From SPUR:
San Francisco now has another opportunity to take down a freeway while creating major transportation infrastructure improvements in an important area of the city. Currently, the stub end of Interstate 280 creates a barrier between the developing Mission Bay neighborhood and Potrero Hill. At the same time, the Caltrain railyard — 19 acres stretching from Fourth Street to Seventh Street between King and Townsend — forms a barrier between Mission Bay and SOMA. The obstruction will only get worse if current plans for high-speed rail proceed, forcing 16th Street and Mission Bay Boulevard into depressed trenches beneath the tracks and the elevated freeway.
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What would happen if I-280 instead touched down between 17th and Mariposa Streets and the remainder of the freeway was replaced with a surface boulevard?
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That would allow for radically improved connectivity between Mission Bay, Showplace Square and Potrero Hill, with crossings at 16th Street, Irwin Street, Hooper Street and Berry Street. Mission Creek Channel would become accessible to neighborhoods to the north and west. And parcels of land that previously were used for highway infrastructure could be redeveloped, and their value recaptured.
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Detailed proposal here.
