BY CHRISTINE SCHUDDE Yes, we can reimagine 787, but we can also reimagine Albany’s entire downtown. Imagine what Albany could be with nearly 100 reclaimed acres of land along our waterfront. We could replace an interstate monstrosity with an appropriately-scaled boulevard and infrastructure for walking, rolling and bicycling. We could reconnect the South End to downtown to Sheridan Hollow and Arbor Hill and all the way to North Albany. We could rebuild the public commons, the “third places” of connection where neighbors meet and talk outside of work and the home. We could also build homes. No ..read more

BY ELISA ALBERT What were they thinking, building that highway along the river?  They were thinking damn this river stinks to high hell. They were thinking I want me a nice little house all set apart from other houses, with a nice little fence around it, and some trees, and a nice driveway in which I can park my very special personal automobile! They were thinking my own personal automobile means freedom and wealth and progress. They were thinking enough with these quarrelsome neighbors, and enough with this stinking river, and enough with th ..read more

BY ADETUNJI IDRIS ADESINA The Albany Riverfront Collaborative seeks to modernize Downtown Albany by redesigning a section of Interstate 787 into a multimodal at-grade boulevard that features walkable and micromobility paths. People in Albany will be able to walk and use micromobility vehicles to explore Downtown Albany and enjoy ease of access to the Hudson River. The multimodal at-grade boulevard design can breathe life into Downtown Albany by improving community cohesion, sparking economic growth, improving commuter safety, and preserving the environment, all of which are key principals of ..read more

The Livingstone Ave Bridge By MARTIN DALEY On January 5, 2022 New York State Governor Kathy Hochul outlined the State's New Transportation and Infrastructure Priorities in her State of the State Address. These priorities include the replacement of the Livingston Avenue Railroad Bridge in Albany: "The Livingston Avenue Bridge provides a critical link for passenger rail service from the Northeast Corridor to Albany-Rensselaer. The rail bridge has deteriorated to the point where the current structure limits trains crossing to one at a time and at speeds of 15 miles pe ..read more

BY MARC WOUTERS The benefits of transforming I-787 for Albany and the Greater Capital Region are countless. These include potential for economic growth for the entire city, reduction in air pollution, improved riverfront access, opportunities for new housing choices for people from all walks of life, growth of small local businesses, and more. A few years ago, I was asked to lead urban planning for Saskatoon, a city that had never built a major highway along its riverfront. During the public engagement process that we organized, residents told us they were in love with the city because the st ..read more

BY JOSH KOSS There is no formula that reveals what makes a development “good.” Developers can of course estimate development costs, model cash flows and the like. But underwriting’s ability to capture the future community impact of converting an idea on paper into a living product is limited. By starting not with configurations of dirt, brick and mortar, but rather with people, New York State Representative Patricia Fahy and the Albany Riverfront Collaborative have turned an erstwhile far-flung fantasy into a model for pre-development groundwork. Distilled, Fahy and the ARC have proposed a re ..read more

BY SCHUYLER BULL Downtown Albany was never perfect: the evolution from a small trading fort to one of the ten most populous cities in the US (at the time) comes with its fair share of growing pains. Progress spurred by the Erie Canal and rapid population growth rendered the waterfront an active industrial port clogged with boat traffic, sewage, soot, and trash. But Albany’s citizens knew they could do better and launched a bold plan to do just that. The proponents of Albany’s City Beautiful Movement addressed these issues through the redevelopment of Broadway; the cramped street was widened ..read more

BY ELIZABETH LOGIUDICE Climate change is making it imperative for every city to take bold steps toward greater sustainability, while preparing for disruptions caused by extreme weather. The City of Albany has been a leader in Climate Action Planning, earning Bronze level certification as a NYS Climate Smart Community in 2019. In addition to tackling an array of projects to lower its carbon footprint, the municipality has been taking steps to address climate-related impacts by producing a Vulnerability and Adaptation Plan, conducting the Hudson River Shoreline Stabiliz ..read more

BY SAM FEIN Albany has lived many lives over its 400 years. Dutch trading post, British colony chartered by a distant king, capital of New York, center of politics for one of the largest states in America. Throughout its long history one thing has stayed the same about Albany: Geography. Situated on the west bank of the Hudson River ten miles south of the Mohawk river, Albany is a river city. Schooners, frigates, barges, and ferries have plied the river for centuries, moving goods and people north, west or south. Where beaver pelts were once loaded for export to Europe, wind turbines are buil ..read more

“The highway expansions of the post-World War II era ripped through communities of color across the country, tearing apart the fabric of these neighborhoods in ways that still need repairing today. People lost their homes and their businesses; social connections were replaced by speeding cars and vehicle emissions. New York State was not immune to this destructive path, which hit low-income and minority communities disproportionately hard, from the Bronx downstate to Buffalo and Syracuse upstate, and many places in between.” — Gov. Kathy Hochul, State of the State, 1/5/22 The Albany Riverfron ..read more