Franklin Street Overhaul

BostonUrbEx

BostonUrbEx

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Don't know about anyone else but I think Franklin Street from PO Sq to DTX needs an overhaul pretty bad. It's one way, correct? WTF is this then:

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It's basically 4 lanes here, except with this tiny little island in the middle (I dare say, would NIMBY's cry foul if we tried to remove this green space?) it's 3.

The sidewalks look like they were laid in 1920 and are about 2 feet wide.
 
I find it kind of weird that the recent streetscaping craze in town has totally skipped over the Financial District. Pretty much every street there has got inadequate sidewalks, strange random 10 sq. foot traffic islands that confuse rather than streamline crossing, no lane markers, a mishmash of ugly and often inadequate lighting, and (save for the flower pots pictured) almost no token decoration or plantings.

You'd think the business center of town would care just a smidge for presentation with all the pedestrians wearing ties all day. I would go for just a bit more street-to-street consistency in appearance over anything too grand.
 
Perhaps the block I pictured should be first on the list as it's both the FD and a small extension of DTX. Perhaps it would make the Filene's pit a more desirable location to develop for whatever price Vornado wants.
 
BostonUrbEx said:
Perhaps the block I pictured should be first on the list as it's both the FD and a small extension of DTX. Perhaps it would make the Filene's pit a more desirable location to develop for whatever price Vornado wants.
Click to expand...

Vornado doesn't want to sell or develop the Filene's pit though. It's far more valuable as a a write-off.
 
I think that most of the financial district should be paved at single grade as shared auto/pedestrian space. It already acts similarly between 8-10am, 12-1pm (on nice weather days especially) and 4-6pm, largely because lanes and crossings are not well marked. I think it works and should be extended towards fully shared streetscape.
 
I agree,that's a place that might really benefit from a radical (to American views) idea. And when it works there, maybe people will begin to see it as a valid option elsewhere.
 
Widen the sidewalks slightly, add curb extensions at all intersections, add smart parking meters, drop the extra traffic lanes, add 5' bike lanes, and fill the remainder with a tree planted median which perhaps has a neat fountain in the middle. Really not that hard.

I'm sure if the median was big enough to fit a few benches people would lunch there.
 
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