Equitable, Environmental & Economic Planning Approaches

Triple bottom line-based design goals and the recommendations to achieve them

Urban Design Goals

Reintroduce neighbors to one another and nature while creating a safer, healthier environment, benefiting current residents and those that come after, while increasing the revenue (tax) base.

• Maximize Reclaimed Land

787’s re-design will free up many acres of land (up to 90 AC) for the community’s benefit and potential future development

• Incorporate Non-Vehicular Transportation into the Design

Create alternatives that reduce vehicular traffic, affiliated infrastructure and parking

• Create Connections between and within Albany & Rensselaer

Eliminate barriers between Albany & Rensselaer and create pedestrian walkways, bike paths, and an efficient transit system traveling from Albany’s Empire State Plaza to Rensselaer’s Amtrak Rail Station and many points in between while accommodating vehicular traffic. This will increase and activate each city’s land along the Hudson River.

•  Design each Urban Core for People

Create activity spaces, urban parks and tree-lined complete streets within a dense incremental development plan that creates generational wealth and a diverse tax base

Transportation Design Recommendations

Achieving vibrant, equitable, environmentally sustainable & economically viable communities that comprise a city begins by breaking down the existing physical as well as the policy barriers

• Relocate the Freight Rail

Remove the main barrier to the Riverfront as well as a source of air and noise pollution

• Keep Roadways at or Below Grade while minimizing Going Above

Reconnects Communities, and the riverfront by minimizing barriers and maintenance

• Re-designate 787 a State Highway, so it is no longer an Interstate

Create pedestrian scaled boulevard with low speeds, and less initial and long-term costs

• Lower the new Dunn Memorial Bridge

Create a lift bridge (same as the new Livingston Ave. Bridge) that will reduce physical and visual barriers, and ease access for pedestrians, bicyclists, trolleys, etc. while minimizing the length of the land bridges (ramps) and all affiliated maintenance costs.

• Non-Vehicular Transportation to Consider & Incorporate  

Reducing reliance on automobiles connects people to places in an environmentally sustainable way while doing so is healthy and economically viable for its residents.

• Electric Trolleys & Mass Transit

Maximize then connect transportation networks of the two riverfront downtowns beginning at the Empire State Plaza and ending at the Rensselaer Train Station

• Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Scooter Pathway Access, including Bridges 

Create choices that are healthy for the residents and the environment that reduce our dependence on single-user automobiles and the roads that accommodate them.

• Water Based Transportation

Activate affordable, publicly accessible Hudson River travel via taxis, tour boats, etc. from Troy to Hudson and a multitude of points in between on each side of the river

Policies & Procedures to Implement

Incorporate proven policies and procedures that ensure equitable and sustainable outcomes

• Implement Environmental Justice Principles

The reimagining of I-787 provides this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to correct the destructive decisions of the past by centering current decisions within and alongside the communities that were negatively impacted allowing the city to blossom from within.

•  Create a Land Use Commission

Establish a commission that determines the best use of the released land (totaling up to 90 acres of prime urban riverfront land) which incorporates the community’s desires

•  Establish a Community Benefits Agreement

Ensure that residents can stay in place, and benefit from all future development 

• Create a Master Plan for Albany & Rensselaer’s Riverfront and Neighborhoods

Hire a third-party, well-regarded urban design firm that has experience in cities and communities that emerge and blossom from the removal of its urban highway network.

Summary

A planning process reflects the priorities of a geographic place and a place in time. Our time is now. Let’s plan together, openly, respectfully, and freely with faith in one another, knowing the design that emerges from the process will birth the best Albany and Rensselaer for all.

Together, We Can!