7 Ugly Urban Underpasses Now Functioning As Public Parks

[M II A II R II K]

7 ugly urban underpasses now functioning as public parks


JAN 9, 2017

By MEGAN BARBER

Read More: http://www.curbed.com/2017/1/9/14183...ss-park-public

When Manhattan’s High Line opened on the west side in 2009, locals and visitors alike flocked to the revitalized railroad trestle to marvel at its transformation into a gorgeous and walkable park. Arguably the most famous urban adaptive reuse project in America, the High Line made industrial reuse cool and prompted a wave of creative development.

- Since then, cities across the country have worked to reclaim seemingly inhospitable urban infrastructure, from old cisterns to sewage plants. Elevated highways and rail lines were long overdue for a makeover. While freeway cap parks—or removing freeways entirely—have become increasingly popular to reunite cities fragmented by urban highways, capping isn’t always feasible. Instead, many cities are turning transit underpasses into public parks, replacing trash, overgrown weeds, and dark passageways with art installations, funky lights, and pedestrian thoroughfares.

In an effort to combat the dark shadow of Chicago’s elevated train tracks, two art-influenced entrepreneurs want to install a light installation on the underside of Wabash Avenue:







Built under the elevated spans of the I-5 in Seattle, the Colonnade trail system transformed a long-neglected and dangerous two acres of underpass into one of America’s first urban mountain bike parks:







Following in the footsteps of New York City’s High Line, the Underline in Miami wants to transform a rundown trail below the MetroRail—the city’s elevated rapid transit system—into an urban park:







Formerly known as Project: Under Gardiner, the Bentway aims to transform the vacant and forgotten area underneath Toronto’s Gardiner Expressway into a new community gathering place:







Located underneath Portland’s Burnside Bridge on the east side of the Willamette River, this skate park was originally built 26 years ago without permission:







The Noma Parks foundation is working on a plan to improve the condition of some of Washington D.C.’s underpasses by adding art installations to beautify the spaces:







This award-winning park—completed in 2006—located below Houston’s I-45 features bike and pedestrian pathways landscaped by architects from the SWA Group, a large firm founded in the 1950s by Hideo Sasaki and Peter Walker:




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[ChargerCarl]

As with most things urban, Japan does it best.

[mrnyc]

so much more than just those:


jersey city embankment
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harsimus_Stem_Embankment


manhattan lowline
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowline_(park)


chicago bloomingdale trail
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloomingdale_Line


queensway, queens
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockaw...anch#Queensway


reading viaduct, philly
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading_Viaduct


atlanta beltline
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BeltLine


etc., etc. -- all kinds of exciting creative rail/trail park renovations -- it's officially a thing!


and of course the mackdaddy of them all, the paris promenade plantee
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coul%C...n%C3%A9-Dumont

[volguus zildrohar]

An area under I-95 in South Philadelphia has been made into a skatepark and has been there for years.

[Urban Zombie]

Built under the elevated spans of the I-5 in Seattle, the Colonnade trail system transformed a long-neglected and dangerous two acres of underpass into one of America’s first urban mountain bike parks

"the" I-5...somebody's clearly from out of town.

[ChargerCarl]

I thought that was only a California thing?

[Leo the Dog]

Originally Posted by ChargerCarl

I thought that was only a California thing?

Using the word "the" before the route number is definitely a west coast thing.
Ex: "The 405"

Using "I" is an eastern/southern thing. Maybe midwestern?
Ex: "I-40"

And using "route" pronounced "root" is a north eastern thing.
Ex: "Route (Root) 9"

[dave8721]

Originally Posted by Leo the Dog

Using the word "the" before the route number is definitely a west coast thing.
Ex: "The 405"

Using "I" is an eastern/southern thing. Maybe midwestern?
Ex: "I-40"

And using "route" pronounced "root" is a north eastern thing.
Ex: "Route (Root) 9"

For us it depends on the road. Of Miami's 3 main freeways SR 836 is "the 836" (or the Dolphin Expressway), SR 826 is "the 826" (or the Palmetto) but I-95 is "I-95" not "the 95".

[Urban Zombie]

In Seattle no one says "the I-5" or "the 5"--unless they're transplants or out-of-towners.