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Queen Village Based Website Asks: Should We Level I-95?

The Reckoner, a local website that uses crowd-sourcing to help people state their opinions or make everyday decisions, has asked, “Should Philadelphia ditch the section of I-95 between the Walt Whitman and Ben Franklin Bridges?”

So far, “knock it down” is narrowly in the lead, but where do you guys fall on this issue? We mean, if it was gone, we could have actual waterfront, wouldn’t that be nice?

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 9th, 2012 at 3:37 pm.

  • schmapty

    Of course knock it down! Anyone who doesn’t say knock it down is a suburban goober or someone who just want to disagree.

  • Zombie Larry

    Hypothetically, it’s gone. Now, where is all of that traffic going to go? Delaware Ave and every street up to and including Broad St. A total clusterfuck would ensue.

    95 along the waterfront = a bad idea that only a city as corrupt as Philly would do. Unfortunately, it’s too late now.

  • schmapty

    The traffic would be fine. The reason people take 95 is because it’s there. this blurb touches on the idea
    http://blogs.wsj.com/ideas-market/2011/05/27/more-roads-more-traffic/
    Drivers would behave rationaly and avoid that route as the only reason they take it in the first place is because 95 was built there. There is no real need to drive along the river.

  • phillygoat

    From south of the airport, you can take I76 to 676 or the blue route. From Delaware or around Trenton, you can take 295. Since this would be a thumb in the eye of Delco, I suspect such a plan would hammer the Cobbs Creek Parkway or US 1/City Ave more than Broad Street.

  • JoelMG

    But if it’s knocked down then it will force people to drive through neighborhoods in this city and actually notice them and their needs

  • Supernaut

    Frankly, I like 95 and I’m neither a suburban goober nor just want to disagree.

    I’m just a grown-up who drives an automobile…and not naive enough not to think that traffic would be “fine” were 95 suddenly removed.

  • heatmiser

    Cover it up like the PennPraxis plan suggested a few years ago. Make it green space and never hear the traffic.
    http://planphilly.com/node/747

  • sorryboutyourdaughter

    I can no longer tell when people are kidding.

  • northphilly

    What happens to the traffic traveling from Delaware, DC, the South to say, anywhere North of Pennsylvania? 95 just stops at the Walt Whitman? Am I missing something?

  • phillygoat

    @northphilly: huh? Today, there is a noncontinuous break in I-95 between the Scudder Falls bridge and some point on the NJ Turnpike. Most DC – NYC traffic already takes I-295 over the Delaware Memorial Bridge.

  • Zombie Larry

    some are still missing the point that all of the 95 traffic must go somewhere. It won’t just cease to exist because 95 goes away. The result would be chaos and clogged highways in and around Philadelphia. If anything, we need another reliever highway in addition to 95. Something like a tunnel for Phila exits with the elevated 95 handling the through traffic.

    Delaware does a pretty good job with the 95/495 split with 495 being the through traffic choice and 95 for local Wilmington exits.

  • Zombie Larry

    put a hundred down and buy a car.

  • schmapty

    Zombie Larry, I understanad that it is a counter-intuitive idea but it is a fact that more highways make more traffic. Highways do not and never have reduced traffic. Read up on it a bit.
    Second, the city and its citizens need to make decision for THE CITY. The ballpark down in parking lot land was an awful, ugly, small mided, suburban decision. There is very little economic benefit to providing an easy way to pass through a city. There is tremendous benefit to cleaning up and developing the waterfront.
    Lastly, I’m a grown-up to that’s why I’m able to see that I95 is not helping my city and should go. Ohh but traffic. Fuck traffic.

  • barryg

    Take away I-95–our connection to the NE Corridor and the South–and you have added another huge reason not to put businesses in the City of Philadelphia.

    You guys should check out the Schuylkill River sometime, I hear it has a nice waterfront.

  • northphilly

    @phillygoat: that’s north of the city, people still use 95 to get to 276/jersey turnpike. People also still use 95 to get into the city.

    I just don’t understand why 95 would simply end before getting to the city. I love the idea of green space, park, etc. But the notion that removing a highway would reduce traffic is ludicrous.