Mixed Feelings About Urban Renewal

It is about fifty years since construction of the Spadina Expressway was halted in Toronto. This was considered as a major victory for preservationists everywhere.

The Spadina Expressway was to be a quick route between north of Toronto and downtown. The northern part was built but was halted before it got to downtown. It only ended up going as far as Eglinton Avenue. The part of the expressway that was completed is now known as Allen Road.

I get the impression that there is at least some mixed feelings about the expressway not being completed, or at least not extending further south, at least while waiting in rush-hour traffic.

We cannot have it both ways. Most cities were built before cars came along. On the one hand we want to preserve historic neighborhoods. On the other hand we don't want to spend a half hour stuck in traffic and then another half hour looking for a place to park. Something has got to give.

The Cross-Bronx Expressway has been blamed for just about everything. But what would the Bronx be like today without it?

Building a highway through a city is a perilous thing to do in that it can change the whole economic dynamic of the city. One of the most controversial urban renewal projects anywhere is the Kensington Expressway across the East Side of Buffalo. I am also sure that construction of the Interstate 190 across Niagara Falls, NY has resulted in major economic changes to that city, boosting the business district to the east of the highway at the expense of downtown Niagara Falls.

Here is a link to the posting, on the world and economics blog, about the economic and social impact of highways that were built through the city in Buffalo and Niagara Falls:

http://markmeekeconomics.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-controversy-surrounding-urban.html?m=0