Downtown Crossing/Financial District | Discussion

To Ron Newman,

I did not contradict myself. Traffic 100 years ago meant horses and wagons. "Traffic" is a general term that may include autos, buses, trolleys, animals, and people. I am suggesting we return the Wash. St. area to traffic...which in contemporary terms would include modern vehicular as well as pedestrian, and even bicycles that carry passengers. Horses may prove messy!
 
Downtown owners walking fine line over traffic plans

By Donna Goodison
Thursday, March 1, 2007 - Updated: 08:15 AM EST

Downtown Crossing property and business owners praised newly unveiled city plans to spruce up the tired Boston shopping district, but questioned the viability of closing additional streets to car traffic.
Converting Bromfield Street to a pedestrian-only thoroughfare wouldn?t be good for business at J.J. Teaparty, which trades in rare coins and paper money, senior buyer Liz Coggan said.
?That?s problematic for people who have merchandise they?re trying to bring into our store,? she said. ?Who wants to walk around the streets with thousands of dollars? worth of coins in their pockets??
A traffic study is needed to determine whether Bromfield Street should be included, said Abbey Group Chairman and CEO Robert Epstein, who?s building 45 Province, a $175 million condo tower and parking garage off Bromfield.
?Right now, the traffic leaves the garage in two directions, down School Street and up Bromfield,? Epstein said. ?It might be too burdensome to empty that garage in a single lane down School Street.?
But Silvertone Bar & Grill would welcome the opportunity to add outdoor seating if Bromfield closes to traffic, owner Katy Childs said.
?A pedestrian zone is one of the things that Boston lacks,? she said.
Some questioned whether the no-vehicle plans would be strictly enforced.
?Existing rules and regulations haven?t been very well-enforced,? said Anne Meyers, president of the Downtown Crossing Association.
A pedestrian-only Washington Street remains a solid idea, but ?always fails in the details,? agreed Tony Pangaro, principal at Millennium Partners, owner of The Residences at the Ritz-Carlton Towers.
?There are way too many trucks there at times during the day,? he said.
Click to expand...
 
I don't know why Donna Goodison says: "A pedestrian zone is one of the things that Boston lacks.? I would consider most of Boston a pedestrian zone. We could use wider sidewalks here and there, but basically Boston is a walker's city. I have yet to hear a good argument for closing off parts of the city solely for pedestrians, particularly when City Hall Plaza, the walkway under 1,2,3 Center Plaza, the plaza in front of the Adams Court House, the area around the Marriott Customs House, the plaza fronting the China Trade building on Boylston St., and many other pocket plazas are woefully underutilized for the relaxation and enjoyment of the public.
The city of Florence, Italy, has closed it's entire old section to vehicular traffic, and so have been sections of Rome's central core. These areas are given over entirely to pedestrians (read: tourists) because one can literally trip over an important historic or artistic site every two feet! This is not the case in Boston. In the decades during which Washington St. and Winter/Summer Streets have been closed to vehicles, the area has become less and less interesting. Many of the architecturally significant buildings have been defaced by renovation or have not been maintained. There is a lack of variety in retail and restaurant establishments.
The elimination of sidewalks and curbs will not stop the police cars, ambulances, cabs, and delivery trucks from hogging the roadway. If there were small parking zones, wide sidewalks and otherwise no on-street parking, the streets would serve to bring more people, including new residents, into and through the area. Access to the theatre district would be enhanced, as would movement from Tremont St. to the financial district.
My vision for the area would be similar to that of Vancouver, B.C., where retail and food establishments are topped by slender, balconied towers of apartments and condos. There the street life is varied and wonderful due, not only to the tourists, but to those who have found affordable housing. The former LaFayette Mall, (the circular retail maze which I predicted before it opened would fail) has thankfully been replaced; here would be a perfect place for a slender tower of apartments.
 
I'm gonna have to agree with Padre Mike on this one. Pedestrian malls are a throw back to modernist thinking of separating traffic and people. Look at Newbury St. It is always crowded with people and traffic. If we were to make it a pedestrian zone I am convinced that the shops would start to move elsewhere.

Traffic is one of those tricky areas. On the one hand a city needs traffic to stay alive but then if there is too much it can hurt the city. Getting rid of traffic altogether would be like draining a body of blood.
 
Getting rid of traffic altogether would be like draining a body of blood.
Click to expand...

We're just talking about some specific areas of town here, not the entire city. I'm originally from Florence, Italy, and know what Padre Mike is saying about the all pedestrian center. I think it's an incredible experience to walk down those streets full of nothing but people, and although there are unfortunately an insane number of tourists these days in Florence, I've been to many other less visited European cities with an equally successful pedestrian center. There is no reason why this can't be replicated here in America. Especially in a city like Boston, which is famous for its walkability and where the streets were never meant for cars in the first place. Is it really necessary to have cars in DTX? or the North End? IMO, walking down Wash St. when it's full of people is a much more urban experience than squeezing down 5th Avenue with traffic blaring at you. Maybe I'm blinded by my European background, but I believe that cars add absolutely nothing to a city and we can definitely afford to kick them out of a few select areas of town. Even my American hometown of Charlottesville, VA has an incredibly successful pedestrian mall that would have never realized its potential had it been kept open to traffic. It's not modernist thinking, it's what cities were originally built as: places for people, not cars.
 
Yes ...

Yes ... it's wonderful to walk down streets where there aren't any cars ...

You mean like Main Street USA at Disney World?

Also, there ARE streets in Boston where there aren't any cars ... they're called sidewalks.
 
You mean like Main Street USA at Disney World?
Click to expand...

If that is really the first thing that pops in your head, then I feel sorry for you. Do yourself a favor and buy a plane ticket to Europe before making smart comments about something you've obviously never experienced.
 
Re: Yes ...

IMAngry said:
Also, there ARE streets in Boston where there aren't any cars ... they're called sidewalks.
Click to expand...

I don't understand -- which Boston streets consist only of sidewalks? Are you referring to Quincy Market?
 
A good example of pedestrian/car traffic flow is Newbury street. The sidewalks are always jammed with people, its a busy district. But the cars and traffic flow are also part of the ambiance, and part of the charm of the neighborhood. Its the place to see and be seen, and what better a way than to cruise through the neighborhood in the summer time with the windows down. You can get a taste of the energy and the neighborhood by simply driving through. Its fun. Same thing on Hanover street, cars add to the fun and excitement of the experience.

The sidewalks in DTX are plenty wide enough as they are for pedestrians. Its time to open up Washington Street to traffic and link it to the rest of the city. Somehow, it feels insular to me, even though it is a major transportation node.
 
LeTaureau, thank you for stating my case so well. As it stands now DTX must be a "destination" for the walker, or for the driver who will park in a downtown garage. There needs to be the critical mass of people who will drive into DTX for a quick visit as well as those who will saunter longer, as on Newbury St. A street such as Newbury is also attractive because the individual storefronts are generally narrow, and thus the rhythm of change, color, design and display from store to store makes for an interesting and more memorable urban experience. The same is not true of the monolithic facade treatments of Macy's, H and M/Marshalls, the old Filenes, the CVS on the corner of Chauncy, the newly vacated former shoe store, later gym on the corner of Arch St., the fast food establishments on Summer St., the blank wall behind the Radisson Hotel, the Pi Alley garage, the horrid plaza in front of Morgan/Stanley, etc. There is actually a greater argument for making Newbury St., not DTX, a pedestrian-only street, due to this factor alone (no, I am not suggesting Newbury St. should eliminate vehicular traffic!)
 
Am I the only one who goes a little crazier every time I read or hear "DTX".

I hope they don't go with that branding. It makes the area sound like some kind of generic airport mall.
 
...

I've always hated the "Downtown Crossing" moniker.... DTX is even worse though.
 
I'm just using what everyone else is using. I hate DTX also, as well as DTC. I prefer "Washington St., Summer St., Winter St., etc. I'll refrain from DTX (I keep thinking of LAX which in turn makes me think of Milk of Magnesia and tummy aches!)
 
The DTX thing isn't on you guys. I understand that it's easier. It's just an annoyance of mine.

I don't love the name Downtown Crossing either. Before Downtown Crossing, it was called Centre City, which I like a lot better. If the name is highly important, an idea that I have a hard time buying into, then Centre City is better than either Downtown Crossing or DTX in my mind.

Thoughts?
 
I never heard it called Centre City. That's a Philadelphia term.
 
DTX sounds like a trim line on some cheapo car from the '80s.

"Hyundai Excel DTX."
 
Ron Newman said:
I never heard it called Centre City. That's a Philadelphia term.
Click to expand...

I could definitely be wrong. I did a quick search and couldn't find anything, but that's what I was led to believe. Centre City, if it existed may not have perfectly matched up with what's called Downtown Crossing now.

Anyone know?
 
Downtown Crossing is much better than SoWa, or one of those other stupid marketing names that realtors randomly create. I was in Charlotte last week, and everyone was talking about NoDa. So freakin annoying sounding.

Its been Downtown Crossing for as long as I can remember. I don't have a problem keeping it that way.
 
Yeah, it's much better than the "ladder district" or 'EaBo". :x
Plus, it is a pretty well defined area so I think it slightly less akward then saying "Where Washington St crosses over Winter/Summer St., Franklin St/Bromfield St, down to about Summer St."
I would perfer it be a more traditional "square" Like Washington Sq or Filene's Sq. but Downtown Crossing is harmless enough.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top