The Flyover Liverpool is hoping to follow in the footsteps of New York by creating its own ‘High Line' stretch of panoramic urban parkway from a concrete flyover. The UK city's transport structure currently functions as a series of elevated roads, but the Council is planning to demolish it at an estimated cost of £4 million (US$6.8 million). Now, a group of local designers named ‘Friends of the Flyover' has stepped in to propose an alternative plan: a sky-high park, walkway and venue space.
Featuring a space for arts, music, dance and education events as well as markets, shops and community gardening projects, ‘The Flyover' would reconnect residential communities in Liverpool with the waterfront. Suitable for cyclists and pedestrians, it would offer "a thriving oasis and green lung in the city centre."
"We see it being used by visitors, the public, the museums who overlook it and we see events, markets, shops and cycle lanes," explains Kate Stewart, of Friends of the Flyover.
Having recently raised over £40,000 via a campaign on civic crowdfunding website Spacehive, a research study into the feasibility of the project will now commence.
Elevated urban public green spaces are becoming increasingly popular in global cities, with New York's High Line, built on Manhattan's West Side in June 2009, leading the trend.
Earlier this year British architects Foster + Partners and Exterior Architecture submitted plans to transform London with its high-flying ‘SkyCycle' project, and Chicago's version of the High Line, The 606, is scheduled for completion later this year.
Singapore's Telok Blangah Hill Park also features a network of flyover bridges and walkways, offering visitors a "monkey perspective" on the city.
Source: Relaxnews