Notes from a busy and hot tall ships Sunday:
Shadeless benches stayed utterly empty by Rowes Wharf, on a particularly non-green concrete swath of Greenway plaza used only by street-crossers. Although, now that we know keeping surfaces white and reflective will help ease global warming, perhaps this plaza is more "green" than anyone actually thunked.
On the next parcel, a winding pathway between highway ramps was almost entirely abandoned - despite offering shade.
"Maybe nobody wants to walk here," you might think. Well, particularly on a day when ship-seers made their way from Charlestown to Long Wharf to Rowes Wharf and on to the Seaport all day long, the sidewalks themselves were abuzz.
Some other interesting notes without pictures:
- North end parks, fountain and carousel were well-attended and seemed to knit the urban fabric nicely together. But right nearby, a stretch of unshaded grass was an urban desert.
- Behind the picture above of the path there's a small pedestrian "roundabout" with a few tall trees. There were picnics happening underneath. As far as I could tell, this oasis of activity was due to proximity to a crossstreet and paths that made sense for pedestrian use - combined with ample shade. Interestingly, this favored spot was not provisioned with benches.
- The fact that crosswalks are at the edges by the streets is, it seems to me, part of what afflicts the use of the central paths, ruining a sense of continuity and ease-of-use. Cross streets here should ideally act as one large crosswalk... perhaps something as simple as cobblestone paving and a central crosswalk could bring a sense of continuity.
- The Greenway lack a sense of "going anywhere." Why would I want to follow it, other than if it just so happens to be along my route as it was for the tallshippies...? What's the focus? Where is it going? The empty brick stairs down the side of City Hall Plaza towards Quincy Market have more of a sense of purpose than the Greenway.
- The ubiquitous pedestrian-oriented street maps posted at each tourist juncture still show an expressway, not a Greenway. (Anyone surprised?)
- Bring on the Arch! (yes, I realize this is opinion, not observation).
