Mustang Daily

Issue date: 4/19/06 Section: News

Media Credit: www.8664.org

Media Credit: www.8664.org

Media Credit: www.8664.org

Any Nick-at-Nite connoisseur can remember the 1960's sitcom "Get Smart" and its hilarious spoof of the Cold War era. The main character of the show was Maxwell Smart, secret agent "86" who was devoted to his cause of protecting America in the game of espionage. The show's creators chose Smart's secret agent number for a reason. The term "86" has roots in American slang, usually meant to "nix" or for instance to cut off someone at the bar, once the bartender believes they've had too much.

Tyler Allen and JC Stites creators of the "86-64" campaign here in Louisville now utilize the term to rally support of their plan to remove a portion of the East-West highway I-64. Going east Louisville residents use the thoroughfare to head to Lexington, and going west we hit St. Louis. Yet the main use of I-64 is a means to get downtown everyday for most of Louisville's workforce. Allen and Stites realize the importance of the road; however, they argue that one portion of I-64 does not serve a purpose and instead destroys the aesthetics of one of Louisville's prized possessions: the waterfront.

On the movement's official website www.8664.org the three main objectives are outlined. First, Allen and Stites advocate the construction of the East End bridge project, which will construct a bridge connecting Louisville and Southern Indiana starting from the Prospect/Harrods Creek area. After the East End bridge is completed Allen and Stites suggest realigning I-64 across that bridge so that drivers from the east or west will be able to bypass the city. The same concept applied in Atlanta where Florida-bound vacationers can avoid the gridlock of the city's traffic. The final step is to tear down the expressway running alongside the Louisville waterfront beginning from I-65 and running to 15th Street.

86-64 is an alternative to what some are saying is an ill-fated proposal to redesign Spaghetti Junction requiring lane additions that will cover the waterfront by about 75 more feet of concrete. Tyler Allen, while admitting he is not an engineer says there is no need for the Spaghetti Junction improvements if we realign I-64 with the Gene Snyder Freeway across the East End bridge. The portion of I-64 entering and exiting downtown would become a parkway, and River Road would be extended into Western Louisville. Instead of continuing onto more highway, traffic would filter into the city's downtown streets and corridors.

The plan is similar to projects across the United States especially in Milwaukee where the local government has decided to tear down a portion of its superhighway to gain access to the Milwaukee River. San Francisco has also followed suite in what is becoming a rapid-growing movement against the 50 year old philosophy that central business districts should be surrounded by expressways.

Plenty of skeptics have lined up to denounce 86-64 because of the endless governmental redtape that will result once anyone suggests Louisville cut out a federal highway. Others such as Mayor Jerry Abramson fear that while an expanded waterfront is pretty, the rush hour gridlock downtown and on River Road will make commuters even more miserable.

The logistics of 86-64 certainly haven't been worked out, and plenty more research and funding will be needed before anyone can take such a plan seriously. Allen and Tyler's 3 minute Powerpoint presentation with its Photoshop-rendered images paints Louisville as a traffic-free utopia. Despite growing support that can be seen on bumper stickers and yard signs, 86-64 has an uphill battle ahead if the plan is to be approved by all of Louisville and more importantly the federal government. If a city's well-being is directly correlated to the amount of businesses and jobs it has, then we all must decide if 86-64 will make Louisville attractive for outside companies or a victim of unrealistic thinking.

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