# Multi-level streets



## jlawrance123 (Aug 16, 2006)

I know that there are areas in downtown Chicago with 2-level and even 3-level streets. What other cities have this feature? I've heard Hong Kong does, but i would love to see pictures of these and others examples.


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## Skyrazer (Sep 9, 2009)

Shanghai:


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## diz (Nov 1, 2005)

Here's one in Ortigas, Metro Manila


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## Plateau Mont-Royal (Sep 21, 2009)

Montreal









http://www.flickr.com/photos/christopherdewolf/3140353521/









http://www.flickr.com/photos/christopherdewolf/2121267001/


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## Pansori (Apr 26, 2006)

Bangkok has got an extensive toll motorway network all around the city most of which is elevated above other streets or even buildings. There's also the longest elevated motorway stretch in the world (Bang Na Expressway which is 54 Km long)




















Some video footage


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## Latin l0cO (Nov 8, 2004)

Mexico City has a double deck highway known as the periferico. Altogether it's 18 lanes of expressway(6 on top, 6 on the bottom) with local lateral lanes.


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## RonnieR (Jul 13, 2007)

Manila:




























Originally posted by Absinthe 888: 
Airport Interchange








http://www.aeroeyeasia.com/lowres/naia-expressway1.jpg

*Manila Skyway *
flickr by petalfin


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## tpe (Aug 10, 2005)

Wacker Drive, Chicago (3 levels in some places).


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## jpsolarized (May 3, 2009)

wow, multi level streets are THE BEST.

do you know which is the street with more levels in the world?


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## -Corey- (Jul 8, 2005)

It might be in Southern California, we have one in San Diego with 4 to 5 levels near QUalcomm Stadium. I think is the I-15


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## mhays (Sep 12, 2002)

I thought this was about streets, not freeways.


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## Bulevardi (Jul 19, 2007)

http://maps.google.be/?ie=UTF8&ll=50.891759,4.455224&spn=0.004162,0.011362&t=k&z=17










http://maps.google.be/?ie=UTF8&ll=50.876306,4.274958&spn=0.004163,0.011362&t=k&z=17


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## bayviews (Mar 3, 2006)

Skyrazer said:


> Shanghai:


This elevated maze in Shanghai bears more a little resemblence to what Boston spent 14 billion to tear down, the "Big Dig!" 

Would've been a lot cheaper to just ship Boston's maze over to Shanghai!


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## philadweller (Oct 30, 2003)

Those are some fascinating photos of Montreal. You really see some of the 1960's buildings in those scenes. Almost looks like an Russian city. I like that feel even though I know that much of Montreal is full of charming 1800s rowhomes with elaborate staircases..


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## Manila-X (Jul 28, 2005)

jlawrance123 said:


> I know that there are areas in downtown Chicago with 2-level and even 3-level streets. What other cities have this feature? I've heard Hong Kong does, but i would love to see pictures of these and others examples.


Its more *highways* than streets.

As for HK, definitely it does!


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## zaphod (Dec 8, 2005)

yes, its streets not expressways. Even Wichita Falls, TX has an elevated highway over surface street arrangement.

In Chicago the top level is local traffic and you enter buildings from the sidewalk, while the bottom is for through traffic and in a few places has the loading docks and utility entrances to buildings at basement level.

I know parts of downtown LA also have multilevel streets, Grand Ave and Bunker Hill. The financial district is partly on a what used to be a prominent hill that over time has been altered and excavated to be flat to accomodate development, and some features like tunnels, overpasses and basements of towers are all carved out of this natural topography


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## Chicagoago (Dec 2, 2005)

Wait, are just talking about stacked freeways and expressways?

I thought it was suppose to be about true multi-levels streets.

Chicago has Wacker Drive, which is a 6 lane road that runs through downtown with stoplights and sidewalks like any other street for around 20 blocks.

Then directly below that, you have another 4 lane road with very limited stoplights and NO pedestrian access running the full 20 blocks.

You wouldn't know you're driving on top of a 4 lane roadway from the top level, and from the bottom level you pretty much feel like you're driving down a brightly lit tunnel. There are maybe 4-5 exit points from the bottom level up to the top level.

It was designed as a fast way to let people drive from the southwest corner of the CBD to the Northeast corner and connect with Lakeshore Drive without disrupting the surface level or having a full out expressway ripping through downtown.


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## Chicagoago (Dec 2, 2005)

The other is on the East end of downtown. You have an entire area with highrises that are built around a uniform design of up to three levels of streets running on top of each other.

You have the main surface level streets with limited local traffic and all the pedestrian walkways. Then you have a middle level with building access and through streets. Then you have the lowest level of streets that are used for loading and unloading, services, trash pickup, docks, etc. There are ramps here and there that let you go up and down, down and up, up and up, down and down, etc.

There are also bridges over the river downtown that are multiple levels. Local access for services on the lower level, then the upper level with main pedestrian and through traffic.


Even north of the river there are some limited streets that run on two levels. Many of the north-south streets are actually running one level up from the East-West streets directly north of the river. Michigan Ave actually runs over a few streets that you don't really realize are there. Likewise Grand and Illinois actually run straight under many of the north-south streets.


A lot of this developed because the entire city was raised back in the 1800's, and the ground level, or entrance level, is actually one story up from where the building hits the earth - making room for multiple level roadways. The surface level in Chicago is actually higher than it needs to be regarding the water table. So what should be the "ground level" in many buildings is actually part of their basement if you're hitting a button on the elevator. You could hit "basement" on the elevator, get off, go through a door and actually be outside - you'd just be under a jacked up roadway.

Then there were the railroads that use to run north of the river. Roads were developed above all the tracks - so when the tracks were removed and given back to street and building development, it was able to happen "below grade" and still be on "ground level".

Streets:

Beaubien Court 
Columbus Drive (triple decker) 
Hubbard Street 
Illinois Street 
LaSalle Street 
Lake Street (triple decker) 
Lake Shore Drive (including a double-decker bridge over the Chicago River) 
Michigan Avenue (including a double-decker bridge over the Chicago River) 
Randolph Street (triple decker) 
North Harbor Drive 
Stetson Avenue (triple decker) 
Wabash Avenue 
Wacker Drive (triple decker) 
Wacker Place 
North Water Street 
South Water Street (triple decker)


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

Quite typical in Osaka.


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## castermaild55 (Sep 8, 2005)

*tokyo*


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## itom 987 (Sep 12, 2002)

Chongqing has an excellent network of multi-level pedestrian orientated streets as well as freeways and roads. I'm surprised no one has posted any photos of Chongqing yet.


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## tnywtson (Nov 21, 2009)

Amazing Photographey,i am wonder how people thought like that and make a unbeliever thing.its wonderful...........


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## mgk920 (Apr 21, 2007)

In those other cities, those are mainly elevated freeways/tollways, whereas in Chicago they are true streets. Chicago's first multi-level streets were set up in the very early 20th century as a way of cutting down on street congestion - by moving building service access away from other surface traffic. They built up the streets, moving many building lobbies to what had been their second floors and reserving their former first floors as loading docks and so forth. Much of that still functions like that today.

Over the years, lower-level Wacker Drive evolved into the über-handy connection between Lake Shore Drive and the Eisenhower Expressway that we know and love today.

Mike


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## GL_abxt (Nov 15, 2009)

It's quite normal in big cities.


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## Martin S (Sep 12, 2002)

Multi-level streets can also be for pedestrians. This is South John Street in Liverpool:


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## NCT (Aug 14, 2009)

Martin S said:


> Multi-level streets can also be for pedestrians. This is South John Street in Liverpool:


That's more of a shopping centre without a roof though - but a bloody good idea - beats the bog-standard shopping centre any day! Must pay Liverpool a visit some time...

Edit - done some digging on the net - this really is some ingeneous development idea - a street-based shopping centre - captures the best of both worlds!


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## Martin S (Sep 12, 2002)

NCT said:


> That's more of a shopping centre without a roof though - but a bloody good idea - beats the bog-standard shopping centre any day! Must pay Liverpool a visit some time...
> 
> Edit - done some digging on the net - this really is some ingeneous development idea - a street-based shopping centre - captures the best of both worlds!


This is part of the Liverpool One retail development that opened last year. The developers did not want to create a mall type shopping centre and so decided to make use of the existing street plan (plus some new streets and access passages). South John Street is the only one that gets that multi-level treatment but the walkways work as they link not only shops but also a park / restaurant area and a cinema complex. 

This is the second time that Liverpool has gone in for a pedestrian walkway system - the earlier one created in the 60s and 70s and designed to separate pedestrians from traffic proved a failure and has been almost completely removed now. As you can see, this one has been a lot more successful.


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## TheCanadianEuro (Oct 4, 2009)

Toronto,Canada has the elevated Gardiner downtown over Lakeshore Drive if I am not mistaken,not even frightfully dark under there.


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## philvia (Jun 22, 2006)

there's plenty in nyc, but the most obvious i think is the BQE around brooklyn heights. 3 levels of roadway with pedestrian promenade on top of that..


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