advocacy.