Syracuse University and SUNY-ESF professors disagree on the environmental impact of the community grid, a proposed replacement option for Syracuse’s failing Interstate 81 viaduct.

In April, the New York State Department of Transportation released a report endorsing the community grid. Under the proposed grid plan, the existing viaduct would be torn down and traffic would be redirected through city streets. 

As part of its report, NYSDOT analyzed how the grid and its construction would affect the environment in Syracuse. The report concluded that the grid was the most environmentally-sound option for the I-81 replacement.

Lemir Teron, a SUNY-ESF assistant professor of environmental studies, said NYSDOT’s report failed to address environmental justice enough in its analysis of the grid’s environmental impact.

The report has a section on environmental justice, which concludes that adverse effects to environmental justice communities could occur related to construction and traffic noise levels. While the report highlights topics like noise impact and air quality, the review does not consider the livelihoods of people living near the construction project, he said.

“We need to be very intentional on the front end about how these impacts will be mitigated,” Teron said.

The report doesn’t explicitly talk about construction hazards in public areas, Teron said. He listed Wilson Park on South McBride Street as an example. The park is located adjacent to the viaduct and will be closed during construction. Many parents will not want their children to play next to a giant construction project, he said.

NYSDOT also examined multiple factors of pollution in its report, including air quality. Emanuel Carter, a SUNY-ESF associate professor of landscape architecture, said the community grid will improve air pollution by dispersing traffic from the highly populated areas in the center of the city.

Diesel trucks and cars that currently travel on the viaduct would drive through less densely populated areas with the grid, leading to less concentrated pollution, he said. Carter said he supports the community grid because the viaduct created a divide in Syracuse.

Syracuse is one of the most racially and financially segregated cities in the United States, something that many experts see as directly linked to I-81.

“People see the viaduct as ‘this side’ and ‘that side’ and creates a sense of separation for permanent residents,” Carter said. “You’d think the streets under it would not make it an issue, but mentally it does.”

Community grid streets lined with trees could also help to prevent much carbon dioxide pollution in neighborhoods, Carter said. Many American cities are adapting urban forestry programs to decrease pollution. In such programs, trees are grown and maintained in urban settings to promote increased water quality, energy savings, environmental life and life quality, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Minchin Lewis, a Syracuse University adjunct professor of public administration and international affairs, said the community grid plan would increase air pollution because there would be more stop-and-go traffic, which requires more fuel. Lewis is a supporter of an iconic bridge replacement option. 

“The community grid will not lower pollution but instead affect more neighborhoods,” he said.

A grid would also encourage urban sprawl, or the uncontrolled sprawl of urban areas, Lewis said. Increased traffic along I-481 — proposed under the community grid plan — would increase development in the vacant spaces along the highway. Urban sprawl is banned under New York state law.

“Right now, those spaces are environmental drainage areas,” he said. “If they are developed with parking lots, gas stations, restaurants and other services, it would have a tremendous negative effect on the environment.”

NYSDOT is expected to make a final decision on the future of the I-81 viaduct by April 2020. The community grid is slated to take five years to complete. 

Published on September 17, 2019 at 11:14 pm

Contact Abby: akweiss@syr.edu | @abbyweiss_21