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If he can find the money for a tunnel or sub-grade easement, I will fly up there an vote for him next time around (I may not be eligible to vote in NYS, but they do it all the time in Chicago..so what the hell..lol )
Me to. I would be Maffei's biggest supporter if he could accomplish something like this. As they say, vote early and vote often!
The contributor makes some valid points, particularly taxes and regulations. Upstate New York does have problems that Syracuse is subjected to through no fault of its own, I would add unfunded mandates like Medicaid contributions. However, I think the expansion plans local colleges and universities on the university hill into downtown will invite new residential and commercial development (particularly retail) opportunities.
Syracuse is very fortunate to have such economic engines contiguous to its downtown that most cities would envy. Ithaca is a good example (though on a smaller scale) of a community that has taken advantage of its proximity to Cornell and Ithaca College which has contributed to its growing economy and population, despite poor economic policy out of Albany.
That said, the boulevard rendering is quite impressive!
Last edited by urbanplanner; 06-05-2013 at 01:42 PM..
Syracuse Common Council will hold a public hearing Monday to get feedback on the Interstate 81 viaduct project. Not much notice, but the public hearing is scheduled for 4 p.m. inside Common Council Chambers. It will be interesting to see where the City position will land, I am assuming a boulevard approach (which is counter to the County Legislature's position).
Upstate will never learn a lesson The Simpsons crystallized so well 20 years ago:
It's always, always the latest big project that will fix everything. This editorial completely gets it.
I don't know if this project is to "fix everything" for the area or that people actually think that. I think it is a matter of weighing the pros and cons of the project itself. One thing isn't going to fix anything and the people of Upstate NY have to think about what they want when it comes to other issues that effect its economy, which is basically the thing people point to in terms of its "problems". How are taxes going to decrease if the same structures in terms government are in place? They aren't unless an adjustment of the structure occurs and I've mentioned options on past posts, but I don't know if people are as willing to give some things up. So, in essence, the people have a responsibility in this as well.
It occurred to me recently that there's actually a fairly similar version (but much older) of the boulevard conceptual idea actually in place, and actually along I-81: the Central Scranton Expressway. It's not a boulevard in the middle (rather a series of roadways) but connected to the main (bypassing downtown) spur actually designated I-81.
The topography is very different and this would work out much more straightforwardly IMO, but the boulevard concept as presented in the last public meeting hits a lot of that. Highway to near downtown at both ends and streets through.
Ignore the square on the attached image, but the two outlines in blue are the two routes - 81 to the east, the expressway to the west.
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