Boston Common Overhaul

^ two things I liked about this story.

1) We're finally hearing about integration with an overall master plan for the Common (instead of this being some independent, side-effort)

2) They are asking a lot of the right questions about material durability, maintainability, as well as overall long-term maintenance expenses/planning

I was at first grumpy that it was delayed a couple of months, but now at least am satisfied with the activity going on during the time frame.

Really hoping this can be an impactful addition to the Common
 
It has been kind of embarassing/astounding that the Common has had worse materials and sorrier grass and paths than other parks in boston (e.g. Christopher Columbus park, Post Office Square, Seaport waterfront)
 
Arlington said:
It has been kind of embarassing/astounding that the Common has had worse materials and sorrier grass and paths than other parks in boston (e.g. Christopher Columbus park, Post Office Square, Seaport waterfront)
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Fits with the vibe, imo. Hopefully the improvements won’t make the common feel too manicured.
 
^ Maybe I'm too suburban (I mow my own small lawn), but whenever I've been on the Common, I get this internal angst: "I wish there was something I could do to help" / "There's a cry for help just below my threshold of hearing" whereas the other parks (more Disney-fied, admittedly) simply invite me to relax.
 
dshoost88 said:
First Look: Proposed Updates to the Boston Common

Article's behind a paywall, but photo slideshow should be accessible.
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Looks really good. Cant wait for the mlk memorial especially. The best part to me by far though is all of the new trees. Theres not enough right now. Ive alwayssss felt like there should be way more trees. Its kind of half assed right now where the trees are too spaced out. I really want to see a canopy where the trees are and then open where need be. Go all the way not half way. This looks good.
 
stick n move said:
Looks really good. Cant wait for the mlk memorial especially. The best part to me by far though is all of the new trees. Theres not enough right now. Ive alwayssss felt like there should be way more trees. Its kind of half assed right now where the trees are too spaced out. I really want to see a canopy where the trees are and then open where need be. Go all the way not half way. This looks good.
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Just wait for the shadow laws on the Common to kick in.
 
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www.bostonglobe.com

Hereâs how Boston Common could look in 10 years - The Boston Globe

Here’s a look at some of the ways the roughly 50-acre space could be transformed, a process that could be rolled out over the next decade.
www.bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com

www.bostonglobe.com

A new master plan could help transform Boston Common into a âbetter versionâ of itself - The Boston Globe

The 362-page blueprint, which city officials and nonprofit leaders released Wednesday, calls for both ambitious new projects and more subtle improvements over the next decade.
www.bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com

The 362 page master plan can be found here. Have at it.

https://www.bostoncommonmasterplan.com/
 
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Boston Common Overhaul

^ two things I liked about this story. 1) We're finally hearing about integration with an overall master plan for the Common (instead of this being some independent, side-effort) 2) They are asking a lot of the right questions about material durability, maintainability, as well as overall...
archboston.com
 
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LOL. This is news to me. Since when has the Common been known as the "people's park"? Sounds very Communist China.

I think I'll start using that moniker in conversation and see how it goes over:

"I'm going for a stroll in the people's park. Want to join me?"

"When I lived in Back Bay I used to park in the people's garage that's directly underneath the people's park."

"Dear Friends of the Public Garden, I think you should consider a change of name to "The People's Garden". That way you can capitalize on the brand name recognition of the adjacent people's park, which would be of enormous values in your fundraising efforts."


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4 Virtual Open Discussion Forums and 4,321 Online Survey Respondents is 3 Virtual Open Discussion Forums and 4,221 Online Survey Respondents too many. I learned this first hand by attending some of the innumerable meetings, presentations, workshops, etc. that were held to discuss what the Big Dig parks should look like, especially the Wharf District Parks. All that those discussions, community input, editorials, op-eds, etc. led to was some unimaginative, mediocre, and underfunded parks.

By contrast, the Fan Pier parks didn't have so much publicity and fanfare and public participation as far as I'm aware, but managed to turn out better.

Object lesson: increasing presentations, participation, etc. by a factor of 1000 doesn't necessarily lead to a 1000 times better result. Just like sometimes less is more, sometimes less gets better results.
 
xec said:
LOL. This is news to me. Since when has the Common been known as the "people's park"? Sounds very Communist China.

I think I'll start using that moniker in conversation and see how it goes over:

"I'm going for a stroll in the people's park. Want to join me?"

"When I lived in Back Bay I used to park in the people's garage that's directly underneath the people's park."

"Dear Friends of the Public Garden, I think you should consider a change of name to "The People's Garden". That way you can capitalize on the brand name recognition of the adjacent people's park, which would be of enormous values in your fundraising efforts."
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Very amusing examples. That said, while it's not a common (no pun intended) name for the Common, I did a brief bit of searching and found references to the Common describing it as ("a" or "the") people's park, including in a New York Times article from the '60s, and what would appear to be the records of a public meeting in the 1870s, so there's definitely some historical validity to the term being used as a (somewhat poetical) description of the Common, rather than specifically a name. (Perhaps the modern equivalent would have "Boston Common" being the name and then "The People's Park" as the slogan underneath the name as part of a logo, perhaps translated into Latin for extra pretentiousness.) Doesn't change the oddness of focusing on such a relatively-obscure moniker in the publicity statements, though, as you succinctly and hilariously demonstrated.
 
It was such an *open and robust public process,* they depleted the Downtown Staples' entire inventory of Stick-its in order to execute their *community stakeholder visioning sessions*...
 
xec said:
nQLm5Hy.jpg


LOL. This is news to me. Since when has the Common been known as the "people's park"? Sounds very Communist China.

I think I'll start using that moniker in conversation and see how it goes over:

"I'm going for a stroll in the people's park. Want to join me?"

"When I lived in Back Bay I used to park in the people's garage that's directly underneath the people's park."

"Dear Friends of the Public Garden, I think you should consider a change of name to "The People's Garden". That way you can capitalize on the brand name recognition of the adjacent people's park, which would be of enormous values in your fundraising efforts."


YOyzK7g.jpg


4 Virtual Open Discussion Forums and 4,321 Online Survey Respondents is 3 Virtual Open Discussion Forums and 4,221 Online Survey Respondents too many. I learned this first hand by attending some of the innumerable meetings, presentations, workshops, etc. that were held to discuss what the Big Dig parks should look like, especially the Wharf District Parks. All that those discussions, community input, editorials, op-eds, etc. led to was some unimaginative, mediocre, and underfunded parks.

By contrast, the Fan Pier parks didn't have so much publicity and fanfare and public participation as far as I'm aware, but managed to turn out better.

Object lesson: increasing presentations, participation, etc. by a factor of 1000 doesn't necessarily lead to a 1000 times better result. Just like sometimes less is more, sometimes less gets better results.
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Actually, as the oldest public space in the original 13 Colonies it was "discovered" by the Puritans as a perfect grazing area for cattle. They came upon the Rev. Blackstone, who had built a home on the hill. He was a kind of hermit from England who settled in with the Native tribes. He graciously allowed the Puritans to use "his" land for their cattle. They drove the cows from the North End (originally English, then Irish, then Italian/Greek/Jewish) down "Trimount" (Tremont) Street to the Common, which had very few trees and lots of grazing land. Thus, it should be called "The Cow's Park" if you want to be really historical. The area was surmounted by three peaks: Mount Vernon, Pemberton Hill, and Beacon Hill. All three peaks were eventually torn down to create land for housing and the State House rear extension, and the Common itself was gradually planted with many trees and crisscrossed by walkways, finally being surrounded by cast iron fencing and gates in the Victorian era (which fencing was contributed to the 20th C war effort and eventually replaced with replicas (save for some of the gates...Tremont street side finally has replacement fences). Please note that until the Back Bay was filled in, Charles street was part of the Charles River. Soldiers would muster along that border of the Common. There's much more history about the Common (NEVER Commons) to be told and plenty of sources.
 
I walked the Boston Common via the Tremont Street Edge near the Park Station T last week, and it seemed kind of run down. It was mid-afternoon, but there seemed to be quite few homeless people laying on benches in the park.
 
Java King said:
I walked the Boston Common via the Tremont Street Edge near the Park Station T last week, and it seemed kind of run down. It was mid-afternoon, but there seemed to be quite few homeless people laying on benches in the park.
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I don't know why the city accepts this kind of degradation in one of its biggest tourist attractions. The number of stabbings every year in this corner of the park is unacceptable
 
Java King said:
I walked the Boston Common via the Tremont Street Edge near the Park Station T last week, and it seemed kind of run down. It was mid-afternoon, but there seemed to be quite few homeless people laying on benches in the park.
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It has become seedier since Covid. Unfortunately, one of the tour companies has or is thinking of moving where they start their tours away from the Visitors Center in the Common to elsewhere due to conditions in the area. Maybe 10 or 15 years ago they fixed up the plaza around Brewer Fountain and it was a pretty nice turnaround for the area to the point I would have lunch there at the tables around the fountain. Since Covid that area has declined and has become too seedy for me to want to eat lunch there. The area is composed of a lot of people with serious mental health and drug problems camped out for the day. Drug use out in the open is much more prevalent than it was 5 years ago. Also, mixed in are slightly disoriented tourists as well as locals walking to the T station or passing through heading elsewhere.
 
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