Churchill: A step toward the end of 787 as we know it

The newly enacted state budget includes money to study how best to connect Albany to its river.

Chris Churchill April 12, 2022 Updated: April 12, 2022 6:53 a.m.  

ALBANY — The words "feasibility study" are unlikely to make anybody giddy with anticipation, but one funded in the newly enacted state budget could promise a brighter future for Albany.

The study will assess modifying or even razing parts of Interstate 787 to connect the city with the Hudson River. Funded with up to $5 million from the state Department of Transportation, it will look at the economic impacts of the potential change. It will likely attach a price tag to potential plans.

 Assemblywoman Pat Fahy, who first proposed the funding three years ago, on Monday said the study would remove one of the biggest hurdles in the way of change, in part because it will provide tangible plans and ideas. It will attach hard facts and numbers to a project that may have seemed theoretical, if not fanciful.

 But the problem presented by the highway, at least, should be obvious: 787, with its swirling ramps and elevated interchanges, is dramatically overbuilt for the needs of the city, consuming far too much land. It has divided Albany from perhaps its most valuable asset, limiting the city's quality of life and economic development potential. The highway is just plain ugly, too.

 The precise solution is less obvious, perhaps, given the competing ideas.

 One, as floated by the Albany Riverfront Collaborative, would turn the highway into a ground-level boulevard, opening 92 acres for parks and development.

 Under the group's plan, the elevated South Mall Arterial and its spaghetti tangle of ramps would disappear, replaced with a ground-level roadway to carry cars toward Empire State Plaza. The Dunn Memorial Bridge would also be rebuilt and simplified, freeing land for development and parks on the Rensselaer side of the river.

 Sounds good, right?

 If not, you may prefer suggestions that portions of the highway be capped, essentially turning parts of the roadway into a tunnel with parkland above.

 Meanwhile, a third proposal — one that is surprisingly popular — would leave the highway alone, at least for now, and instead dig a canal along Broadway downtown. The idea championed by painter Len Tantillo would negate some of 787's impact by bringing the water into the city.

 Ideas just like these three have been successfully implemented in other American cities, proving that remaking the waterfront is hardly akin to reinventing the wheel. But which plan would work best for Albany?

 Fahy hopes the feasibility study will tell us.

 "One approach does not preclude the others," the Albany Democrat said. "But if one gives us much more bang for the buck, that moves up the priorities list."

 As I've said in prior columns, other upstate cities have advanced plans to remove downtown or waterfront highways, so there's no reason for skeptics to believe change is impossible here. To wit, the newly approved budget also includes $1.1 billion to tear down Interstate 81 in Syracuse and replace that elevated highway with a street-level boulevard.

 If such a dramatic teardown can happen in Syracuse, why not Albany? If St. Louis can put a cap on a highway, why can't Albany?

 If Oklahoma City can transform its downtown with a canal, why ... well, you get the drift.

As these sorts of projects have become increasingly routine in cities around the country, the egregious awfulness of 787 only becomes more glaring — a massive concrete symbol of Albany's lack of imagination and self-respect. This is about the region's economic future, really, given how money flows to cities that prioritize the quality of life.

Yes, remaking 787 would be hard and expensive. But think about it this way: The continuing existence of 11 lanes of traffic (including arterials) on Albany's prime natural and recreational resource says nothing good about New York's capital. A failure to embrace progress will not impress tourists. It will not attract new residents.

 So, the feasibility study is significant. It's a step toward progress, as Mayor Kathy Sheehan acknowledged Monday as she credited Fahy for "her tireless advocacy in securing this funding."

 In an emailed statement that made reference to the city's planned pedestrian walkway to the water, Sheehan said "we have a true opportunity to engage in a comprehensive engineering study to re-imagine I-787, build on the impending completion of the Skyway and develop new ways to connect our city with the Hudson Riverfront."

 Oh, before I forget, the study is also expected to assess the traffic impacts of various changes, addressing the top concern raised by skeptics of remaking the highway. Happily, the excessive width of 787 likely means it could be rebuilt and narrowed without a meaningful impact on commute times.

 The goal, after all, is to change Albany and its environs for the better, not to create gridlock.

 cchurchill@timesunion.com ■ 518-454-5442 ■ @chris_churchill