The Roads Not Taken The San Francisco Freeway Revolt Revisited

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1 The Roads Not Taken The San Francisco Freeway Revolt Revisited Steven B. Colman, PTP

2 For pdf of Paper, me:

3 What Was the Freeway Revolt? First Systemic Rejection of Urban Freeway Plan in U.S San Francisco Elected Leaders Rejected Comprehensive Freeway Plan Set Later Pattern of Public Engagement Likely Helped Secure Support of Large BART Bond Measure (1962)

4 Purpose of This Presentation Retell An Interesting Story Review Some of the Key Actors and Events Show How Recollection of History Can Change & Be Mythologized Provides Lessons on What Was Learned (Validity for Contemporary Transportation Professionals) Try to Avoid an Advocacy/ Spin (Others Can Provide That!)

5 Early Events Pre-Revolt (Often Overlooked) San Francisco An Early Adopter of the Auto In 1914, SF Auto Ownership Rate Nearly Double National Average By 1936, a 12-fold Increase in Vehicles Owned Congestion an Early SF Problem Because Very Limited Land Area Downtown Located in NE Corner of Land Mass Bridges Built in 1930s Concentrated Traffic Streets Platted in mid-1800s for Walking and Horse-Drawn Vehicles Miller McClintock s First Modern Limited-Way Plan,

6 McClintock Limited Way Plan

7 McClintock Elevated Ways

8 Post-World War II Planning Deteriorated Roads and Pent Up Demand City Produces Freeway Plan end of 1945 City Hires DeLeuw, Cather to Produce Comprehensive Plan Multi-modal in Nature Considers Parking Issues State Passes Collier-Burns Highway Act (1947) Greatly Increases Funding for Highways (but only highways) Creates California Freeway & Expressway System Downtown and City in Decline Population falls from wartime high of 900,000 to 775,000 in 1950

9 Post-World War II Problems Deteriorated Roads and Pent Up Demand Downtown and City in Decline Resident Population Falling Population falls from wartime high of 900,000 to 775,000 in 1950 Continues fall to 740,000 in 1960 Census Downtown Activity Falling Accumulated persons in downtown metro traffic district down 6% No new major office buildings early 1930s until late 1950s Solution: Increase City s Accessibility to Region

10 DeLeuw, Cather Freeway Plan North

11 Mixed-Mode Mission Freeway Rapid Transit in Median

12 State Division of Highways Assumes Control Mostly Adopts City Plans for Freeway Routes Funding Increase Allows More Lanes, Earlier Construction City Staff Insists Freeways be Double-Decked Some Freeways to be Built by City, Others by State The Bureau of Public Roads publishes its Yellow Book After 1956, Some SF Routes Made Part of Interstate System

13 What Could Go Wrong? with this Megaproject?

14 Early Freeway Experience & Gathering Storm Easy Routes Built First (example: Bayshore Freeway) Little or No Opposition Recreation & Park Commission Objects to At-Grade Freeways in Golden Gate Park (1953) Embarcadero Freeway (c1955) along Waterfront Central Freeway/ US 101 loop around downtown

15 Key Freeway Opponents Scott Newhall Editor, San Francisco Chronicle Mainly Opposed Only to Embarcadero Freeway, at Least Initially Christopher McKeon Residential Developer in Area of Western Freeway ( Sunset District ) Owned Property Adversely Affected by Freeways Others Board of Supervisors Role/ William Blake

16 State Division of Highways Makes Some Key Mistakes in Public Presentations

17 Board of Supervisors 1959 Blake Resolution Opposed Construction of 7 of 9 Freeways in City s Master Plan Exceptions: Southern Freeway (now I-280) & Hunters Point Expressway/Freeway Invoked City s Power Under Streets & Highways Code (City Street Closures) Resolution No , Passed Unanimously Sent Division of Highways Back to Drawing Board Mayor Orders Reappraisal Led by City Departments

18 Division Resurrects 2 Routes Most Promising Routes Qualify for Interstate Funding: Golden Gate Freeway (I-480) Embarcadero to Golden Gate Bridge Panhandle Freeway (I-80/280) Central Freeway to GG Bridge Both Are Intercounty/Bridge Connections Foes Create Effective Coalition of Neighborhoods BART Under Construction Now Supervisor Blake Proposes a Tunnel Option (next slide) When 480 Abandoned, Fed Funds Transferred to LA for Century (I-105) Freeway

19 The Blake Tunnel (Not Built) Approximately 2 Miles Approximately 2 miles in length All underground No interchanges Cut diagonally from end of US 101 (Central) Freeway near Gough Street, to edge of Presidio (both ends of existing freeways)

20 State Opposes Blake Tunnel Cost Difficult Soils Conditions (e.g., sand, fractured rock) Time to Construct Prior Experience with Embarcadero Tunnel (foot of Market Street) Wouldn t Fit into Other Freeway Plans Would Still Require Surface Vent Structures

21 Stalemate & Reversal of Fortune

22 What Are Some Lessons Learned? (1/2) The Battle Was Perhaps More Conventional (and Less Noble) than Some Claim Consensus In Favor of Freeways Disintegrated Quickly Ease of Early Construction Led to False Confidence Limited Stakeholder Involvement Proved a Liability Limited Number of Alternatives Available or Studied

23 What Are Some Lessons Learned? (2/2) Lack of Flexibility in Use of Funds Willingness to Explore Options Nature of Interstates One Size Fits All (e.g., access control, design speed) Citizen Groups Repurposed to Fight Freeways Proponents Over-Confident and Had Limited Willingness to Compromise Failure of Division to Recognize Changing Public Opinion Timing Wrong: Values Shifting, BART, Rising Environmental Movement

24 End Thank You to Peer Reviewers: Jerry Robbins, Jerry Hall, & Anonymous

INFRASTRUCTURE: Using the Grid to Create a more Self-Sustaining Downtown. Studio Spring 2013

INFRASTRUCTURE: Using the Grid to Create a more Self-Sustaining Downtown. Studio Spring 2013 EMERGENT FUTURES The San Diego Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released a new report, the 2012 San Diego County Infrastructure Report Card. Since the last San Diego Report Card