Across America, the mid-century era of highway-building created sprawling urban freeways that cut huge swaths through our cities, isolating historic neighborhoods, and running up expensive maintenance bills.
Against that backdrop, the city of San Francisco, California has emerged as a pioneer in urban freeway removal. From demolishing the earthquake-damaged Embarcadero to shortening the Central Freeway, the city has reclaimed high-value land, reconnected cut-off neighborhoods, and improved transit and pedestrian access—without a significant impact on congestion.
A Freeway-Free San Francisco explores how the city could finish the job.
Available today, this new report lays out the potential benefits of demolishing five major highways within San Francisco: the I-280 spur, the Central Freeway, I-280, I-80, and ultimately the 101. Step by step, removing the city's network of urban freeways could spark new development, revitalize nearby neighborhoods, and save the city millions of dollars in maintenance costs over the coming years.
The people of San Francisco, who are lucky enough to reside in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, deserve a safer, healthier, and more livable urban future. A Freeway-Free San Francisco is designed to show a path forward for San Francisco, and to inspire other North American cities to reconsider their own aging infrastructure. Read the report now and learn more.