St. Louis Lid / Seattle's Freeway Park

Coming up from Portland into the state of Washington along Interstate 5, one first enters the city of Vancouver.  There's an interesting project there with a proposed lid covering a section of the highway.  To learn more about it and the proposed lid in St. Louis, read St. Louis Lid / Lid in Vancouver, Washington.

If you continue heading north along I-5, you'll eventually reach Seattle.  Seattle already built its lid.  The 5-acre Freeway Park was completed in 1976.  It is heavily wooded and its users have little indication that they are over a freeway at all. 

The space is a proper park, silent and away from the bustling city while being in the heart of it.  Whereas St. Louis and Vancouver, Washington are trying to connect their city to a park, Seattle has connected two parts of its city with a park.

It should be clear from these images why people from the Midwest always seem to be moving to the Northwest.  Freeway Park is beautiful. 

A lid like this would not be appropriate for downtown St. Louis.  If it magically got moved to St. Louis, I'd put it over I-64 south of Forest Park.  Perhaps an extention of Forest Park into the Hi-Pointe neighborhood better connecting Dogtown to Skinker and the park. Elevated above the Hi-Pointe, the park would offer an amazing view of downtown and the park.

It is important to point out that beautiful though the park is, it is a little secluded.  Freeway Park might benefit from a couple cafes or restaurants.  Given the amount of concrete and the weight of the soil and trees, it must be enormously expensive to maintain over time.

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this post relates to the Arch Grounds, highways, and the Gateway Mall.