Rose Kennedy Greenway
- Thread starter callahan
- Start date
Greenway meeting #1
I went. It was a pretty interesting event actually.
First the BSA President and Mumbles Menino introduced the Greenway
efforts, and then three presentations were made, by Robert Brown of CBT which was a parcel by parcel overview of Greenway developments.
Then BSA president-elect Hubert Murray presented the Edges study
done by ABC of the abutters of the Greenway.
After which the program leader of the Crossroads Initiative presented
that plan. Then there was Q and A.
The next meeting will have design and planning experts from other cities
presenting what has been done elsewhere.
Then everyone got free $5 starbucks gift cards as we left.
The graphics were things everyone on this board has mostly seen here
already, but interesting nevertheless to see the actual leaders, designers
and policymakers present the process and update things to the public.
I went. It was a pretty interesting event actually.
First the BSA President and Mumbles Menino introduced the Greenway
efforts, and then three presentations were made, by Robert Brown of CBT which was a parcel by parcel overview of Greenway developments.
Then BSA president-elect Hubert Murray presented the Edges study
done by ABC of the abutters of the Greenway.
After which the program leader of the Crossroads Initiative presented
that plan. Then there was Q and A.
The next meeting will have design and planning experts from other cities
presenting what has been done elsewhere.
Then everyone got free $5 starbucks gift cards as we left.
The graphics were things everyone on this board has mostly seen here
already, but interesting nevertheless to see the actual leaders, designers
and policymakers present the process and update things to the public.
Project to make Boston greener
Rom?n Rodriguez
The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway project would combine elements of urban design with horticulture in the space once occupied by the Route 93 Central Artery if the project attains the funding and public support Mayor Thomas Menino encouraged at Faneuil Hall yesterday.
The area is one of the most sought-after sites by businesses and conservationists alike because of its choice location in one of the most expensive cities in the United States.
Menino described the project as "27 acres of opportunity"
Menino said the Greenway should complement its surroundings and not overstep or encroach distastefully upon the city. He instead stressed that the green space be integrated with the city, and said not finalizing a blueprint is a "missed opportunity."
Robert Brown from CBT Architecture compared the Greenway to famous parks around the world.
According to Brown, the Greenway should be a common ground in the city, uniting parcels of land in Chinatown, the North End and the Wharf District. Many of Boston's famous landmarks and most crucial buildings -- including City Hall and Faneuil Hall -- fall into the land developed by the Greenway.
Brown encouraged the creation of various teen and young adult programs designed to involve citizens in the Greenway after its development. Major organizations including the YMCA and the Boston Museum Project have already been awarded parcels of Greenway land.
Both Brown and Menino stressed the need for public awareness and involvement since the Greenway is designed to reflect Boston's diversity, including the Chinatown park, which will incorporate many architectural elements of Chinese culture, ranging from rock wall arrangements to tiling patterns in pavilions.
Yet, Susan Vera, who identified herself as a concerned citizen, said the issue of funding has wormed its way into the public consciousness as well, adding that she was attending the speech to find out what progress was being made on the fundraising front.
George Bachrach, an advisor to the Boston Society of Architects and a professor in the Boston University College of Communication, said funding was an issue.
"The Greenway obviously is a magnificent addition to the city, but it needs to be carefully done, and that is what this is about," Bachrach said, stressing the need for the project to be integrated with the city and not simply as an aesthetic addition to the city streets.
"Green space without people is like a tree falling in the woods," Bachrach said. "There's no sound."
http://media.www.dailyfreepress.com...epress.com&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com
Rom?n Rodriguez
The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway project would combine elements of urban design with horticulture in the space once occupied by the Route 93 Central Artery if the project attains the funding and public support Mayor Thomas Menino encouraged at Faneuil Hall yesterday.
The area is one of the most sought-after sites by businesses and conservationists alike because of its choice location in one of the most expensive cities in the United States.
Menino described the project as "27 acres of opportunity"
Menino said the Greenway should complement its surroundings and not overstep or encroach distastefully upon the city. He instead stressed that the green space be integrated with the city, and said not finalizing a blueprint is a "missed opportunity."
Robert Brown from CBT Architecture compared the Greenway to famous parks around the world.
According to Brown, the Greenway should be a common ground in the city, uniting parcels of land in Chinatown, the North End and the Wharf District. Many of Boston's famous landmarks and most crucial buildings -- including City Hall and Faneuil Hall -- fall into the land developed by the Greenway.
Brown encouraged the creation of various teen and young adult programs designed to involve citizens in the Greenway after its development. Major organizations including the YMCA and the Boston Museum Project have already been awarded parcels of Greenway land.
Both Brown and Menino stressed the need for public awareness and involvement since the Greenway is designed to reflect Boston's diversity, including the Chinatown park, which will incorporate many architectural elements of Chinese culture, ranging from rock wall arrangements to tiling patterns in pavilions.
Yet, Susan Vera, who identified herself as a concerned citizen, said the issue of funding has wormed its way into the public consciousness as well, adding that she was attending the speech to find out what progress was being made on the fundraising front.
George Bachrach, an advisor to the Boston Society of Architects and a professor in the Boston University College of Communication, said funding was an issue.
"The Greenway obviously is a magnificent addition to the city, but it needs to be carefully done, and that is what this is about," Bachrach said, stressing the need for the project to be integrated with the city and not simply as an aesthetic addition to the city streets.
"Green space without people is like a tree falling in the woods," Bachrach said. "There's no sound."
http://media.www.dailyfreepress.com...epress.com&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com
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Why do I have a feeling this will get just as fucked up as City Hall plaza and will be generations before anyone admits mistakes and trys to fix it?
It's not fucked up at all. You need to be patient. The North End park will be done this fall and the remaining parks will be done in the spring.
Once they are finished, it will be up to the abutters to step up to the plate.
Once they are finished, it will be up to the abutters to step up to the plate.
L
laramaro
Guest
I agree that we need to be patient. Unfortunately we are going to have to be a little more patient than we thought. The North End Park's completion date has been pushed back to the spring, I think because of delays associated with the tunnel collapse.
BEYOND THE BIG DIG | GLOBE EDITORIAL
Time for Greenway action
October 10, 2006
MASSACHUSETTS POLITICS has made the Rose Kennedy Greenway's existence as tortuous as its winding path through the heart of Boston.
Now the greenway is at another crucial crossroad.
Even as bold plans for two beautiful parks straddling Hanover Street in the North End are coming to life in shrubbery and steel, other key parcels are mired in uncertainty. Three public-spirited non profit groups have proposed cultural and community centers for the greenway, but none of the three has raised enough money to guarantee success.
Fortunately, there is a way forward, if political and civic leaders can summon the will to take it. The new leadership of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority has asked the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy to review all plans for the project. The conservancy's report, due Oct. 16, could be the splash of cold water that the project badly needs.
Already, in an interim report, the conservancy has signaled that it will suggest realistic standards for the non profits: fund-raising and other benchmarks that will test their viability.
The conservancy is on the right track. It owes an unsentimental, clear-eyed assessment to the turnpike board of directors, to all of Greater Boston, and to the future generations so often cited as the ultimate beneficiaries of the greenway. If the tough issues aren't confronted now, when will they ever be? The final recommendations should include:
A demand that the non profits prove they can build the planned facilities and have enough resources left over to operate and maintain them. The projects are a roughly $50 million YMCA and community center planned opposite the Government Center Garage ; a $90 million museum project north of Christopher Columbus Park; and the $80 million New Center for Arts and Culture just south of Rowes Wharf. If these projects are viable, their fund-raising efforts should actually be helped by reasonable deadlines. Any not viable should step aside and give someone else a chance.
This goes double for the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, which has retained its designation as developer of three key parcels north of South Station for 16 years, through a succession of diminishing proposals. Even the least ambitious has had to be subsidized by the turnpike. There is no need to snatch these parcels from MassHort peremptorily, but they should be opened up to alternatives. There is enough room for crowd-pleasing amenities not now planned elsewhere on the greenway, such as a skating rink or carousel, or a relatively high-volume restaurant drawing inspiration, say, from Anthony's Pier 4 and the Tavern on the Green in New York's Central Park. Another possibility: the museum project and the New Center could combine their visions, and their fund-raising efforts, into one facility, perhaps located on the New Center parcel and the adjacent MassHort parcel. MassHort might still produce a viable attraction on one or two parcels, but to date it certainly hasn't shown it needs three.
A proposed memorial to victims of the Armenian genocide is well-intentioned and handsomely designed, but should find another home. The greenway should not become an avenue of monuments .
Excellence and only excellence should be the goal in every phase of the project from planning to construction, including materials, to operations, maintenance, and programming.
Continuing emphasis should go into making sure the greenway becomes a common ground attracting all of Greater Boston, in all its diversity.
The conservancy should also challenge the turnpike board and other leaders to confront the two overriding questions that still -- amazingly -- have no final answer: who will run the greenway, and who will pay?
Progress on the greenway has been hobbled for years by a classic case of Massachusetts political gridlock. Turf wars among the turnpike, the City of Boston, a succession of governors, and the Legislature created a quagmire. In Barcelona, Paris, San Francisco, Chicago, and elsewhere, city governments have done the best job of creating vibrant new parks. But it does not appear that Boston can amass the political or financial support to assume that role.
If that is the case, the conservancy itself -- with greater public financing and a greater emphasis on the public side of its public-private partnership -- would be best positioned to take charge.
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino has expressed growing support for the conservancy. Recently, at the first of a two-part forum organized by the Boston Society of Architects, Menino said that the conservancy ``has demonstrated its commitment and its ability to achieve results." (The second part of the forum, to focus on programming, is scheduled for Oct. 17 at Faneuil Hall.) Menino urged the turnpike chairman, John Cogliano, who is also the state transportation secretary, to give the conservancy more authority, at least over the development proposals from the non profit organizations.
Financing is still a big question mark. Menino favors some form of business improvement district, through which nearby businesses would be assessed, based on the increase in their property values due to the greenway. This would be one way to turn private dollars into public funding. In any event, private contributions, while welcome and needed, should never threaten the greenway's character as a public space.
Senator Edward Kennedy is pushing for resolution. Key members of the Romney administration are showing admirable flexibility. Both Senate President Robert Travaglini and House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi have the greenway in their districts.
The conservancy report can be the needed catalyst. The time is right, but it is also short, if the greenway is to realize its extraordinary potential.
Link
Time for Greenway action
October 10, 2006
MASSACHUSETTS POLITICS has made the Rose Kennedy Greenway's existence as tortuous as its winding path through the heart of Boston.
Now the greenway is at another crucial crossroad.
Even as bold plans for two beautiful parks straddling Hanover Street in the North End are coming to life in shrubbery and steel, other key parcels are mired in uncertainty. Three public-spirited non profit groups have proposed cultural and community centers for the greenway, but none of the three has raised enough money to guarantee success.
Fortunately, there is a way forward, if political and civic leaders can summon the will to take it. The new leadership of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority has asked the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy to review all plans for the project. The conservancy's report, due Oct. 16, could be the splash of cold water that the project badly needs.
Already, in an interim report, the conservancy has signaled that it will suggest realistic standards for the non profits: fund-raising and other benchmarks that will test their viability.
The conservancy is on the right track. It owes an unsentimental, clear-eyed assessment to the turnpike board of directors, to all of Greater Boston, and to the future generations so often cited as the ultimate beneficiaries of the greenway. If the tough issues aren't confronted now, when will they ever be? The final recommendations should include:
A demand that the non profits prove they can build the planned facilities and have enough resources left over to operate and maintain them. The projects are a roughly $50 million YMCA and community center planned opposite the Government Center Garage ; a $90 million museum project north of Christopher Columbus Park; and the $80 million New Center for Arts and Culture just south of Rowes Wharf. If these projects are viable, their fund-raising efforts should actually be helped by reasonable deadlines. Any not viable should step aside and give someone else a chance.
This goes double for the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, which has retained its designation as developer of three key parcels north of South Station for 16 years, through a succession of diminishing proposals. Even the least ambitious has had to be subsidized by the turnpike. There is no need to snatch these parcels from MassHort peremptorily, but they should be opened up to alternatives. There is enough room for crowd-pleasing amenities not now planned elsewhere on the greenway, such as a skating rink or carousel, or a relatively high-volume restaurant drawing inspiration, say, from Anthony's Pier 4 and the Tavern on the Green in New York's Central Park. Another possibility: the museum project and the New Center could combine their visions, and their fund-raising efforts, into one facility, perhaps located on the New Center parcel and the adjacent MassHort parcel. MassHort might still produce a viable attraction on one or two parcels, but to date it certainly hasn't shown it needs three.
A proposed memorial to victims of the Armenian genocide is well-intentioned and handsomely designed, but should find another home. The greenway should not become an avenue of monuments .
Excellence and only excellence should be the goal in every phase of the project from planning to construction, including materials, to operations, maintenance, and programming.
Continuing emphasis should go into making sure the greenway becomes a common ground attracting all of Greater Boston, in all its diversity.
The conservancy should also challenge the turnpike board and other leaders to confront the two overriding questions that still -- amazingly -- have no final answer: who will run the greenway, and who will pay?
Progress on the greenway has been hobbled for years by a classic case of Massachusetts political gridlock. Turf wars among the turnpike, the City of Boston, a succession of governors, and the Legislature created a quagmire. In Barcelona, Paris, San Francisco, Chicago, and elsewhere, city governments have done the best job of creating vibrant new parks. But it does not appear that Boston can amass the political or financial support to assume that role.
If that is the case, the conservancy itself -- with greater public financing and a greater emphasis on the public side of its public-private partnership -- would be best positioned to take charge.
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino has expressed growing support for the conservancy. Recently, at the first of a two-part forum organized by the Boston Society of Architects, Menino said that the conservancy ``has demonstrated its commitment and its ability to achieve results." (The second part of the forum, to focus on programming, is scheduled for Oct. 17 at Faneuil Hall.) Menino urged the turnpike chairman, John Cogliano, who is also the state transportation secretary, to give the conservancy more authority, at least over the development proposals from the non profit organizations.
Financing is still a big question mark. Menino favors some form of business improvement district, through which nearby businesses would be assessed, based on the increase in their property values due to the greenway. This would be one way to turn private dollars into public funding. In any event, private contributions, while welcome and needed, should never threaten the greenway's character as a public space.
Senator Edward Kennedy is pushing for resolution. Key members of the Romney administration are showing admirable flexibility. Both Senate President Robert Travaglini and House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi have the greenway in their districts.
The conservancy report can be the needed catalyst. The time is right, but it is also short, if the greenway is to realize its extraordinary potential.
Link
I
IMAngry
Guest
Someone please write up some bumper stickers
HORT OUT, HORT OUT, HORT OUT.
Enough is f-ing enough!!!
HORT OUT, HORT OUT, HORT OUT.
Enough is f-ing enough!!!
This is tonight. I urge everyone, who can, to go.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006 ? 5:30 PM ? 7:30 PM
Public Forum ? Faneuil Hall
Joint event between the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy and the Boston Society of Architects, to discuss the possibilities for public programming on the Greenway. Speakers will include programming specialists from Chicago, Montreal, and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy in San Francisco. Forum moderated by Mary Richardson of WCVB-TV Channel 5?s ?Chronicle?.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006 ? 5:30 PM ? 7:30 PM
Public Forum ? Faneuil Hall
Joint event between the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy and the Boston Society of Architects, to discuss the possibilities for public programming on the Greenway. Speakers will include programming specialists from Chicago, Montreal, and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy in San Francisco. Forum moderated by Mary Richardson of WCVB-TV Channel 5?s ?Chronicle?.
2nd Greenway public meeting
I went....again.
Another introductory salutation by Menino.
Then fairly interesting presentations by park planners from San Francisco and Montreal on the running and programming of those cities' major park systems and open spaces. One element from Canada that will probably never happen here: major municipal funding for projects and programming, more along the European model than America's.
Wvcb tv's mary richardson did an okay job moderating.
Then some same-old questions about "who will pay" "too little green space (! - exactly the opposite)" etc which recieved lukewarm responses such as "we dont know" and "not exactly sure yet" etc from the officials present who responded. Didnt make me to optimistic about the whole thing. Dont even like the name what is up with rk greenway anyways.
I feel like it will be some lacklustre open spaces until in a few decades the private sector will come in with the resources to develop and run the spaces and development parcels better. Oh well....
I went....again.
Another introductory salutation by Menino.
Then fairly interesting presentations by park planners from San Francisco and Montreal on the running and programming of those cities' major park systems and open spaces. One element from Canada that will probably never happen here: major municipal funding for projects and programming, more along the European model than America's.
Wvcb tv's mary richardson did an okay job moderating.
Then some same-old questions about "who will pay" "too little green space (! - exactly the opposite)" etc which recieved lukewarm responses such as "we dont know" and "not exactly sure yet" etc from the officials present who responded. Didnt make me to optimistic about the whole thing. Dont even like the name what is up with rk greenway anyways.
I feel like it will be some lacklustre open spaces until in a few decades the private sector will come in with the resources to develop and run the spaces and development parcels better. Oh well....
Joe_Schmoe
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Are they still going with the Cheshire Cat design for the museum?
lexicon506
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Thank god! Finally the people running this project are getting some sense. MassHort should've been kicked out a while ago.
masshort goes down
I think were missing the point here. A world-class winter garden/botanical complex would have been a great addition to the Greenway. Its sad that in America there isnt funding support for such public-oriented projects. Any other new proposal is going to have the same problem, what makes you think the city will pay for something or some other group will be able to raise money better?
Yes MassHort is weak and incompetent but the (seemingly, hopefully just for now) loss of the garden complex is something to be mourned, not celebrated.
I think were missing the point here. A world-class winter garden/botanical complex would have been a great addition to the Greenway. Its sad that in America there isnt funding support for such public-oriented projects. Any other new proposal is going to have the same problem, what makes you think the city will pay for something or some other group will be able to raise money better?
Yes MassHort is weak and incompetent but the (seemingly, hopefully just for now) loss of the garden complex is something to be mourned, not celebrated.
lexicon506
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The garden complex was never going to get built given the financial state of MassHort. We would've ended up with some small, insignificant buildings (I think they were talking about a tent!) and more empty green space when we deserved a large winter garden on those parcels. Trust me, I wanted to see the Darwin Project realized just as much as the next guy, but it's wasteful to let three choice downtown parcels just sit there while MassHort goes further into debt. Ideally, MassHort would've been helped out by the state, city, etc., but unfortunately our government isn't focused on such things.
It's a good thing that the Conservancy is giving other groups a chance to transform those parcels into the successful public spaces we all would like to see. MassHort failed, so they should step down. Just down the street is an example of a non-profit, the New Center, that has had much better success than MassHort raising money. So yes, I do believe that there are other groups out there that have the resources and organization needed to be successful in developing those parcels. Some groups may even team up in order to raise more money and build something better. We may get a world-class winter garden after all, under someone else's management. With MassHort out of the way, the possibilities are endless!
It's a good thing that the Conservancy is giving other groups a chance to transform those parcels into the successful public spaces we all would like to see. MassHort failed, so they should step down. Just down the street is an example of a non-profit, the New Center, that has had much better success than MassHort raising money. So yes, I do believe that there are other groups out there that have the resources and organization needed to be successful in developing those parcels. Some groups may even team up in order to raise more money and build something better. We may get a world-class winter garden after all, under someone else's management. With MassHort out of the way, the possibilities are endless!