Capping the Loop

[longviewmo]

They broke ground for a little cap in St. Louis last week.

http://www.dot.gov/fastlane/secretary-f ... talization

[FangKC]

I'm adding a link for this article because the images in it (for redeveloping Essex Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City) seem to fit with what capping the Loop might look like, and lining Truman Boulevard with new structures.

http://archpaper.com/news/articles.asp?id=6941

[pash]

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[KCMax]

Dallas builds urban park over recessed freeway

The park has also spurred new investment in nearby neighborhoods. Recent development proposals surrounding Klyde Warren Park include office towers, high rise apartments, and several major mixed use infill projects. Several development projects already in construction will add more foot traffic to the area, while the M line streetcar is also being extended nearby and will complete a loop alignment through Dallas’ Arts District. The park serves as a needed catalyst for revitalization of Dallas’ core neighborhoods in a region which has seen a disproportionate share of sprawl.

[smh]

I still think this is a worthy project for KC to pursue sooner than later. As the number of residents increases downtown they'll be clamoring for open space a short walk from their homes. The isolated PVP just won't cut it.

[brewcrew1000]

Nice project but that park in Dallas will be used by nobody. Dallas is one of the most unhealthy cities in the US and the summers will make it unbearable

[chaglang]

If KC caps the loop, we either need to put buildings on it or build up an almost continuous line of buildings on either side of it. It's probably cheaper to do the latter. Capping it with a park and leaving the building density as is will dissipate the impact of the space.

[KCMax]

Nice project but that park in Dallas will be used by nobody. Dallas is one of the most unhealthy cities in the US and the summers will make it unbearable

Maybe they should put an Outback Steakhouse in the middle of it.

[smh]

If KC caps the loop, we either need to put buildings on it or build up an almost continuous line of buildings on either side of it. It's probably cheaper to do the latter. Capping it with a park and leaving the building density as is will dissipate the impact of the space.

I've always imagined that the resulting park will be a catalyst for taller apartment towers along the perimeter. I suppose we're seeing seeds of this in Cordish 1-4 Light drawings.

[TheBigChuckbowski]

If KC caps the loop, we either need to put buildings on it or build up an almost continuous line of buildings on either side of it. It's probably cheaper to do the latter. Capping it with a park and leaving the building density as is will dissipate the impact of the space.

I've always imagined that the resulting park will be a catalyst for taller apartment towers along the perimeter. I suppose we're seeing seeds of this in Cordish 1-4 Light drawings.

I wonder if cordish would push the city for this once they get closer to building the other towers. Have to imagine having a park there vs a highway would increase their property value and rents on the south side of the building.

[moderne]

Having an exposed south loop freeway does not seem to be harming the area nowadays. The vast majority of DT improvements over the past 20 years have been within a few blocks. With so much available
(and vacant) land to develop there are better ways to spend money DT.

[DaveKCMO]

do NOT spend the money on a cap unless it has buildings on it, as others have noted repeatedly... something that generates tax revenue. we don't need any more green space that just drains resources (even though it is an amenity).

that dallas park will always remind you there is a roaring freeway underneath. been there, not impressed.

[flyingember]

could give a super good deal, like free air rights, but mandate the roof space be given over to a rooftop park.

have some sort of overlay with a minimum and maximum height for the cap. imagine if there were a series of buildings from Oak to Wyandotte with bridges between the roofs.

[pash]

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[bobbyhawks]

If money was no object, I would make the capped loop Kansas City's Parc de Fontaine. It would have running channels of water from one fountain to the next, with a mix of interactive, classical, and modern art fountains. There would be at least one summertime park cafe and stalls for vendors to sell knick knacks and cheap, kitchy, touristy art.

[mgh7676]

Am I the only one that thinks a park (unless especially well done) would just be another dividing line between the Crossroads and the CBD? I like Bobbyhawks idea, but if this was just a random green space with no real interaction it would do no better job of adding continuity than the interstate adds. I'm with DaveKCMO, if we are going to cap it, I hope it is with buildings.

The parking lots lining the interstate are the real hinderance to the walkability between downtown and Crossroads. The cordish towers along that stretch should help in the future. Now, the north loop interstate dividing the CBD and River Market is a much bigger problem.

[missingkc]

This doesn't have to be either buildings or park, does it? Couldn't you have both?

[flyingember]

Am I the only one that thinks a park (unless especially well done) would just be another dividing line between the Crossroads and the CBD? I like Bobbyhawks idea, but if this was just a random green space with no real interaction it would do no better job of adding continuity than the interstate adds. I'm with DaveKCMO, if we are going to cap it, I hope it is with buildings.

The parking lots lining the interstate are the real hinderance to the walkability between downtown and Crossroads. The cordish towers along that stretch should help in the future. Now, the north loop interstate dividing the CBD and River Market is a much bigger problem.

look at Boston and taking down the urban elevated freeway for how this kind of change can work out big.

a big park becomes the place everyone goes to. so suddenly tons of people want to meet in the middle of the two neighborhoods. the psychological barrier is gone as much as the physical one.

I'd argue buildings would do the same thing.

the north side of the loop is way harder, being wider. I really do like the mock ups of putting in a parkway on the north loop, but there's no way 670 could handle the traffic load of the entire loop. if instead the interstate was replaced with an 8-lane quasi cut and cover tunnel installation (no need to cut, but that idea, go down to one exit for each direction, divert traffic, widen + build the "tunnel", divert, widen + build the other "tunnel") it would be way cheaper to fill in dirt on this side than build in the air over it and it would reduce a national interstate bottleneck. even just from Oak to Central would be a huge improvement

[chaglang]

The Kennedy Greenway works because it cuts though an extremely dense part of the city, far denser than what is on either side of our loop. The presence of open space is a contrast to the compressed space of the North End and Financial District. The patchwork of surface lots along the loop would dissipate the impact of the park, though building up along the north and south sides of the park would alleviate that. A cap park should go hand in hand with peripheral development, otherwise you run the risk of replacing one scar with another.

[bobbyhawks]

Am I the only one that thinks a park (unless especially well done) would just be another dividing line between the Crossroads and the CBD?

Just drawing from personal experience walking around international cities without a cell phone to guide me, I would walk where the density appears and generally be turned around by big parking lots or boring looking streets. I think that almost everyone here agrees that there has to be something inviting about the walk between the Crossroads the loop. City parks, though, tend to be where people gather and I would actually try to walk through them when I found them since I knew the other side was also probably density leading to that point. Stadpark in Vienna and Parc de la Ciutadella in Barcelona (with the Arc de Triomf and promenade) are some highlights. They were real focal points to the city. Not every park has to be a secluded getaway. Kiener Plaza and the Sculpture Park in STL are great examples of what the capped loop could be, and there is so much potential to do something incredible. I don't really know, but it sounds like a park would be cheaper than putting supports in for multi-story buildings from an engineering perspective, and it certainly would be better than what is there currently.