The study found that removal of the one-mile highway would result in an increase of 11,500 vehicle miles traveled (VMT) per day in the surrounding area by 2015, 5% more than a no-change scenario. In other words, without the Sheridan, cars and trucks on nearby streets will travel one-third mile per vehicle more per day, the equivalent of six city blocks. Even this relatively small increase may be over-blown as it is unclear whether the analysis incorporates the fact that elimination of the expressway could result in fewer car trips.

A London study found that the closure of a road or a lane in the city generally causes 20% of all users to find other modes of travel, not just other routes. Examples of this effect have also been seen in NYC: traffic counts two years after the West Side Highway collapsed in 1973 showed that only 47% of the vehicles on the road five years before returned once it reopened. Of the 53% of drivers turned away, all but 7% were found to have begun using other forms of travel. Similarly, since the closure of one lane on the Bruckner-Sheridan Interchange in 1990, the interchange has seen an 8-20% decrease in traffic and 17-20% fewer vehicles drive the Bruckner Expressway/Bruckner Boulevard.

Worries that decommissioning the Sheridan may worsen air quality in the area are also unfounded. If the road is replaced with a park, as many local community groups desire, the open green space and extra trees would help to clean the air, as well as provide much needed open space for the area.

Read our concept paper, Redundant Roadway, to learn why the Sheridan should be eliminated.