Charles River Esplanade Given Landmark Status

The Esplinade is a dear treasure to most of us. If anything, it should incite a greater passion than the SPID or Kendall.
 
Beton Brut said:
Creating a Red Line bypass of downtown that would also reconnect an underserved community with actual subway service would offset any worries about recreational and competitive sailing on the Charles. I think you'll agree that this is a First World Problem.
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Fair enough, but I was reacting to your earlier statement that "This would open even more of the Charles River Basin to sailing."

Whatever its merits for transit, this proposal actually would reduce bicycle and pedestrian accessibility between the two sides of the river. Bikes and pedestrians really don't want to use long tunnels, and a high bridge (high enough to let sailboats pass under it) is a significant impediment to bicycles, which are now heavy users of the existing low bridge.
 
HenryAlan said:
The Esplinade is a dear treasure to most of us. If anything, it should incite a greater passion than the SPID or Kendall.
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Henry -- I like that attitude -- unless we find that an Olmstead, Elliot, Shurkliff (however you want to spell it) is lurking in the shadows -- i would hope a lot of discussion woud be devoted to any proposal for substantive changes to the Esplanade

if there is a realistic chance that some of the Esplanade would be temporarily used for a major Storrow tunel reconstruction project -- then perhaps some significant improvements could be factored into the restoration once the road work was completed

However -- i doubtt that anything related to Storrow Drive will be seriously considered until after the Longfellow project if completed

In the mean time -- fixing up the falling down granite steps, plantings by the Charles River's edge and setting-up a trial of a year-round cafe would be realistic projects over the next 3 or so years
 
BBTB

BRING BACK THE BEACH...

The water is clean, except after rain storms; dump a few tons of sand and let the people swim!
 
Ron Newman said:
Whatever its merits for transit, this proposal actually would reduce bicycle and pedestrian accessibility between the two sides of the river.
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This is not at all the intention. I'm sure an engineer a lot smarter than me could make it work.

Ron Newman said:
Bikes and pedestrians really don't want to use long tunnels, and a high bridge (high enough to let sailboats pass under it) is a significant impediment to bicycles, which are now heavy users of the existing low bridge.
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This wouldn't be a high bridge like the Tobin. I'm thinking a cable-stayed or light-weight arch design with a slightly crowed roadway. The required clearance beneath the bridge could be consistent with the craft currently allowable on the Charles.
 
Bubbybu said:
BBTB

BRING BACK THE BEACH...

The water is clean, except after rain storms; dump a few tons of sand and let the people swim!
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And the Lee Pool while they're at it (with a temporary cover for wintertime)! I read somewhere (I think it was Swimmers World Magazine, or its online site or something comparable) that, compared to other cities this size, Boston is severely lacking in public community pool lanes and there's a demand for more pool lanes. Restoration of the Lee Pool, which is 50 yards long (rare for Boston too -most are 20-25) can go a long way towards meeting demand.
 
Bahahaha dshoost was watching this while he packed his apartment tonight (FB photo).

I was interested in seeing it... so thank you! Crazy coincidence!
 
Thanks for telling the whole world, datadyne. Anyway, the video was good... pretty much the PDF dubbed over by a pretentious-sounding old man. Even so, I hope city leadership screws its head on straight and makes this happen.
 
So now I've seen the video. Such a great vision.

The real challenge and running antagonist in this scheme is Storrow Drive. It will be a miserable set of years (or even an entire decade) while we fight over getting Storrow improvements passed and dealing with the horrendous inconveniences while Storrow is reconfigured and the Bowker is removed. After that is over, this vision is nothing but smooth sailing (some pun intended) and quite honestly, a piece of cake. Once Storrow is set where it needs to be, ground coverings just need to be placed, grass and trees planted, and various pavilions built.

The end result will make the Esplanade into one of (if not the) greatest parks in the world and the Emerald Necklace as a whole (now including the Esplanade) will be the greatest park system in the world.
 
This might be an ignorant question, but I've always been a suburb dweller so I don't know. What's so special about the Esplanade? I've never understood why people are so passionate about it. What's so unique about it? And the whole Olmstead system, people revere these parks like they were crafted by the hand of God. Aren't they just a bunch of parks, just grass and trees? Honest question, no snark intended.
 
massmotorist said:
This might be an ignorant question, but I've always been a suburb dweller so I don't know. What's so special about the Esplanade? I've never understood why people are so passionate about it. What's so unique about it? And the whole Olmstead system, people revere these parks like they were crafted by the hand of God. Aren't they just a bunch of parks, just grass and trees? Honest question, no snark intended.
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Well, they weren't "crafted by the hand of God"... however, they were crafted out of marshland by many, many men over the course of more than 100 years. Starting with Boston Common--the oldest public park in the United States--Bostonians and the planners of yesteryear purposefully constructed parks for the sake of those populating the city. The whole premise of the park, especially during the late 19th century, was to provide an escape for the people dwelling in congested cities... a retreat to nature, to breathe, to have a richer quality of life.

I cannot speak for others, but I'm passionate about the esplanade and other parks in this city because they not only highlight but also define what a wonderful city Boston is to live. Coming from South Florida where a park is only built because the developers were obligated to allot green space due to zoning code(s) (like most suburbs), Boston's parks are such a treat because the people really wanted them in the first place. Today, we still use and maintain these parks much like some upper-middle class suburbanites use their backyards, except we can bask in the shared experience of it unlike many in the suburbs that shut themselves off to their neighbors.

I frequent Boston's parks year-round: the esplanade, the commonwealth avenue mall, public garden, boston common, fens, greenways, SW Corridor, Arboretum. I feel healthier because of them (*AND actually my high blood pressure dropped immensely once I bought a bicycle and started riding throughout these parks regularly).

I'll leave the F.L. Olmstead 101 lesson to datadyne007 to explain the enthusiasm architects and planners share for the Emerald Necklace (among others). There is in fact a very exciting history to Boston's parks that merits the passion so many share for them.
 
Shutting down Storrow Drive aside, why can't we have an option to put some decking. Like a super wide pedestrian bridge and put a bunch of grass and dirt on top. For the unobservant eye, all it would look like is a pleasant knoll/flood wall rolling up and down.
 
ant8904 said:
Shutting down Storrow Drive aside, why can't we have an option to put some decking. Like a super wide pedestrian bridge and put a bunch of grass and dirt on top. For the unobservant eye, all it would look like is a pleasant knoll/flood wall rolling up and down.
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Here is a proposal from the late 80s, early 90s for a thing called Storrow Terrace by Koeter Kim and Associates. It has been thought about ... likely way too expensive to be viable.

Sorrow%2520Terrace.jpg
 
cca said:
Here is a proposal from the late 80s, early 90s for a thing called Storrow Terrace by Koeter Kim and Associates. It has been thought about ... likely way too expensive to be viable.
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The picture is vague, but I'm going to assume Storrow Drive is under it. Basically, this is a full-on bury as the Central Artery in the style of the Turnpike by decking over it.

That is really expensive and I guess the new buildings on the side can't justify its cost.

But how about a much smaller scale type of decking. More in the vain of a pedestrian bridge structurally than a full on decking. A couple of steel beams and a few plates on top of it. Can't hold a building, but can take some dirt and grass. Combine with that each section is only ~500 ft long with big gaps, no fans are needed.

Basically a super-wide pedestrian bridge, put in strategically to enhance the experience in critical areas (Hatch Shell? BU Beach? Emerald Necklace?).
 
I assume it would be something similar to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, then, with buildings raised over the roadway? That kind of raised decking would probably be even more expensive than building over the Pike.
 
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