Commonwealth Avenue Improvement Project

[bdurden]

The street lines including bike lanes have been added from Kenmore to the Tsai Center. I sure hope they add the bike lanes right across the BU Bridge intersection otherwise it would have been pointless to add them in at all.

 

[jass]

The street lines including bike lanes have been added from Kenmore to the Tsai Center. I sure hope they add the bike lanes right across the BU Bridge intersection otherwise it would have been pointless to add them in at all.

I guess you havent seen Beacon Street yet. They start at the brookline border and extend for a good 2 blocks.

 

[cden4]

Saturday 8/23 I took a bunch of photos of Comm Ave in it's "almost complete" stage. It looks pretty darn spectacular compared to what it was before!

Entire album: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cden4/sets/72157606946166002/

Some selected shots:

 

[Tim Jackson]

That definitely looks better. I believe that they could have done some things differently that would have contributed more to the area, but, on the whole, I feel like this is a darn good improvement (considering what we had before).

Also, on a somewhat related note, I am really happy that the city is starting to incorporate bike lanes into the city streets. Still a long way to go, but I would really like to see more people on bikes in the city's downtown.

 

[jass]

Still no parking meters or electronic parking stations. Theres obviously room set aside for parking... what are they planning? Residential? BU permits?

 

[bbfen]

Still no parking meters or electronic parking stations. Theres obviously room set aside for parking... what are they planning? Residential? BU permits?

It's posted "John Silber Limosine Parking Only" from Kenmore to Packard's.

/sarcasm

 

[jass]

I know an album has been posted, but here are my shots and comments from today.

As for the album, I didnt get to the BU bridge, but Im shocked the right turn lane, which was designed for two lanes, has been made into one again. Its a good thing, but strange.

Also, the quality of the pain seems to be weak. I hope after the winter the newly painted lines arent gone...

Anyway, here are my pics:

St Marys Street. I believe the pedestrian crossings arent done yet, I think theyre supposed to be brick, thats why theyre not painted.

Nice touch

Randoms:

Sidewalks were shrunk, but at least the intersections have plenty of space for the hoards of students, good visibility for cars as well.

Once again, the MBTA isnt on board. Ugly highway dividers still in place.

But look, the grass is irrigated! If only they did the same with the tracks.

But at least the city gave buses massive areas to maneuver.

Improved stop

U turn

And no we leave the city/state/BU project and enter kenmore square, which is an MBTA/federal project. So of course, no bike lanes, and a different style.
Bike lane ends/begins here

Old/new crosswalk. It had been closed for over 3 years

I dont understand if their brick laying is planned or at random

Chaos

Sidewalk juts out

Closed forever?

U turn has been removed forever, Cars lose, pedestrians no longer haver to look at cars coming from 4 different ways, just three now.

BU took the time to imrpove their own paths.

Ok, thats it.

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

Looking at those bike lanes it really looks like someone missed the point. The parking spaces are so narrow that cars are forced to jut into the bike lane which is almost more dangerous with the problem of dooring. Based on these pictures it looks like they could have taken some space from the median but instead they made it bigger to plant trees. This seems like just some good intentions. I would probably just bike in the middle of the street.

 

[Arborway]

The dooring issue alone is enough to keep me from ever wanting to use those bike lanes.

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

Also going back and looking over the Kenmore Sq part I really can't help but compare this to what NYC is doing for the intersection at Madison Sq (PDF). They have taken a very dangerous intersection and created dedicated bike lanes, bus bump outs, and public space, while making the traffic pattern simpler. This of course was done by the city and is not dependent on an agency that has it's head up it's ass (MBTA) or federal dollars that couldn't care less where they go.

 

[jass]

Looking at those bike lanes it really looks like someone missed the point. The parking spaces are so narrow that cars are forced to jut into the bike lane which is almost more dangerous with the problem of dooring. Based on these pictures it looks like they could have taken some space from the median but instead they made it bigger to plant trees. This seems like just some good intentions. I would probably just bike in the middle of the street.

The bike lanes were a last minute addition, after enough people complained that it's 2008, and its about time. They were drawn by making the driving lanes slightly narrower.

Yes, dooring is a huge problem, and a bike lane doesnt solve it, but I like them because at least it reminds drivers that bikes exist and have the right to be on the road. Seeing the bike lanes for a mile will remind drivers to look for bikes when they make right turns and merge.

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

I wish I could agree with you but I've seen too many drivers who either don't see it, see it and don't get it, or just hate bikers and will drive and park in the bike lanes (like cops in NY).

 

[bosdevelopment]

BU Central looks surprisingly better than it did 9 years ago or so.

 

[ablarc]

What's the scoop on those swathes of bark chips? Are they permanent? Will they persist after they collect their usual complement of cigarette butts and gum wrappers? Have they considered ground cover? Pachysandra?

* * *

And when will they finish Kenmore Square? Hasn't it been the sick man of Boston for about a decade?

Closed forever?

And yet it could be somewhat Parisian ^.

 

[bdurden]

BU is landscaping those tree beds--not sure what the story is with this one but most have been filled with flowers/shrubs. Knowing how anal they are over what little grass and shrubbery they do have, i'd be very surprised to see these new improvements become a haven for trash.

 

[jass]

Updates:

Kenmore square, old and new

Redundancy

Now an some annoyances. I was mad when the renderings showed parking meters instead of parking machines. I got worried when I saw the new brick, and no space for meters. As of last week, holes have been made in the new bricks for parking meter posts.

I was confused when I saw st marys street, because the rendering said brick, and yet I was looking at freshly lain asphalt. Well look at what they were digging up today.

I was annoyed when they said they were widening the BU bridge lane from one to two. It would be unsafe. At the last minute, someone agreed, and after months of work on widening the lane at the expense of a surface lot, we got an asphalt island. Heres what it looks like today, starting with the merge (with bike lane)

The intended cutout is obvious

Bike lanes are popular, even if they suddenly end at the bridge

Even with these complaints, it looks much better than comm after after the bu brudge

 

[jass]

Now a closer look at Kenmore (again a different project, but it fits best in this thread)

First, what was one of the most dangerous pedestrian crossings in the city, where pedestrians had to navigate through 6 different traffic directions using 3 tiny strips as shelter.

Now, itll look like this:

New waiting area

Closest crossing = original crossing. Where the taxi is was home to a uturn, now removed. The next painted line is the current temporary crossing, and further out, behind the bike, is where the final crosswalk will be

This is the brookline street crossing , im not quite sure why its being pushed out, the current location was fine

They dropped the ball with this temporary crosswalk, as the guy in blue shows

Its even more fun when the sox play

Comm ave project, meet kenmore project.

 

[cden4]

I believe they're going to be making the Brookline Ave intersection more of a right angle so that motorists are actually forced to slow down a bit. Pushing the crosswalk out will probably line up better when they do this and make peds more visible to turning traffic.

 

[Tim Jackson]

MassHighway set to begin Commonwealth Avenue beautification

By Matt Seidner/Correspondent
Tue Sep 23, 2008, 08:25 AM EDT

Allston, Mass. -

MassHighway cleared the final hurdle earlier this month to begin $12 million in renovations and beautification to Commonwealth Avenue, paving the way for a more scenic and less bumpy ride down one of the city?s main roads.

The project aims to improve a 1.7-mile stretch of the road between Warren/Kelton and Lake streets, and is similar to the recently completed renovations to Commonwealth Ave. along Boston University?s campus, according to Nick Martin, a spokesperson for Mayor Thomas Menino.

The city must now decide what kinds of foliage to line the road with. All together, the project will add 242 trees, 244 shrubs and 4,203 bulbs, according to Martin. ?At this point, the engineers and the landscapers are working with the community to maximize the beautification of the project,? City Councilor Mark Ciommo said.

The project was conceived in the late 1980s when the state was awash with money to improve its roadways, but has languished amid funding delays for nearly two decades. The city finalized plans for the project in 2003, but delays continued until 2007 when the state said that it could no longer fund the project and that MassHighway would need to seek federal money to continue.

Once the project begins, MassHighway will grind and repave the roadway, add new road markings and widen curbside lanes to better accommodate cyclists. Street renovations are expected to either divert traffic or close off certain lanes during construction, but local residents are not complaining, said Martin. ?The community in general has been really supportive and really accommodating,? said Martin.

?I hope that we as a city government will do all that we can to minimize the impact on businesses. We hope to actually enhance their businesses by making the roadway more nice and more attractive and more shopper-friendly,? said Ciommo. ?I think people are excited that there?s going to be a beautification effort of this corridor that?s been long overdue.?

The city has already added handicapped-accessible ramps to waiting areas for the T along the stretch of Commonwealth Ave., and is planning to update sidewalk ramps to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to Martin. Because the area is home to many senior citizens, the city would also like to replace the benches that line the sidewalk with newer ones, according to Ciommo.

Currently, there is no set date for the project to begin. With construction season coming to an end, Ciommo doesn?t expect major work is not likely to commence until next year. Some minor landscaping may still occur this year.

?Before winter, you might expect to see a few trees pulled out? to make way for their replacements, said Martin.

LINK

 

[jass]

"?Before winter, you might expect to see a few trees pulled out? to make way for their replacements, said Martin. "

Oh well that sounds fantastic Martin.


Also, does this mean that the plan to relocate the t tracks to a central (instead of side) median is gone?

"and widen curbside lanes to better accommodate cyclists."

Truely a plan that hasnt been updated since the 80s.

Hopefully the advocates can mvoe the plan into the early 90s phase of bike lanes. I hope that when the next major road gets redone in 10 years or so well be able to move towards the completely segregated bike lanes which started becoming popular around 2000.