Unbuilding Bridges . . .

In Utica, we're still debating whether or not the North-South Arterial should be elevated over Court Street, and how we can best speed traffic through to New Hartford.

In Syracuse, the conversation is taking a different tone. Like the Arterial, I-81 overpasses are nearing the end of their useful life, but there, the talk is about removing them all together. Sandra Barrett of the Onondaga Citizens League commented.

"Basically, we think someone needs to take an advocacy role for downtown, or others will make the decision for downtown," Barrett said. "We want to make sure it's not just dollars and construction costs on the table, but that people take a look at the community at large. We want to take a look at alternatives to a highway that cuts through our city and separates our downtown from our fastest-growing industries."

People are starting to realize how superhighways, cutting through city neighborhoods, can destroy them. We need to think about this ourselves when remaking our own Arterial.