Commonwealth Avenue Improvement Project

Removing that sidewalk reduces jaywalking and the resulting traffic backups from it. That's a traffic and safety bonus, despite the slight loss of options to pedestrians. The continuous strip of green makes for a better visual and physical connection to the rest of Commonwealth Avenue, which will only improve if Kenmore Square is ever finished. The trees will also help screen the ROW's infrastructure, provide shade to cool the street, disperse the wind, block headlights from opposing traffic or solar glare, and disperse sound a bit. The grass will do a better job absorbing the runoff from the barrier walls as well reducing flooding, since the storm drains have a tendency to back up. Assuming maintenance is kept on the trees and idiots aren't allowed to patch utility work in the brick or concrete with asphalt as a 'completed repair', I don't see how these improvements could become a detriment.
 
jass said:
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Now's the time to just bite the bullet and put those tracks underground.
 
Lurker said:
Removing that sidewalk reduces jaywalking and the resulting traffic backups from it. That's a traffic and safety bonus, despite the slight loss of options to pedestrians..
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I posted this picture a few months ago. As you can see, people usually use the u-turn as a place to cross, even though it is unsafe. I thought they were adding a sidewalk to make it safe. Instead, theyve ignored the reality of how people use Kenmore square.

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It may still be a sidewalk--there is plenty of room for one, with the trees.
 
"Now's the time to just bite the bullet and put those tracks underground."

That would be good, but expensive. A nice, modern elevated structure would fit well and cost a lot less.

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You draw that yourself? I like that idea, keeps a little pedestrian space beneath the tracks as well.
 
Even better would be to build retail underneath the elevated tracks, should they come about, as has been done with many of the incredible Art Nouveau arches that support Vienna's elevated metro tracks. Paris has also done something like this, I think.

It's still a terrible missed opportunity that none of the Central Artery was left up to put retail/cafes underneath... In fact, given the frequency with which city officials, media and people pay deference to Boston's history, there is very little creative re-use of old structures. A shame, since leaving the Central Artery up, putting light rail or even a park on top and allowing cafes and bars to populate the area underneath or buildings to go up around it a la New York's High Line would've had a lot more potential to create a truly unique, organic and hip space than the $15 Billion Lawn we got.

I couldn't find any pictures of Vienna's solution to its elevated tracks, but here's an NYT article from 2 years ago: http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/06/11/travel/11surfacing.html
 
The best place right now for a cafe or restaurant is on comm ave under the road which takes people from the fens to storrow drive. There's an enormous empty grass space.
 
True. That space has a lot less inherent potential -- since the road above it has little to recommend it architecturally -- than Otto Wagner's elevated tracks in Vienna or the old Central Artery, but some well-placed glass and brick could result in a decent space there.

Maybe if Mayor Menino rides his bike down that way, or if one of his connected developer-buddies decides he wants to build something there, it'll get done. However, unless any initiative involves the arbitrary vagaries of the Mayor's reveries or the desires of the politically connected few, I have little faith anything will get done outside of an ESPN Zone in Seaport Square...
 
Summer,

The design of the median strip and elevated structure is my own. However, the elements of the drawing I copied off of the rendering at http://www.bu.edu/cap/maps/09.html, then added to it and rearranged everything using MS Paint.

I apologize to the original artist, whoever that may be.
 
That is a great concept and this is one of the few places in Boston where you could do that and make it pleasant. The benefit of a subway, however, is space for an express track. You could do it with the elevated line but this would dominate the road and would turn people off elevated rail (like they are for it in the first place?)
 
Silber long rallied to submerge the B line at least through the BU campus; i'm not sure if there were ever serious discussions on it.
 
bdurden said:
Silber long rallied to submerge the B line at least through the BU campus; i'm not sure if there were ever serious discussions on it.
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If they submerged the B, C and E lines, taking the T would be much more effecient. I used to live on Comm Ave down near Washington st and to get to Gov Center would take me 50 minutes!! That is terrible. I would drive from out in the suburbs faster than to make the 4 or 5 mile trek by the B line.

The Cahrlie Card and the cutting of a few stops has helped, but it still is far too slow.
 
It would help immensely if the City installed transit priority on the signal lights at intersections. Having a trolley with 100 people on it wait for 2 people in their cars make a left turn is just ridiculous.
 
^^^^^^^^

They don't have this? That's incredible! What's the reasoning behind it? I always thought all rail traffic has priority/right of way over cars.
 
Nope, the trolley has to wait like any other car would. I think the main problem is that neither the city nor the MBTA wants to take the lead.
 
The B line should extend underground at least to Harvard Ave, splitting off above ground at Brighton (a restored A line). The freed up median could then become designated bike lanes and a mall such as Boulevard de Rochechouart.
 
In the 1920s BERy (Boston Elevated Railroad, the precursor to the MBTA) planned on converting the Green Line to heavy rail and building a subway under Comm Ave to the corner of Warren and Cambridge St with a big transfer station. Kenmore Sq station was actually built with the center tracks in a deep pit so it could handle heavy rail and the portal at Blanchard St had a false bottom so the tunnel could be dug later on. Of course none of this happened and the MBTA filled in the track pit and false bottom in the portal because they were falling apart.
 
cden4 said:
Nope, the trolley has to wait like any other car would. I think the main problem is that neither the city nor the MBTA wants to take the lead.
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I do see some trolley drivers run the light sometimes, which makes me happy.

Brookline offered the MBTA trolley priority when they redid beacon street. MBTA said no.
 
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