It was -- nice photo, by the way, probably Catherine Street shot from the roof of what's now the U-Haul building? -- but it didn't receive the same arterial/feeder treatment that 81 in the Almond corridor did. And that's what really wrecks the atmosphere and the real estate value. That, and the subsequent disinvestment in adjacent properties.
Along 690, there wasn't much development south of the viaduct and there wasn't much connectivity in the street grid between north and south because of the topography and historical uses (canal and railroad). So while 690 created a wider scar, it didn't diminish the neighborhood because there wasn't much neighborhood to speak of (though there's a reason the blocks of Burnet adjacent to 690 remain the largest ungentrified portion of Hawley-Green). And there's still a more or less urban connection at Catherine, North Crouse, and Beech Streets because there's no redundant surface feeder system for the expressway.
