Could the Gowanus Expressway Become a Greenway?

I love it - Where do I sign?

Posted by: guest at January 7, 2008 10:04 AM

Hope we're still alive when this comes to reality.

Posted by: guest at January 7, 2008 10:07 AM

I would like to see more. That rendering does not account for the other buildings in the area like the recycling (or garbage) processing plant or the Home Depot or the Federal Prison.

Posted by: guest at January 7, 2008 10:35 AM

I'm confused - is this a rendering of the elevated gowanus being made into a greenway or a greenway where the elevated greenway used to be?

Posted by: guest at January 7, 2008 10:40 AM

By the time this gets built automobiles as we now know them will be extinct.

Posted by: guest at January 7, 2008 10:50 AM

In California, these sorts of projects get help from the occasional strong earthquake that pancake the hideous old expressways.
In NY, we don't have that sort os assist help from our tectonic plates so these old hulking beheamoths will probably last as long as the pyramids.

Posted by: guest at January 7, 2008 10:59 AM

We need the Cloverfield Monster to help erradicate the old and bring in this Gowanus Dream.

Posted by: guest at January 7, 2008 11:07 AM

Rick Ashley approves of this.

Posted by: guest at January 7, 2008 11:10 AM

You could leave some of the expressway there and have some sort of a gowanus highline. Where's david bowie?

Posted by: guest at January 7, 2008 11:17 AM

I don't see any flying pigs in the drawing.
Where are the flying pigs?

Posted by: guest at January 7, 2008 11:31 AM

The flying cars will come first, then the flying pigs, then the corrected Gowanus Expressway.

Posted by: guest at January 7, 2008 11:42 AM

I love this design. Once again it's Brownstoner hating all change and everything modern and unique.

Posted by: guest at January 7, 2008 12:06 PM

This is the all time dumbest idea; combined with a fairly good idea.

A waterfront cable-stay bridge may actually be an attractive, reasonable and fiscally viable alternative to the insanely expensive alternatives of tunnels or a full rebuild of the existing structure BUT
If you replace the Gowanus expressway why on EARTH would you want to preserve a horribly ugly and divisive elevated roadway? If you could actually replace the Gowanus for automobile yse, the only intelligent response would be to tear down the existing eyesore.

Posted by: guest at January 7, 2008 12:17 PM

why would you tear down an old overhead expressway and build another (albeit a nicer one) one closer to the water. It is still a 6 lane highway over your head, I don't care how pretty it is.

Posted by: guest at January 7, 2008 12:26 PM

Robert Moses must be turning in his grave. He invented segregation.

Posted by: guest at January 7, 2008 12:30 PM

I love the idea, BUT:

Wouldn't the exisiting elevated highway still need to be maintained just like it is now? even without cars? It's rusting, and will always probably need to have structural work done from time to time, even if no cars used it. (Human/pedestrian/bicycling liability.) Could be expensive to save and maintain. Then again, maybe it's cheaper to leave in place.

Conversely, if waterfront bridge goes up (love that idea!) then maybe most or all of the el gets torn down, and a huge (car-free????) median creates an incredible green mall on 3rd avenue. It could be extraordinary and would reconnect neighborhoods and make the waterfront much more accessible all through sunset park/greenwood/gowanus.

When I think about digging a tunnel, I just think of Boston's big dig....$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Posted by: guest at January 7, 2008 12:32 PM

The proposal as I understand it involves removing the existing Gowanus Expressway altogether (and good riddance).

NewYawker, that (preserving this god-awful POS structure) is the worst idea I have ever heard. You've clearly never walked or driven on, under, or near this obsolete structure.

I prefer to replace it with a tunnel, but this is an interesting alternative. Most important though, is to get rid of the Gowanus once and for all, and that the replacement includes dedicated mass transit lanes.

The proposal also includes support for the Cross harbor Freight Tunnel.

Posted by: guest at January 7, 2008 1:15 PM

Cross Harbor Freight Tunnel will likely never happen despite the economic and environmental benefits because in his worst decision as Mayor, Bloomberg caved to the biggest bunch of NIMBY's in NYC - Juniper Park Civic Association - which is another example of why 'local' groups should be given only limited say in big projects - our Grandchildren will be choking on the fumes that these Nimby's have forced by their selfish actions

Posted by: guest at January 7, 2008 1:38 PM

newsouthsloper. The Gowanus MUST be replaced, that is ackowledged by all parties including DOT. The question is, with a new elevated highway or with a tunnel. This design is late to the table, as an entire EIS was already done. however, there is a movement to re-open the deis process to further explore options.

as for 1:38. agree that Bloomberg bollocks up the Cross-Harbor freight tunnel . . . but he recanted this summer (I believe in July) and now supports the plan. Part of his "greening" image change. The guy has one a 180 on a lot of issues, and in this case, for the best.

Posted by: guest at January 7, 2008 2:09 PM

Skip the tunnel. Not only is 12:31 correct ALA Boston's Big Dig $$$$, but we'll never see it in our lifetimes. This is a nice alternative. Selling it with green space on third? Interesting concept, except I am not sure where all this space is on third that is depicted in this picture. With all the time and money they spent on fixing the Gowanus, they could have built this already.

Posted by: guest at January 7, 2008 2:29 PM

we will all be long dead and this will get built by our granchildren as slave labor for their alien overlords.

Posted by: guest at January 7, 2008 2:33 PM

I'm surprised the real estate barons aren't pushing for scrapping the hideous gowanus expressway. property values on either side of its route would skyrocket, and the sunset park waterfront would become the new tribeca. could they be lacking in vision?

Posted by: guest at January 7, 2008 2:33 PM

They just haven't gotten that far southwest yet. Or maybe they have based on this.

Posted by: guest at January 7, 2008 2:36 PM

2:09 - Oh but problems on the gowanus will be solved very soon. Same with the BQE, Van Wyck, and LIE. Its called $8.00/gallon gas and its coming your way real soon. Just like the rest of the world pays. Cant wait for all the FUV's to be gone and never having to see a car with one person in it again.

Posted by: guest at January 7, 2008 3:50 PM

2:09 Euro Smart cars will flood the streets soon and relieve you of those FUV's. Park em any way you want, they are as long as they are wide. Seats 2 and a gazillion MPG. Reminds me of Ford Pintos though. I would not want to be on the receiving end of a head on in one of those.

Posted by: guest at January 7, 2008 3:58 PM

I for one would like to see the details on the on- and off-ramps on this GOWANUS FLY-OVER. Or was the plan to have a two-mile suspension bridge over the Sunset Park community that would provide easy driving to everyone but the locals! Don't see a problem here?

How about replacing the affordable homes of the 5,000 residents who were ripped from the neighborhood by Mr. Moses to make way for the Expressway? Should be easy: the City owns the land! Think about it. Families before trees! Beds before bikes!

Tom Murphy

Posted by: guest at January 7, 2008 5:24 PM

The tunnel is actually the more economic of the proposals given the entire life cycle expense and the real estate value of the surface space created. That said, its a big capital expense, that said, nothing a little toll on that road couldn't pay for.

Then you get to the "when pigs fly" stuff. You see the storm created by the congestion pricing proposal, watch all the white people in Staten Island scream if the Gowanus were to toll. In fact, the cross harbor freight tunnel is easily affordable with increased truck tolls. Then you get into some real dangerous people, Jersey truck companies. You can't slit the tires of a railroad train.

Posted by: guest at January 7, 2008 7:44 PM

Hire the Boston Big Dig guys! Over budget, over deadline, poorly constructed, and lots of payola to go around.

Posted by: guest at January 7, 2008 8:32 PM

Even if the city found the time money and resources to complete a project like this.... you bet some nutty groups will sue to stop it because Jose tire repair might have to close and they cant to see that.

http://spaceroach.tumblr.com/

Posted by: guest at January 8, 2008 12:59 AM

Hey 1:38 -

The grandchildren of those in Brooklyn and Queens would have been the ones choking on truck fumes because the proposed tunnel would have taken all of the trucks off of the roads of NJ and relocated them here. Who in their right mind, who isn't getting campaign contributions from railroaders would want that? The Greenpoint-Williamsburg communities were as opposed to the plan as the Queens communities were. What you're saying is that Bloomberg should not have listened to his outer borough constituents and only to Manhattanites who would have been the only ones to benefit from this tunnel. Even Crains and the NY Building Congress thought the Cross Harbor tunnel was a bad idea.

Posted by: guest at January 8, 2008 8:41 AM