The Pixar film “Cars” has this great scene, where we learn the sad history of small-town Radiator Springs. You probably remember it: the new interstate highway gets built, and all the shop owners expect it to bring lots of new customers. Instead the interstate causes all the traffic — and customers — to bypasses the town altogether. The town’s economy is decimated.
Radiator Springs may be a fictional place, but the story is all too real. And it gets repeated over and over again: Transportation agencies build new highway bypasses to “solve” traffic congestion on Main St.. The local business community at first welcomes the new highway, only to realize when it is too late that the bypass sucks the lifeblood out of downtown.
The latest case is Lincoln, California (population 42,000). Two days ago, a new bypass was opened around the city. The $325 million, 12-mile bypass will take some 40,000 cars around the city. It is Placer County’s most expensive transportation project ever. Eventually, the bypass will be widened to 4-lanes and made into a full-fledged freeway.
So how is the local business community responding to the new bypass, and lost business?
While interstates, elevated freeways and bypasses have been blamed for the economic decline of many a small-town Main Street, merchants and officials in the financially struggling city of Lincoln say they are excited to have their downtown back.
“It’s the best thing that has happened to Lincoln in years,” said Terrence Dorsey, who runs an investment business in the back of his wife’s clothing boutique on G Street, which takes the existing Highway 65 through town.
Well ok, but what about the experts at the world-renowned Mineta Transporation Institute? Surely they recognize the problem:
Transportation experts say a new bypass isn’t always the death knell for main streets. Reducing traffic creates an opportunity for a more people-friendly downtown, said Rod Diridon Sr., executive director of the Mineta Transportation Institute.
A 2006 study commissioned by the state Transportation Department agreed with Diridon’s assessment, finding that a bypass can lead to increased downtown business activity and other benefits.
Serious question: Has Rod Diridon ever been right about anything?
Systemic Failure 
In Texas on highway 290 between Austin and Houston, I can’t tell you how many times I stopped in either the Pizza Hut or the Sonic in Giddings because I knew it was there. If I was on a bypass I would have never known and never stopped. I probably would have just gone straight home.
[…] the transportation planning philosophy of Hans Monderman, inventor of the “woonerf.” Systemic Failure looks at a California town poised to repeat a familiar narrative: bypass kills Main Street. And […]
Ever been to Arcata or Eureka? Two towns on 101 about 10-15 miles apart from each other in N. CA.
Arcata has a by-pass, though just a few blocks from downtown. The downtown is a great place to hang out, walk around shop, go to restaurants, etc. Many events happen in the Plaza, which is where 101 used to run through.
Eureka has 101 going right through it. It has more strip malls, fast food joints, etc. It does have some nice areas too, though I don’t think it is nearly as nice a place to live, work, play as Arcata.
I’m sure someone could dig out some financial facts to prove that Eureka is benefiting from no by-pass, and Arcata is suffering. However, money isn’t everything.
Yes, I have been to both cities a number of times. The “bypass” (as you call it) in Arcata isn’t a bypass at all; the freeway slices straight through town, creating a barrier along the edge of the HSU campus.
And while Eureka does have its share of strip malls, those are mainly relegated to the outskirts. The downtown area preserves the historic buildings and setbacks. If Eureka were to build a bypass, it would be very detrimental to the downtown, as the city depends heavily on tourist traffic.
Undoubtedly, there are some counter-examples out there where bypasses were beneficial, but I fail to see how that is the case with Arcata/Eureka.
I think it could benefit a town if the town were still right off the new freeway, but all that traffic was no longer going through an overgrown main street. In this case, it turns early and passes quite far away from the downtown, making a “hop off the freeway, hop back on the freeway” not possible.
That new bypass is great! I can see the backs of all those buildings I used to spend money in!
Los Banos will be a big one. Right now their economy is pretty much based around being a rest stop between the CV and the coast. Its even in the damn name of the place.
Guess what, theyre planning a bypass. Genius move!
And the VTA has been helping to fund the studies (next step: use the proposed CAHSR line to greenwash the project).
The other really big bypass project is in Willits. Same story there: a tourist town dependent on the traffic, and yet the Mayor is an enthusiastic supporter.
The trick with most bypass towns is to set up a draw, special events, something that will get them to spend there money there.
As someone who live in Marin county back in the 70’s, where at one time highway 101 ran smack dab through Novato, Ca, its was a nightmare. Traffic would be back up for miles upon miles, its was great those for the Novato PD as they made a ton of money ticketing the people that were using the shoulder as a bypass Before I move to a small town up in northern California, Novato then became a great town to stop and shop.
They need to restrict development along the new bypass to prevent new big box stores from replacing the old main street businesses.
[…] awaited Lincoln bypass to open Monday (SacBee, 2012-10-05); Seen this bad movie before (Systemic Failure, 2012-10-11) Share this:TwitterFacebookLike this:LikeBe the first to like […]
Radiator Springs in its heyday looks like a tough place to have been a pedestrian.
Freeway conversion has the same effects as bypasses. Here in upstate NY, business owners seem to actually understand this; there was substantial opposition to the elevation of Route 17 in Horseheads, which basically eliminated the business district there (which was based around people stopping at stoplights on the highway). It got done anyway though.
[…] awaited Lincoln bypass to open Monday (SacBee, 2012-10-05); Seen this bad movie before (Systemic Failure, […]