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AirTalk

Cut-cap park? A proposal to build “Central Park” atop the 101 in Downtown

By AirTalk Staff
Published Apr 27, 2010
Artist's rendering of a proposal to cap and build a park atop the 101 freeway in Downtown Los Angeles
Artist's rendering of a proposal to cap and build a park atop the 101 freeway in Downtown Los Angeles
(
Courtesy Aecom
)
Listen 10:18
Cut-cap park? A proposal to build “Central Park” atop the 101 in Downtown
Ninety percent of New Yorker’s live within a quarter-mile of a park. That’s true for only 30 percent of Angelenos. That’s why the City of LA is pushing to create urban parks wherever it can find space. But where is there space? CalTrans and design firm Aecom think they’ve found some—atop the depressed portion of the 101 freeway between Grand and Alameda. The concept has been discussed for other sections of the 101, but this one has an additional benefit—it would connect Union Station with City Hall and act like a Central Park for downtown LA. But at some $800 million, and with so many essential transportation projects in the works, can we afford to spend money putting a lid on the 101?

Ninety percent of New Yorker’s live within a quarter-mile of a park. That’s true for only 30 percent of Angelenos. That’s why the City of LA is pushing to create urban parks wherever it can find space. But where is there space? CalTrans and design firm Aecom think they’ve found some—atop the depressed portion of the 101 freeway between Grand and Alameda. The concept has been discussed for other sections of the 101, but this one has an additional benefit—it would connect Union Station with City Hall and act like a Central Park for downtown LA. But at some $800 million, and with so many essential transportation projects in the works, can we afford to spend money putting a lid on the 101?

Guest:

Vaughan Davies, principal of urban design at Aecom, a design and planning firm based in Los Angeles. He is the principal designer of the 101-cap project.