Bulfinch Crossing | Congress Street Garage | West End

Equilibria said:
And oh boy, did people on this site hate it when it was proposed...
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Yup. Still not a fan of that 5 over 1 red brick landscraper next to the Greenway. Personally would've liked less of a long continuum and more detailed/variety in storefronts, etc in that particular place. Seems not as urban as it could've been.

I get it - - low slung landscrapers are easier economic hanging fruit for developers - - I simply like dynamic cities, not suburbanized ones. This particular location would have been perfect for some clubs and (in the words of Menino) a more "Ionic" building, or set of buildings.

I don't hate it - - to me, it just symbolizes another "Boston Bunt".

Just my opinion. Everyone is entitled to their own.
 
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They've moved the fences along New Chardon back a bit so pedestrians don't have to walk in the road anymore. Hopefully Congress St access comes next week:


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AmericanFolkLegend said:
Work to start on reopening Congress Street soon. The goal is to have half the road open for northbound traffic by September. Not sure what the timeline is for southbound traffic.
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I was extremely skeptical of this timeline quoted upthread (posted in July), but somehow they barely slipped this one in. Great to see.
 
as of 10/12.
 

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Smartiro said:
Isn't there supposed to be another residential tower wrapping remains of the garage? Any word on it?
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Remember that HYM is also trying to keep Suffolk Downs going... I wouldn't be surprised if they're just trying to hold out for lower interest rates.
 
Charlie_mta said:
Looks like the layout for a Rte.128 office park.
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Like… it had its own lane, so it’s not like cars waiting to take a right will cause backup. I just don’t really get it—what does this accomplish? Absolutely nothing other than when cars turn right they do so at a higher speed. It does not increase flow since it’s still a stoplight-controlled right turn. So it literally would have done nothing other than enhanced safety (and added more public space) to have had the right turn at the main intersection. This is what I’m talking about when I rail about the brainlessness of the officials making decisions here. There is no rational reason other than lack of brain cells that would lead anyone to preserve this traffic patter, UGH.
 
I mean... Look at the angle of that intersection. You might not like the idea of a slip lane, but here it's both light controlled and I suspect required by geometry. if you move the intersection up to the main junction, most cars would have an issue making the right turn around the point of the island, let alone trucks heading to 93/Callahan. As discussed upthread, If you radius the island to allow for those turns, then your crosswalk isn't straight / is significantly longer, and creates a new issue of turning blind spots.
 
Stlin said:
I mean... Look at the angle of that intersection. You might not like the idea of a slip lane, but here it's both light controlled and I suspect required by geometry. if you move the intersection up to the main junction, most cars would have an issue making the right turn around the point of the island, let alone trucks heading to 93/Callahan. As discussed upthread, If you radius the island to allow for those turns, then your crosswalk isn't straight / is significantly longer, and creates a new issue of turning blind spots.
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Here's what I would have done. Break up New Chardon Street so that it intersects with Congress/Merrimac at right angles instead of the current skewed angle. It would open up some land (shown in yellow) for pocket parks or buildings. To me this layout is more context appropriate for downtown Boston than the sweeping 1960s urban renewal highway design that they bone-headedly re-installed.

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FK4 said:
Like… it had its own lane, so it’s not like cars waiting to take a right will cause backup. I just don’t really get it—what does this accomplish? Absolutely nothing other than when cars turn right they do so at a higher speed. It does not increase flow since it’s still a stoplight-controlled right turn. So it literally would have done nothing other than enhanced safety (and added more public space) to have had the right turn at the main intersection. This is what I’m talking about when I rail about the brainlessness of the officials making decisions here. There is no rational reason other than lack of brain cells that would lead anyone to preserve this traffic patter, UGH.
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Today I had to stop to avoid being hit by a car that ignored the No Right On Red sign while the Walk signal was on.
 
UGH. If you have a 3 lane, one-way arterial road (which Congress is), with a special, high speed right turn lane, that also happens to be turning onto another multi-lane road that even more importantly is an access road to an interstate highway, that is never going to lead to people obeying no turn on red signs. Every single implicit aesthetic / design cue entering a driver's visual field is telling them to drive faster.
 
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