{a look south on High Street across I-670}
Many if not most of you have seen photos of the I-670 overpass in Columbus, OH. It’s easy to cite this project as an example for other cities, but very few sites are suited for such a solution. In Columbus you have the Convention Center and downtown immediately to the south and the Short North, a neighborhood with many similarities to St. Louis’s Delmar Loop to the north. It’s a short span and doesn’t have an interchange.
So nowhere I know of in St. Louis fits the bill, but I would like to see similar efforts to connect vibrant neighborhoods. Building a wide overpass with storefronts on at least one side would be an excellent way to better connect Soulard and Benton Park via Sydney Street and maybe Lafayette Avenue connecting Lafayette Square and Soulard. As we begin what will be the very long process of rebuilding our aging infrastructure we should advocate for innovative and progressive solutions.
{Sidney Street connecting Soulard and Benton Park in St. Louis}
{a look from a parking lot to the back of the overpass in Columbus}
{walking from a parking lot to High Street}
{storefronts on a sidepath off High Street}
{a look to the left taken from the same spot as the image above}
{looking north into the Short North neighborhood}
{a look at an adjacent storefront and dense residential infill just off High Street}
