Kenmore Square North (WHOOP) | 533-541 Commonwealth Ave | Fenway

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that's ^^^ so cool DB -- thanks for sharing. glad that sort of work is being done. if i still lived in the area i'd absolutely sign on.
 
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Wow. That Charlesgate project is awesome. So cool to see this historic photos of the riverfront. Especially the little footbridge over the Muddy River which is still there now, half buried under the overpasses...
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It's also fascinating seeing how open/exposed Cambridge is without the tree lines along the river and Mass Ave. MIT looks like a palace sitting over there.
Now I'm sad again that Storrow exists. What a blight on the city.

Also as a tangent to this (and because I'm remembering it being brought up for the new Greenline viaduct), but looking at the photos of the underside of the Charlesgate overpasses that cross over Commonwealth and Beacon. Isn't is sad that we can't afford to just paint all the beams instead of just selectively so where a column occurs? Are we really that stingy? Not that the rest of it is any better, but that patchwork of gross rusting steel and paint looks so damn ugly.

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Bananarama said:
Wow. That Charlesgate project is awesome. So cool to see this historic photos of the riverfront. Especially the little footbridge over the Muddy River which is still there now, half buried under the overpasses...
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Gratified by all the attention! I'm happy to set up a separate topic if folks are interested.
 
Bananarama said:
Wow. That Charlesgate project is awesome. So cool to see this historic photos of the riverfront. Especially the little footbridge over the Muddy River which is still there now, half buried under the overpasses...
View attachment 8183

It's also fascinating seeing how open/exposed Cambridge is without the tree lines along the river and Mass Ave. MIT looks like a palace sitting over there.
Now I'm sad again that Storrow exists. What a blight on the city.

Also as a tangent to this (and because I'm remembering it being brought up for the new Greenline viaduct), but looking at the photos of the underside of the Charlesgate overpasses that cross over Commonwealth and Beacon. Isn't is sad that we can't afford to just paint all the beams instead of just selectively so where a column occurs? Are we really that stingy? Not that the rest of it is any better, but that patchwork of gross rusting steel and paint looks so damn ugly.

View attachment 8184
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A few years ago here on AB there was quite a discussion on tearing down this POS 1960's elevated highway. Arborway at Forest Hills is down, hopefully someday the Mcgrath will be, and this ugly SOB needs to be wiped out as well. The local NIMBY's don't want it down for fears of increased surface traffic, but how can that justify the smothering of the Emerald Necklace and Muddy River?
 
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Charlie_mta said:
A few years ago here on AB there was quite a discussion on tearing down this POS 1960's elevated highway. Arborway at Forest Hills is down, hopefully someday the Mcgrath will be, and this ugly SOB needs to be wiped out as well. The local NIMBY's don't want it down for fears of increased surface traffic, but how can that justify the smothering of the Emerald Necklace and Muddy River?
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Yes! Someone posted this photo over in /r/Boston last week and while it's a beautiful shot that shows some crazy infrastructure engineering, all I could think was how ruined the river bank was by this monstrosity plopped over top of it.
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I'm not even sure where you'd begin to repair this and maintain the connection without astronomical costs.
 
Charlie_mta said:
Replace it with something like this (my concept):
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There have been a few similar proposals that involved demolition of the overpass. This 2015 Massachusetts Turnpike Boston Ramps and Bowker Overpass Study essentially diverts the overpass to the ramps connected to Comm Ave, and then uses Charlesgate E/W to connect to Storrow:
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However, they determined that:
LOS and queuing results for Alternative 1 show that removing the Bowker Overpass would result in a decrease in LOS operations with several intersections having a LOS of F. Significant increases in potential queuing occur, with expected queues spilling back through previous intersections.
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On the other hand, Northeastern professor Peter G. Furth created a Bowker-free model that he claims:
• Carries all the existing traffic – with good LOS
• Provides for pedestrian crossings
• Reconnects Charlesgate Park with the Esplanade
• Widens usable part of Esplanade
• Expands the usable part of Charlesgate Park
• Reduces highway impact on Muddy River
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This project also included a nice video of the traffic simulation software PTV Vissm in action:
 
What are the knock-on effects of dumping the whole overpass, without replacement? Where does the existing usage move to?
 
RandomWalk said:
What are the knock-on effects of dumping the whole overpass, without replacement? Where does the existing usage move to?
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The usage moves to the surface streets, just like it was pre-1963. This issue comes down to a choice between: 1) freeways for suburbanites to zip quickly through the city, or 2) real parks (not shoe-horned underneath an elevated highway) and a functional, healthy Muddy River.
 
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