Rendering of 8664 plan for downtown Louisville
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Recently, the folks at 8664 sent out a questionnaire to all of the 2010 mayoral candidates concerning the Ohio River Bridges Project. Of the 10 candidates that responded, six were opposed and three in support of the ORBP (Republican Hal Heiner refused to answer, however, Mr. Heiner has gone on record in support of the project). Click here for a detailed look at each candidate’s answers.
Louisville’s next mayor will be responsible for the city’s continued growth. However, the heavy-handed growth-at-all costs urban policies of the last century are not going to be sustainable as Louisville and other cities begin to have to deal with an unprecedented and rapidly growing urban population. Louisville has made a great deal of progress over the past 20 years, but the Ohio River Bridges Project is a step in the wrong direction.
According to estimates by the UN, by 2025, 86% of the United States’ population will be concentrated in urban areas. Current models are not going to be able to deal with this influx of growth. You can only make a highway so big. Take a look at the planned expansion of Spaghetti Junction. To give you a sense of the scale of this thing, look at the baseball stadium in the lower left. That’s a lot of concrete.
It's not every day you get to both save billions of dollars and make something better to boot, but there's a chance to do just that in Louisville, Kentucky with the 8864 project… A recent Brookings Institution study just classified Louisville as an "industrial core" city - the worst score you can get - because of its low educational attainment. 23 lanes of highway downtown won't attract anybody, but a city reconnected with its incredible riverfront might.“Replay: Louisville: The Case for 8664”
It’s a simple question. And I’m not the first to ask it. Does Louisville want this:
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Or this:
Now, this is an architecture column so allow me a moment to explain why I’m so worked up about this issue. We need to attract businesses if we want anyone to invest in Louisville’s urban fabric. One of the best ways to do this is to improve on our strengths: an amazing riverfront, a pedestrian and bike-friendly downtown, and of course, Southern Hospitality. The ORBP will set us back years, if not decades, towards this goal. If we want a better city in the future, we need to take action now.
When you vote, remember that this isn’t just about two bridges and some highway. This plan will affect Louisville’s future both in the short-term (to the tune of $4.1 billion) and in the long-term financial, cultural, and social effect that any project of this magnitude would have.
Louisville can’t afford to wait.
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For more info: See for yourself. Please visit the Kentucky-Indiana Bridges Authority and the 8664 homepages. For more coverage, please visit Aaron Renn's blog The Urbanophile and Broken Sidewalk, a Louisville blog run by Branden Klayko.
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