Channelside (née P&G) | 244-248 A Street | Fort Point

Hydrobus said:
LOVE the architecture. Meh on the massing. Hate the plan (why is no one building housing? I guess that's a different bigger issue.).

Wish they had maybe made a nicer seaside park that people would actually use instead of that pointless block park that will be shaded half the day and the even smaller, darker, connector park. And then used the extra space for more urban human size density.
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I really don't understand the aversion we have developed to shade in parks. I understand not liking the claustrophobic corridor park, but shade is valued by most park goers, at least during the part of the year when most people are out in parks.

Observe behavior in a park that offers both sun and shade. The benches in the shade are typically occupied. The ones in the sun are empty.
 
This is gorgeous...but it baffles me how the city can continue to permit such density, all the while ignoring the elephant in the room: traffic. How the hell are all these people going to get in and out of here? This is insane.
 
sidewalks said:
This is gorgeous...but it baffles me how the city can continue to permit such density, all the while ignoring the elephant in the room: traffic. How the hell are all these people going to get in and out of here? This is insane.
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With this, it'd be a 5+/- minute walk to RL, SL, and CR
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Sometimes its fun to dream..
 
sidewalks said:
This is gorgeous...but it baffles me how the city can continue to permit such density, all the while ignoring the elephant in the room: traffic. How the hell are all these people going to get in and out of here? This is insane.
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The site is pretty well in the street grid and is convenient to two Interstates, and it's about a half-mile walk from two Red Line stops. This isn't a hard place to get to.
 
Equilibria said:
The site is pretty well in the street grid and is convenient to two Interstates, and it's about a half-mile walk from two Red Line stops. This isn't a hard place to get to.
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Yeah, this is about the same distance from South Station as Post Office Square is.
 
Equilibria said:
The site is pretty well in the street grid and is convenient to two Interstates, and it's about a half-mile walk from two Red Line stops. This isn't a hard place to get to.
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Have you guys not spent time in the Seaport prior to the pandemic? Especially at rush hour it was gridlock everywhere. The area is only maybe 30% built out and plans continue for much much more development. It is absolutely imperative that transportation be fully considered at the heart of this planning. It's irresponsible to continue the way things are going. If you can't see that you're not really taking a fair look at the traffic situation.
 
sidewalks said:
Have you guys not spent time in the Seaport prior to the pandemic? Especially at rush hour it was gridlock everywhere. The area is only maybe 30% built out and plans continue for much much more development. It is absolutely imperative that transportation be fully considered at the heart of this planning. It's irresponsible to continue the way things are going. If you can't see that you're not really taking a fair look at the traffic situation.
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Yeah, for sure Seaport public transportation needs to be improved. The Silver Line was a half-baked half measure from day one that is woefully inadequate and needs to be addressed, we need a Summer St busway, maybe one day we can do something useful with Track 61, et cetera. There are multiple threads about all of this on this forum.

But the site in question here is one of the most transit accessible sites in the entire neighborhood! It's comfortable walking distance to South Station and significantly closer than any of the stuff now going up in Seaport Square or Fan Pier or farther out towards Black Falcon. And even from an automotive perspective, this is south of the worst of the Seaport gridlock. It makes no sense to prevent density here because traffic and transportation is worse somewhere else.
 
sidewalks said:
Have you guys not spent time in the Seaport prior to the pandemic? Especially at rush hour it was gridlock everywhere.
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It's gridlock everywhere though. If we're not building IN the city, then we're building adjacent to it in even worse areas for transportation. Route 95/128 is a virtual stand-still and it doesn't even go through Boston proper. Are we just supposed to shove more into places like Burlington and Waltham while eschewing open sites that are convenient to public transit?
 
sidewalks said:
Have you guys not spent time in the Seaport prior to the pandemic? Especially at rush hour it was gridlock everywhere. The area is only maybe 30% built out and plans continue for much much more development. It is absolutely imperative that transportation be fully considered at the heart of this planning. It's irresponsible to continue the way things are going. If you can't see that you're not really taking a fair look at the traffic situation.
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This development actually wipes out a fair amount of parking. It may not be feasible to drive there for work since it might be too difficult to get a spot. I think any prespective employers looking to get a space there will have to assume that 100% of their employees will be using the MBTA.

The bridge btw gets super cold during the winter. Winds can get pretty high.
 
sidewalks said:
This is gorgeous...but it baffles me how the city can continue to permit such density, all the while ignoring the elephant in the room: traffic. How the hell are all these people going to get in and out of here? This is insane.
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This is literally right across the bridge from South Station. Thats exactly where we should be building. The people who work here can easily skip the gridlock and take the commuter rail, red line, or even the silver line to work. Thats 3 separate transit options, plus the bus terminal, and the seaport even had a water taxi before covid. Doesnt get much better than that.
 
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The modal worker in the Seaport walks from transit; the second largest share takes the silver line. People drive until the roads are gridlocked and it becomes ineffective to; that is a general law. But congested streets tell you nothing about actual volumes as people are much smaller than cars.
 
sidewalks said:
Have you guys not spent time in the Seaport prior to the pandemic? Especially at rush hour it was gridlock everywhere. The area is only maybe 30% built out and plans continue for much much more development. It is absolutely imperative that transportation be fully considered at the heart of this planning. It's irresponsible to continue the way things are going. If you can't see that you're not really taking a fair look at the traffic situation.
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Then don't drive there.
 
sidewalks said:
Have you guys not spent time in the Seaport prior to the pandemic? Especially at rush hour it was gridlock everywhere. The area is only maybe 30% built out and plans continue for much much more development. It is absolutely imperative that transportation be fully considered at the heart of this planning. It's irresponsible to continue the way things are going. If you can't see that you're not really taking a fair look at the traffic situation.
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Seems like there should be a transportation tax tied to any new development in order to raise funds for a multitude of improvements. Link the tax to a state GDP rate so its more lenient in economic downturns.
 
George_Apley said:
Isn't the point of Sidewalk's post that the top priority should be to improve non-driving modes in the Seaport to make it easier to not drive there?
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As people has mentioned this is one of the best spots for transit in the entire city.
 
i don't think it's been a blanket appraisal of "the seaport," but, rather, for this particular spot within the seaport -- which is very close to lots of public transit options.
 
So many of the responses to my comment seem to intentionally miss the point...the entire seaport has a major transportation/accessibility problem. It will continue to grow worse with time as these parcels are developed. It is the job and responsibility of the BPDA and the mayor to ensure that such considerations are taken into account as development is planned. How do people access the neighborhood will affect everyone's ability to enjoy living, working and visiting the area. If it is not properly planned for it will be untenable. People are quickly forgetting just how bad transportation in Boston had become pre pandemic. It was quickly becoming the region's biggest challenge and a major quality of life concern.
 
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