New Forest Park Tunnel Under I-64 Takes Shape
In addition to the new Forest Park Southeast footbridge two new tunnels are under construction that would provide options for pedestrians using the park. The first replaces the tunnel near the horse stables and playing fields across from the St. Louis Community College. It will be substantially closer to Kingshighway and is east of the Science Center overpass. The second was unknown to me until recently and I hope to have some photos of it soon.
{the new interchange, footbridge and tunnel}
{the new tunnel across from SLU High and the Science Center}
The current tunnel needed replacing and I welcome the pedestrian amenity, but wonder if a skywalk paired with the Science Center overpass wouldn't have been preferable (maybe cheaper). Spiral access ramps could have added a dramatic visual.
The tunnel (and footbridge) are meant to serve as pedestrian alternatives to existing roadways. This likely means that other options will be less pedestrian friendly than they should be. Better pedestrian accommodations on Oakland and the Hampton and Kingshighway overpasses would serve more people and are needed regardless of other access. Let's hope the tunnel feels short, is well lit and well traveled.
{a closer look at the new I-64 tunnel and connecting path}
{the new path connects to the existing path}
{the north entrance to the old tunnel}
{the old tunnel}
Gentrification: "... welcome by some and feared and loathed by others, and even dreaded and welcomed at the same time by the same people." Lance Freeman's pursuit of this duality makes the book strong-he's willing to admit that gentrification is both a pleasure and a problem, rather than setting up camp on one side.
Wish they could have included a more direct connection with the Planetarium.
I thought the same thing at first and still think it would be nice to have both (or even a set of steps up the hill), but the current pedestrian/bike path has no direct connection to the Planetarium and anyone using the tunnel that would like to go to the Science Center will obviously enter south of I-64. With only a zig-zag path up the hill a person would have to go up the hill, turn right and go down a hill to enter the rest of the park. I imagine that they also may have wanted to minimize the user conflicts that would occur if the new path connected to the main path.
Why not keep the old tunnel and maintain two? The rebuilding of I-64 really should have looked at submerging the interstate. Connecting Forest Park directly to the Dogtown neighborhoods would have made them even more desirable. Now that that appears a lost cause, it's still not promising that there will be only one tunnel to connect these neighborhoods to Forest Park.