In Erie, One City Block Is a Trek of Disrespect

"“I cannot find the type of housing, with neighbors I would want to live with, on the east side,” Mr. Wieczorek added." Wow. Just wow. White man doesn't like the neighborhood, or the people (HMMM WHAT CAN THAT POSSIBLY MEAN), so let's shut it down. There may be some good-faith arguments for not restoring the viaduct, but it's hard to believe in them when nonsense like this is being spoken.

I lived in Erie years ago. Many of the divisions the article discusses were there then, too, but have gotten worse. State Street was the dividing line between East and West, and the east side scored little to no investment. I'm still suprised that the Bayfront Highway was built. It went against what we knew to be an urban planning lesson, and the result is exactly as might have been predicted: cars bypass once vibrant neighborhoods to race elsewhere. Downtown Erie has taken a huge hit since the 1990s. There's been a little development along the bay, but a big chunk of THAT garners no property taxes. There are signs of life, with arts groups and artists moving in, working with groups like PACA. But it's slow going and there's no structure or initiative to attract more people. (Perhaps the city should look into programs where they sell abandoned houses, as Detroit, et al., do, especially to young people willing to invest time and a small amount of money.) I really love Erie, but it's been a city where a few people have historically made decisions that benefit only a few and impact many. That was the case when Lou Tullio was mayor (quite a story in and of itself) and it remains so now. Great people, great potential, but a long, long history of very bad decisions, with a struggling core and a hideous amount of sprawl near the highways to show for it.

Disenfranchised? That means losing the right to vote. Who has been disenfranchised in Erie?

I see myself as an Erie tourist. I come to see and use the Lake. I love to ride my bike,fish and watch a spectacular sunset. The town seems to need some new and different people running the place. I see opportunity...hoping someone else does. Include the people who use and need that bridge. Winters are brutal...the other seasons are sensational and the foods not bad either.

The people making the decisions, the mayor and council and the highway department managers, don't live in these neighborhoods and have no use for the bridge; they drive on the expressway. The people who need and want the bridge are poor and powerless and have little use for the expressway. No matter what is done with the bridge, it will be done the Erie way; cheap and ugly.

I grew up in Erie, arriving when I was in first grade and leaving when I went off to college. I only returned to Erie after my freshman college year to work a summer job. I remember corrupt government, one mayor convicted of bribery, another six-term mayor who had to be taken from office to his deathbed, and GE getting fed up dealing with the city government, thereafter moving its entire white goods factory operation to Louisville KY. What GE had left was its locomotive division, comfortably situated just outside the city line. When International Paper bought Hammermill and moved much of the paper-making elsewhere, this hollowed out the city even more. Closure of steel mills and many small job shops that fabricated useful parts worsened the city. I saw no future in Erie, which is why I returned only to visit family. My mother was long a social case worker, seeing daily the indignities heaped on people of color. In my memory, it was every bit as racist as it is now. Erie, on a greater or lesser scale, is typical of the cities that are the rusty jewels along the old New York Central Railroad line from Albany to Chicago. Racism is all too alive and well in the northern states, too. Our country has many fences to mend.

I was born in Erie. I am saddened to learn that Erie is so terrible a place for African Americans. I am afraid it has been that way for a long time and that should and must change. But this story is about government investment, as much as it is about racism. The McBride Viaduct was built in 1938--a New Deal project. The Bayfront Highway, which is the connector highway mentioned in the article was built with federal funds to connect sections of I 90 and I 79. Erie is a very poor city. Today federal and state funds must be leveraged by people in the private sector in order to get projects built. New York's High Line and the Walkway Over the Hudson in Poughkeepsie near where I live began as private philanthropic projects that eventually attracted government funding. I urge Erie's mayor and civic and philanthropic community to come together and find a way to make this project a reality. Imagine how wonderful it could be as a community- building project! Use the money budgeted for demolition as seed money for a revitalization project!

Erie is just a smaller version of other racist Midwestern cities. They say that the manufacturing jobs are gone, but will not hire an experienced Black welder for the construction projects. South Africa's apartheid fells in comparison to the economic inequality in the Midwest and increasingly growing in Northeastern cities. All this while the significant uptick of both Black male and female college graduates.

This article does not surprise anyone who has spent time in Erie. In a radio interview in the mid 1980s, the conductor of Erie’s symphony orchestra referred to Ray Charles as “a colored boy.” There was no outrage. In fact, no one mentioned or discussed this. Not the local newspaper. Not anyone. The conductor never apologized and neither did the symphony.

"Erie has always been an awful place." "Now I know Buffalo is not the worst of the worst." Why say these things? Didn't you see those great kids? They got out of bed on a cold morning and they're on their way to school. A couple of years of thoughtful spending by the federal government could change Erie utterly. You know, stimulus money-- the government invests one dollar and $1.60 comes back. Conservatives STILL don't like it.

Stories like this make me want to cry. I know when I walk the Skyline, or any number of "white" walkways, that others are suffering without. And then I think of Wakanda, the black African utopia featured in the excellent Black Panther. They wouldn't be having these problems! They would be flying over that viaduct, on air-boards powered by genius and Vibranium! It almost makes me want to scrape my skin off, and become black, to escape the injustice and guilt that comes with being complicit in such disparities of walkway inequality. And then I start thinking, perhaps the best answer is the plot line for Get Out - perhaps things will only get better for black people like these, when white people like me can literally become black, and do a better job of advocating against such gross injustices! But then I wonder if this is a little patronizing, and if I'm playing the part of a white savior. Maybe it's best just to listen. And to cry.

"The area surrounding the bridge is occupied by run down and/or abandoned building and businesses, scrap yards/ recycling centers, that attract some seedy people..." Is this what you'd want spread across the bridge?

Why are students attending school so far away from their neighborhood? Why are drivers paying tax to maintain a pedestrian and bike bridge? Why some people think the city should spend more money on their neighborhood than what the neighborhood paid in tax? There is no free lunch. If you got something for free, someone else is paying for it.

Thankfully my hometown Chicago is not on this list. But Niles Benton Harbor , MI, Peoria IL, Racine and Milwaukee, WI are disturbingly close. It maybe that disparate intent, incompetence, coincidence and disparate impact related to color aka race along with socioeconomics can explain this situation.

Erie, PA is a smaller version of Milwaukee and Chicago in Midwestern cities that continuously disenfranchises Black communities. It is not fair to say Erie is the worst when larger cities have abundant opportunities across various fields yet represent little inclusion despite experienced and educated Black Americans that are accessible in the locality. With the forceful nature of gentrification, it would be kinder to warn local Blacks that they have a couple of years to live comfortably in their almost modest dwellings before we invade by pricing long-time residents out. Funny thing is that those forcing others out might be tasting their own medicine as another group is emerging in great numbers all over the map.

Why is it that every discussion of a city problem goes to race relations? Every city has blacks, browns, whites. They live separately for most people. So what? Does the bridge serve a purpose? That's the issue.

Mr. Wieczorek, I'm also an architect, and I remember when people said similar things about the places where I grew up--Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens. I now live in the Bronx, where in some ways I've sought refuge from the hyper-gentrification (and attendant rise in cost of living) currently plaguing our city. In the Bronx, I live among people of all races and backgrounds who work hard, operate businesses, raise families, own homes and invest back into a place that many still write off in words much like yours. I guess I've found my type of housing, with neighbors I would want to live with. The funny thing is that back when everyone told us NYC was a terrible place, many internalized it and believed it. And they eventually got the heck out, making room for outsiders to swoop in and make a lot of money on the properties they left behind. Hang on, folks, in Erie and in the Bronx. If they want you out, they want you out for a reason.

Well on a positive note, it's good to see that Gary, Indiana is no longer the worst. Who, in their right mind, would move to Erie in this day and age? That decaying hulk of 'a city' makes Buffalo look like it's on the way up!

Bridges like this one need to be treasured, repaired, and used for pedestrians.

I challenge those who diminish the need for viaduct bridge or rethinking the not so pedestrian friendly expressway, I challenge you to give up your car for even a week. Even better, add on the care of young relatives during this carless week. At the end of it, tell me how you feel about expressways and how inconsequential a block out of your way is.

Present occupants need to solely clean up their community problems the way past successful subalterns built up thriving communities minus endless failing government swag. And when hip Progressive idealistic young whites offer well meaning help to desperately failing communities, ungrateful minorities end up resenting "white savior" wannabes.

What does that Mr. Wieczorek mean, "move them to other neighborhoods?" Is he going to pay for their new fancy housing? Or can they all move in with him? That is the entire point of poverty dum-dum, these people cannot afford to move into "other neighborhoods." Its an open secret that the richest nation on Earth punishes it poor- millions for Trump the Bum to golf, no money so kids don't have to risk their precious lives crossing a dangerous bridge. Residents don't bother showing up for town hall meetings because they no longer bother with America, a land of lies.

Erie, PA has always been an awful place. It foesn;t look much better than it did when I used to pass through it in the sixties. And obvious, it hasn't made any progress with its diversity and social justice. I'd imagine it would rank very high as one of America's worst places to live.

The Viaduct conversation, which has been going on for years now, is a prime example of the overarching issue of the city's lack of investment in certain neighborhoods, which fosters hopelessness and the symptoms of it. While the issue of saving or destroying a bridge may not seem like it has significant weight, it is driven by the conversation of who is worth investing in- a conversation that in Erie has continually left behind certain groups of people (cutting off neighborhoods, creating food deserts, the state failing repetitively to fund Erie's public schools adequately, closure of public schools). As long as the city continues to tell groups of people that they are not worth investing in, the symptoms of hopelessness (crime, drug usage, etc) will prevail. Comments such as this one from Mr. Wieczorek- “I cannot find the type of housing, with neighbors I would want to live with, on the east side,” Mr. Wieczorek added. “We need to prepare people to move out of those neighborhoods.” show this disposable attitude towards a large portion of our community. (Where exactly do you propose these people move to? And what happens to the neighborhood then?) Furthermore, anyone who has basic knowledge of the city can tell that this comment from Mr. Wieczorek is blatantly racist and xenophobic. Hope comes through investment, and treating sections of the city as disposable will not create the future that Erie is working towards.

Though I have not lived in Erie full-time since I graduated from high school in 1977, and now I rarely return, but I remember it as an idyllic place to grow up. It was safe and quiet, and if the winters were harsh, the beautiful summers made up for them. I am sure that even then there was much wrong of which I was unaware. But it is unspeakably tragic that what was once a great hometown to me and many of my age is now rated the worst city in the country for African-Americans. How could this have happened? And can it ever be reversed?

Go to Google Maps or Street View or something similar, and follow the path. There's a good sidewalk on the Parkway. On the north end, you have to cross 12th St., which looks wide and busy. It could be made better with inexpensively built pedestrian access to the south side of 12th St. Other than that, the Bayshore Parkway access looks excellent and is 1 short block away. There are a whole lot of other arguments and emotions at play here but, at heart, the Parkway sidewalk is an acceptable substitute for a decaying bridge that no one can afford to maintain.

I think people commenting on this article that never lived in Erie have no idea how pointless this bridge actually is. The only people affected by this bridge being torn down will be people that need to walk between the two points. You go from about a half mile to cross between the two points to roughly 2 miles. Cars haven't been allowed on this bridge for years and even if they were this distance is negligible. The area surrounding the bridge is occupied by run down and/or abandoned building and businesses, scrap yards/ recycling centers, that attract some seedy people. I've taken scrap metal for recycling to both businesses in the area and have been uncomfortable being in the area every time even being in my own vehicle and with someone. Maybe I'm just a pansy but I can assure anyone I would not ever use that bridge to get from what is effectively the Buffalo Road side to the East 12th side. I would sooner walk the extra mile and a half.

There is no oxygen ($) left after all the war we have been waging. The political class has been paying more attention to the rest of the world, spending billions into trillions, and Erie can't get 6 million to fix a piece of Pennsylvania infrastructure. Another reason, among many, why the presidential election turned out like it dd.

An important article that the comments better help me understand.

This article would have made more sense if removing the McBride Viaduct would actually severe the only connection that exists between the two neighborhoods. A quick look at the site via Google Maps reveals, however, that that's probably not the case. First, the E. Bayfront Pkwy can carry people and bicyclists over the same tracks via a protected lane called the "Bayfront Bikeway" (see the picture of Traivyon, Kiahra, and Shalee). Second, the Bayfront Bikeway and the McBride Viaduct are connected at a point near the north end of Commercial Street (south side of the tracks and next to a RR overpass). And third, the Bayfront Bikeway and the McBride Viaduct both intersect E 12th St (north side of the tracks), just a block apart. So, is the volume of people walking across the viaduct worth the cost of repairing the viaduct and, for some, the cost of walking another block?

I'm curious about the holdings (those related to real estate and construction companies, in specific) of those on the City Council who're making decisions about the maintenance and construction of roads. People who seek these low-level government positions are, typically, doing so for reasons of vanity or personal economic gain--typically, both. It's a cynical take on local politics, but that doesn't make it inaccurate.

This article uses the type of speech common in news reporting about cities like Erie: "Then the factories [or the jobs] started disappearing." This language always lacks any indication of causation Factories [or jobs] are not animate objects. Thy don't have legs, or wheels, or intent. They don't just vaporize at night while a town is sleeping. "Corporations, always searching for cheaper labor and more lax environmental regulations, abandoned Erie, a trend assisted by 'free' trade agreements which protected the opportunities of corporations but not the security of American workers." Now, that would be getting somewhere. Because his is not just something that "happened" to passive Erie. It's something that was DONE to Erie, and dozens of blue-collar American towns like Erie. And the entities which did it are readily identifiable, and our national legislature and executive, regardless of party, were, and remain, politically in bed with them. So we're headed for an economy where there won't be many jobs between software engineer and Walmart greeter. And, of course, the ever-reliable medicine and lawsuits. And meanwhile, we import our own underwear. It's crazy, it's self-destructive, and, as Erie, shows, it has caused immense suffering. One of the things never discussed in American political and economic life is: What, and whom, is "The Economy" for. The functional (though unspoken) answer is: It's for the profits of corporations, and speculators in their stocks.

Latching on to this decrepit bridge is just dwelling in the past. Erie is having a hard time moving toward the present, let alone the future. I went to school in the south and have lived in New England and out west. Some of the locals need to get out of town a little and see the world beyond their parochial views.

I wished the article addressed whether the Viaduct could be economically rehabbed into a safe pedestrian-only crossing over the expressway. That seems to be what the community needs.

"One city block may not seem far. But to those who have to walk it, it can seem like another unfair burden..." This is where I stopped reading. America has an obesity "epidemic," yet lazy pedestrians cannot be bothered to walk an additional 250 feet? Because racism? Come on.

Looks like the bridge is beyond saving and past it's expected lifespan. What comes after is a matter best left to the locals who know what would best meet their needs. Framing it as a race issue is not helpful and a waste of time. Send city officials door to door this spring and hear from the locals as to what they would like to see happen.

I grew up in the neighborhood and had relatives who worked at Erie City Ironworks which is shown next to the bridge. This neglect has persisted for decades both at a structural level, as well as the implicit in the racism show in Mr. Wieczorek: “I cannot find the type of housing, with neighbors I would want to live with, on the east side,” Mr. Wieczorek added. Nice Polish, Catholic boy, I’m sure....I recognize him in my former neighbors and relatives. Deplorable.

When you think about Erie, think about Toronto or Buffalo or even Cleveland. All that natural beauty in Northwest Pennsylvania, and all that want of imagination to make something of it. The last thing you want to do if you are really serious about urban renewal is to build parking lots. Parking lots make it easier for people to leave the city at night without contributing any kind of business or attraction that make cities attractive places to live and not just work. Parking lots also take up a lot of real estate and make people feel unsafe because they are so empty and isolated.

There are so many factors at work her; most of them a function of the structural changes that the rust belt has gone through. Some cities, like mine, found a way to move on, grow and thrive after the massive deindustrialization of our nation. For various reasons, cities like Erie, have not. I believe it's a matter of scale. Remove some steel mills from Pittsburgh and it hurts, but remove those same industries from a smaller city and it's a death blow. This isn't about a single, decaying viaduct, it's about our nation's ability to adapt and move on. Both Democrats and Republicans have talked about our "crumbling infrastructure," but so far it has just been that; talk.

This article definitely wasn't written by an engineer, but the photos providing a visual description of the problem gives hope to the actual problem. Who is actually making the decisions as it pertains to infrastructure? [As shown in the photos, there is a purpose and need for the viaduct. It is still a good idea.] Infrastructure is needed everywhere, not just where Wall Street wants to fund projects - which is allowable by law in the US. The actual writer of the article has an international background, and I am pleasantly surprised the US hasn't been mandated by the United Nations to fix certain infrastructure problems yet. The article points out a critical point; the loudest and most wealthiest mouths still dictate where infrastructure moneys are spent. Urban areas around the country, including Camden, NJ; Trenton, NJ; and Newark, NJ have similar problems.

Look to your neighbor, Buffalo, for ideas that are faster and cheaper when it comes to development ideas. The Congress for New Urbanism can also help. I have driven the Bayfront to get to Presque Isle a number of times. It was a huge mistake. If you want to turn things around listen to what your residents want. Factory jobs are never coming back.

This broken bridge and our failing infrastructure no longer support the myth of American democracy. We walk ginger footed amongst the rubble of hope.

Bridges are for more than just moving people from one point to another...they are put there to overcome obstacles and and smooth the way. Figuratively they provide hope and I suspect the loss of this bridge will just be another nail in the coffin of despair that so many inner cities struggle with. Cost cannot always be weighed in dollars and cents but must be balanced with the greater good of lives and what the ultimate cost may really be is the people,

Thank you for this excellent article! I live in Erie and I can say unequivocally that city hall does not care about the east side, they are obsessed with making money "downtown".

The McBride Viaduct has been crumbling for decades. It is an eyesore, and a thorn in the side of the businesses that lie underneath. Those businesses could grow if the viaduct was gone. The Bayfront Highway has a safe sidewalk barricaded from the road ,barricaded from the snow that snow plows throw. There is a pedestrian entrance to the Bayfront Highway sidewalk less than a block from the entrance to the McBride Viaduct. This doesn't involve climbing over any barriers. Let's move forward in Erie, not backward.

To say this is about “race relations” or “how a city treats its poorer residents” makes it sound like people of different races just not getting along or that this just is about poverty. In fact, the article describes the kind of deep structural racism that has been the mainstay of so many of our cities since the 1960s and that we read about time and time again. Whites in power. Separate municipal tax bases. White neighborhoods with money, infrastructure, good schools. People of colour politically disengaged or, worse, victims of voter suppression, clustered with rotting public schools, crumbling infrastructure, etc. but to be sure lots of police. Americans from, say, the 1920s would recognize all of this for what it is and would probably also applaud us for having got rid of the notion of “separate but equal”. But please, don’t call this “race relations” or “how a city treats its poorer residents”. Call it out for what it is.

Nothing demonstrates our current predicament better than the HUDSON YARD LUXURY DEVELOPMENT advertisement featuring a swimming pool that pops up with the article, and comparing that with the journalistic photos of this reportage. We have the society we have because, apparently, we want it that way.

This is a fantastic article. Thank you.