Here’s How Architect Would Remove I-95 Ramps As Part Of Hyatt Redevelopment
Zyscovich Architects has revealed two alternatives to the massive I-95 ramps that currently cut through the center of downtown Miami, choking the area.
The first would set the new Hyatt back from a proposed riverfront park, separated by a roadway providing access to the Brickell Bridge.
An alternative would place keep the new Hyatt at the river, leaving a smaller space for a new park and removing a roadway.
Both options would see the unsightly I-95 ramps replaced with an at-grade boulevard.
A vote on the Hyatt redevelopment was postponed last week to allow for officials to consider additional options.
There is so much evidence of benefits associated with taking down freeways (or in this case massive freeway ramps) in downtowns across the country. I highly hope one of these proposals happens.
Please cite.
Six Freeway Removals That Changed Their Cities Forever
http://gizmodo.com/6-freeway-removals-that-changed-their-cities-forever-1548314937
Congress for the New Urbanism: Highways to Boulevards
https://www.cnu.org/our-projects/highways-boulevards
Miamians do not deserve, and simply cannot afford, to just remove the ramps. They must stay, like them or not.
All the other cities mentioned in the articles above replaced the lost freeways with EXPANSIVE public transportation (which people accepted to take: Seoul, San Francisco, Portland), or took the traffic underground with EXPENSIVE projects (Boston, Madrid).
In this city you have a government with no vision, plan, money, or will. And you have a population with no pride, sharing sense, and willingness to change.
What would happen is the ramps are removed, no tunnels dug, no metro built. Maybe add four or five 20 year old buses retrofitted with plastic to look like a trolley. And people would refuse to use them, or any public transport, instead insisting on jamming into downtown one person per car.
Miami is nowhere near the level of civic sophistication as Madrid, Seoul, San Francisco, Boston, Portland, and probably even Dallas.
The ramps must stay. Both for their need, and as a reminder.
Yes…what they should do is take that money they want to spend on tearing down this freeway exit ramp and concentrate on spending it on expanding the Metromover into Miami Beach. That should take priority over bridges that look like a “fountain of water” or new stretches of “park green way” by the Miami River.
Yes, you’re right when you said “this city you have a government with no vision, plan, money (although that’s really not a problem, they do know how to come up with more money), or will.
Logic or common sense is a very rare commodity in Miami’s government.
I95 should be torn down from the 836 south…how about Portland, Boston, San Francisco, Seoul…
http://gizmodo.com/6-freeway-removals-that-changed-their-cities-forever-1548314937
This might be the best proposal I’ve ever seen on TNM or any site. Literally from 836 south it’s an absolute nightmare. Wish I could like this comment more than once.
The Palmetto Expressway should be torn down too. And the Turnpike. We’ll just skateboard around.
yeah screw those living in coconut grove or coral gables.. let them sit in traffic.
This is an excellent article. It’s counter-intuitive at first thought, but there’s some great examples of how it is a huge benefit to convert a highway to a boulevard or public space.
Yes! Lets get rid of freeways so we can add more traffic. We should also replace surface streets with dirt roads and traffic lights with stop signs. Cars should also be governed to max 20 MPH speeds so that when they hit sk8brdrs and tokers they don’t cause such big boo boos.
http://www.thecrespogram.com/commissioner-selfie-boy-hustle-the-public.html
your article is poorly written and misreads zyscovich’s entire e-mail response to you. the plan would not require fdot or private hotel participation but they are going to shoot for the moon. the current complex that exists in this location, including both hotels and the dilapidated historic structure is an embarassment to the city. something must be done to better it.
The best way to clear this area in addition to removing these ramps is to build a tunnel, like the one that was proposed and featured a few months ago right on this site. Let’s have hearings about that too.
So damn true!
I don’t understand what these graphics show with respect to the i-95 mainline. Surely they know it needs the height to clear the river (and it’s traffic)… so you can bury it and cap with a park.
Am I reading this wrong?
The graphics don’t show anything with respect to the I95 mainline. This is just about removing the long off ramps that snake out into downtown, it looks like specifically the ramps between Miami Ave and Brickell Ave would be removed.
Graphics 1 and 2 show the mainline (left side) covered by park.
Graphic is just overlaying 95 to show what would be underneath. That’s along river drive, 1st st, flagler that is already underneath the mainline.
well it’s misleading
Better not put any stoplights on that new boulevard unless you want another horrendous traffic jam. Off course adding lanes of traffic next to the riverfront park seems self-defeating too. A tunnel seems the best bet.
It’s amazing that the concept of induced demand continues to not be understood with respect to highway/road construction and traffic. Talking to you, sarcastic genius below.
Stick with original plan. The street network has better circulation and continuous green space. The newly-made block should be sold to finance the street construction. Besides, the land is currently underutilized for the size of the existing Hyatt, and it’s not like functional hotels weren’t ever demolished in Miami. If there was ever a hotel worth keeping in Miami, it would have been the McAllister, Columbus, and/or Everglades.
Agnostic on these particular designs, but not on removing the ramps. “Traffic nightmare” screamers: most downtown traffic is people circling for parking, and going, uh, to and from those stupid ramps. Pedestrianize huge swathes of the CBD and park on outskirts, like hundreds of other cities around the world. To be fair, those cities have mass transit and bike infrastructure. Maybe just drop a nuke and start over. This city is a joke.
agree… keep cars out, stop building xxx and x,xxx parking garages downtown.
Aceraroja, I have to tell you that your last comment narrows only on Miami. I have news for you, most American cities; with a tiny handful exception were built giving priority to the automobile and the encouragement of building parking lots. Moreover, this was exacerbated by the construction of our freeway system and absurd urban sprawl. All this created were soulless, core-less cities. If we can actually call them cities. At this point, it’s too late to fix our major problem. There is no money in the world to build a mass transit system that works and serves a community that lives 90 minutes from the center and is enclosed in bigger-than-Paris gated communities.
Undoubtedly, the I95 ramps should be removed and replaced with bike lanes. Ideally, bike lanes that extend over the Rickenbacker and onto Virginia Key. That would be phase 1.
Phase 2? Remove I95 from 836 going south. Insert more bike lanes.
not sure if serious
Yeah, and a sand box to play in on every corner, and snow cone machines every block, and webs for Spider Man to swing from too!
The before photo and after rendering aren’t the same view, unless Brickell Loop Metromover is being eliminated.
I actually don’t understand that picture. I can’t really tell if it looks east or westward.
Horrible before and after representation
I think that the people that spoke well about this topic and probably gave negative points to the ones like me that recognize the need to improve massive transportation are people with especial interés or políticians
Traffic is already flowing so smoothly in the area. This is a great idea! Maybe we should leave the drawbridge up permanently as well?
Come on dude! We’ll all ride bikes to our jobs. And in 10 years, they’ll be autonomous bikes.
Who will pay for this fantasy
Dream is free
What’s going to happen while this dream comes true … a tragic nightmare ?
Some rich dudes will pay for it, man. Chillax
So another billion $ for roads but nothing for mass-transit.
No. This is to remove ramps allowing for more development.
Yes! Slow traffic down while adding people! We don’t spend enough time in traffic. We need more gridlock!
The county can partially make up the cost of this project just by the amount of land that they free up from removing these ramps and leasing/selling.
When this project start I will move out, to avoid the nuisance of construction and traffic nightmare
And I shall return in 20 years when the project is finished
Bah bye..