NATIONAL NETWORK FOR RE-USING ABANDONED HIGHWAY RIGHTS-OF-WAY

Research necessary for the development of a national network for reusing abandoned highway rights - of - way in urban areas is described. Participants in a 1978 conference sponsored by HUD and other concerned Federal agencies expressed considerable interest in an organization that could provide information and technical assistance on utilizing abandoned highway properties. The report is based on these conference discussions and an evaluation of the needs of five selected cities: Atlanta, Ga.; Baltimore, Md.; Boston, Mass.; Milwaukee, Wis.; and Minneapolis, Minn. Officials and citizens in these cities were interviewed by telephone and mail concerning their local priorities and organizational ability to implement a program. Strong neighborhood planning organizations existed in all five cities, and these groups had direct access to local governments and had been successful in obtaining funds from a variety of sources. The major differences among the cities included staff capacity, funding levels, and degree of direct influence over reuse. The final disposition of right - of - way property depends on legal and political factors, and planning organizations vary in their abilities to impact decisionmaking. All five cities viewed coordination and funding as the greatest problems in developing a reuse program. Because of the complexities and conflicting interests involved, local planning groups need technical expertise similar to that possessed by State transportation agencies and could benefit from a special funding system. The report outlines the scope, organization, budget, and implementation schedule of a pilot national network which initially would address the needs of the five surveyed cities. The appendices contain a chart showing the characteristics of abandoned right - of - way property in 10 cities and a list of key contacts in the 5 study cities.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Prepared in cooperation with Hammer, Siler, George Associates, Inc., Atlanta, GA.
• Corporate Authors:

  Atlanta Department of Parks and Recreation

  260 Central Avenue, SW
  Atlanta, GA  United States  30303

  Hammer, Siler, George Associates, Incorporated

  230 Peachtree Street, NW
  Atlanta, GA  United States  30303

  Department of Housing and Urban Development

  Office of Policy Development and Research
  Washington, DC  United States  20410
• Publication Date: 1979-11

Media Info

• Pagination: 22 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Budgeting; Conferences; Coordination; Financing; Highways; Land; Legal factors; Needs assessment; Neighborhoods; Networks; Pilot studies; Politics; Property acquisition; Research; Roads; Socioeconomic factors; Transportation; Transportation planning; Urban areas; Urban transportation; Utilization
• Uncontrolled Terms: Acquisition; Right of way; Road networks
• Geographic Terms: Georgia; Maryland; Massachusetts; Minnesota; Wisconsin
• Old TRIS Terms: Pilot study
• Subject Areas: Economics; Research; Society; Transportation (General); I10: Economics and Administration;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00326665
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: HUD-0001058
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Feb 18 1981 12:00AM