Research

Quantity of measurable data from each tear-out varies by city. Below summarizes the findings of extensive research of each:

Summaries

Seoul, South Korea

Cheonggyecheon

  • Removed 8.5 miles of elevated freeway and resurfaced buried stream
  • Cost $281 million or $33 million/mile
  • Number of vehicles in area dropped 43% afterwards
  • 50,000 pedestrians visit park each day and 250,000 on weekends
  • Reduced carcinogenic airborne particulate matter 21%
  • Reduced summer temperatures 8 degrees Fahrenheit
  • Added 113,000 jobs along corridor
  • Long-term benefits expected to exceed $25 billion

San Francisco

Embarcadero

  • Damaged in ’89 Loma Prieto earthquake
  • Previously carried 100,000 cars per day
  • Removed 1.2 miles
  • Vehicular traffic dropped in half
  • New trolley line carries 20,000 per day
  • Land value up 300%
  • 54% increase in housing compared to 31% citywide
  • 23% increase in jobs compared to 5.5% citywide
  • Now considering extending the tear-out of I-280

San Francisco

Central Expressway

  • Also damaged in ’89 Loma Prieto earthquake
  • 0.8 miles of elevated freeway replaced with at-grade boulevard and parks
  • Vehicular traffic dropped from 80-90,000/day to 45-52,000/day
  • 25% disappeared
  • 11% used city streets
  • 14% used other modes
  • Freeway depressed home values $116,000
  • Since removal, city has added 1,000 new residential units

Milwaukee

Park East Freeway

  • Cost to repair aging freeway would exceed $100 million
  • Tear-out removed 1 mile, cost only $25 million
  • Freeway previously carried 54,000 vehicles/day
  • Boulevard now carries 18,600 per day
  • Added 3,400 residents in 5 years by 2010 census
  • City owned land experienced $700 million in investment to date
  • Much of the land however is county owned and encumbered by regulation

Portland

Harbor West

  • Removed 3-mile long riverfront highway with park and trail system in 1978
  • By 2002, property values tripled increasing faster than anywhere else in city
  • Crime dropped 65% since 1990 versus 16% drop citywide
  • Total vehicular demand in area dropped 9.6%

New York City

West Side Highway

  • After 1973 collapse, repairs would have cost $88 million
  • Various replacement plans expected to cost significantly more
  • After removal, 53% of vehicular traffic disappeared
  • Much of this attributed to New Jersey-to-New Jersey cut-through traffic

Vancouver

Never allowed freeways inside city

  • Decision made in 1960’s to never allow freeways within city
  • Downtown grid handles twice the total capacity of the proposed freeway plan for Vancouver
  • Widely considered one of the top 5 Most Livable Cities in the world