Bill Russell Bridge | North Washington St.

vanshnookenraggen said:
I don't love the design but I do love the ped/cycle tracks on both sides. I'll eat my hat if they actually plant trees on it or if they do that the trees actually survive.
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My exact thoughts. It looks amazing, but will it happen?

Also, I dont see a dedicated lane for the seaport-charlestown streetcar?
 
vanshnookenraggen said:
I don't love the design but I do love the ped/cycle tracks on both sides. I'll eat my hat if they actually plant trees on it or if they do that the trees actually survive.
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I also love the space of the ped & cycle tracks, talk about a dramatic difference.

But the real question will be how each of the four ends will be through connected to Washington St and the adjacent river paths.

Will it seamlessly merge with Washington St again?
Will there be a direct connection to the Charles River Path? Or Lovejoy Wharf?
How about direct connection to Charles River Ave on the Charlestown side?
 
The trees are insane. Trees on a bridge? It's like snakes on a plane.
 
Sometimes it's good to have infrastructure that looks nice. It makes the city a more enjoyable place to be!
 
Matthew said:
The trees are insane. Trees on a bridge? It's like snakes on a plane.
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I say they should delete the trees right now in favor of a "built" canopy, such as are used in the East Boston Piers Park to create a sense of space around the benches on its promenade:
Piers%20Park.jpg


'cept you'd do it with materials to complement the steel "whale bones" arch.
 
Matthew said:
The trees are insane. Trees on a bridge? It's like snakes on a plane.
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I actually like the trees... but...

They are not going to work. The roots will freeze because of the exposure and they will die. So they will not make the final design.
 
The trees and the grass look like weeds in the renderings, at least.

I guess I'm a minimalist at heart, and I like a good dose of urban grit in the mix as well. But not trees and plants.
 
Arlington said:
I think the trellis is fairly important for making the bridge walkable. It is a long bridge and if it weren't punctuated it'd look intimidatingly empty (like City Hall Plaza), and if it were too enclosed, that'd be bad too. It's fairly hard to get the right balance between too narrow and too wide, and I think this is as decent a try as you'll get while also balancing cost and usability.
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This is an excellent point. While it's seemingly obvious, it's not something I had thought of before. Well said Arlington.
 
JeffDowntown said:
I actually like the trees... but...

They are not going to work. The roots will freeze because of the exposure and they will die. So they will not make the final design.
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...and the road salt spray is just going to make them die faster when the roots aren't deep enough.

I suspect parks dept. or DCR are going to poke some holes in the logic of that one. Potted plantings, yes...that would be worthwhile if somebody maintains them. Rooted plants, no.
 
Arlington said:
I think the trellis is fairly important for making the bridge walkable. It is a long bridge and if it weren't punctuated it'd look intimidatingly empty (like City Hall Plaza), and if it were too enclosed, that'd be bad too. It's fairly hard to get the right balance between too narrow and too wide, and I think this is as decent a try as you'll get while also balancing cost and usability.
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It is currently terrible from a pedestrian perspective. I agree that it needs more than a simple sidewalk to make the walk to Charlestown an attractive option. So overall, I like it, but where is the LRT line to Charlestown going to fit?
 
What happens to the 111 during this project? Sure as hell glad I no longer have to take the 426 bus. The Tobin was bad enough, but when this bridge shuts down, it is going to be a complete shitshow for the entire area.
 
FK4 said:
They could do Wisteria...
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It should love those whalebones/trellises things, but to everyone else's point, will it tolerate the salt and frozen roots?
 
BostonUrbEx said:
What happens to the 111 during this project? Sure as hell glad I no longer have to take the 426 bus. The Tobin was bad enough, but when this bridge shuts down, it is going to be a complete shitshow for the entire area.
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How are they mitigating traffic for this one? It's the only bridge connecting Charlestown to Boston proper.
 
BostonUrbEx said:
What happens to the 111 during this project? Sure as hell glad I no longer have to take the 426 bus. The Tobin was bad enough, but when this bridge shuts down, it is going to be a complete shitshow for the entire area.
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They should replace them with the duck tours vehicles.
 
So I guess they are just going to close the crossing while it's under construction?
 
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