Our reader: Viaduct plan is a viable I-81 replacement

Dear editor,

I agree with those who think it’s ridiculous to ask taxpayers to spend over $3.5 billion for a tunnel and require millions for yearly maintenance. What important projects would have to be shelved to support this expenditure? Of course with a tunnel, rather than build a Central Park we could turn the viaduct into a high line like they are planning in Philadelphia, Atlanta and Dallas.

I strongly disagree with those that think that a viaduct plan is supported by zero evidence other than to save six minutes for 12 percent of drivers to pass through the city while the community grid is the recipe for a successful city. What is the evidence for the grid? The only hard evidence that I see is that fewer properties would have to be destroyed. In order to achieve any reasonable traffic flow, one would need a boulevard which would be like the viaduct with lights, pedestrian crossings and left turns, all creating gridlock with more noise and air pollution.

Many letters to the editor have suggested that the placement of the viaduct was a mistake and that it essentially destroyed a stable minority, African-American, neighborhood. However, nobody seems to have researched the environmental impact statement as to why the viaduct was built where it is.  If there was a stable minority neighborhood, where are the black churches?  There were three synagogues which suggest that it was a Jewish neighborhood that was transitioning into a black neighborhood. What was the housing stock like? Was it ripe for urban renewal? Could it also be that having Interstate 81 running alongside the train tracks south of the viaduct have influenced its positioning? It’s cheaper to have the road go along a right of way than through a neighborhood. Would anticipation of the completion of the two ring roads, Interstate 690 and Interstate 481, have affected the decision making? These and other questions would have to be addressed before challenging where the viaduct was built.

My final point is that the viaduct does not divide the city as no cross streets are blocked. In addition, a wasteland wasn’t created around the viaduct. While Syracuse has a poor record with urban renewal, many building projects occurred in the area. To name a few: Presidential Plaza, the Crowne Plaza Syracuse, the Chicago Market which is now an Upstate Medical facility, the Everson Museum of Art, Hutchings Psychiatric Center and several buildings by Upstate Medical University and Syracuse University.

Sincerely,

Gloria W. Sage

Syracuse, NY