Rose Kennedy Greenway

statler said:
"Art"
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Art? Looks like 4 super solar panels blocking pedestrian access to the waterfront.

Absolutely serves no purpose in that location.
That entire area is blocked from the public.
Pool area
IMAX
Harbor garage
4 super solar panels
Aquarium ( actually looks old decrypted with the concrete structure falling apart)

What is the city & the BRA thinking at this point concerning this dead zone around the harbor walk?.

No real inviting access for the public. It's like all private property being monopolized by Harbor Tower residents that the taxpayers built up the area for only harbor tower residents to enjoy concerning that part of the greenway & harbor.

This is a disgrace

The real buzz is on the greenway it needs more public access to the waterfront.
I actually heard a comment made in the seaport last night that nobody here is actually from Boston thou.
 
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We've discussed in great length on this board how the Greenway is too linear, too much like a highway median, too big, basically. Also, how the surface artery roads are too straight, too wide, too much like a highway. They could have broken it up, made it a lot less linear, thrown in a building here and there, switched the roadways so they're one side or the other alternating every few blocks, etc. And, as you say, open up some parcels to the waterfront, maybe by trading some Greenway area for development.

A lot of ways still available to mix it up and weave it into the city instead of being a linear scar.
 
What they should have done is decreased the surface roads by two lanes and made a trolley that travels alongside the Greenway. The North Washington Bridge and the Northern Avenue Bridge could have supported a trolley (after some repairs) and you could have the oft mentioned tourist line stretching from the Seaport to the Navy Yard.

Unfortunately the state is angling towards replacing the Northern Avenue Bridge with a car bridge instead of rehabbing and I'm not sure the North Washington Bridge is designed to support trolleys.

However, I'm not so sure that they should have put developments* on some of the parcels. I think the Greenway has really come together and I can't think of any particular parcel that merits its existence as park space either on its own merits or because of its location. Get rid of all the on and off ramps, some lanes off of the surface roads, and some of the more useless cross streets and the Greenway can become pretty much perfect. My point being, the only thing acting as a linear scar in this area is the overbuilt road infrastructure.

*Other than maybe a structure covering the Dewey Square eyesore, that could even include a wall for murals.)
 
Yes. I know we have talked about the greenway a great length. I just want to know at this point was it planned that the taxpayers are funding 1/5 of the greenway parcel for harbor tower residents private enjoyment? No inviting public access from the garage to after the pool area. It's sickening.

That is what Menino and ex-head BRA palmeria, and chief design expert Shen had in mind for that area for the greenway but then give away seaport with all these tax breaks? This is what is best for the public concerning the greenway and harbor front.

Aquarium executives against development in the area? The aquarium structure is literally falling apart.

The IMAX is like something NASA would build in extreme weather conditions on Mars.

WTF is wrong with these people.

This is what I saw last night. The area is vibrant it just could be so much more.
 
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TheRifleman said:
Yes. I know we have talked about the greenway a great length. I just want to know at this point was it planned that the taxpayers are funding 1/5 of the greenway parcel for harbor tower residents private enjoyment? No inviting public access from the garage to after the pool area. It's sickening.
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I agree the pool area needs to be nuked from orbit, but it is in no way part of the Greenway or funded by taxpayers. It is private property. The only way to open it to the public is to either convince the Habor Tower residents to allow the public in or to take it by eminent domain. I would support either scenario but I am not holding my breath.

EDIT: I may have misread Rife's post? I thought he was talking about the pool area itself, but now I'm not sure what exactly area he is talking about. Sorry about that. My thoughts on the pool area itself still stand.
 
statler said:
eminent domain
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Is it still schadenfreude if I would enjoy not just watching them lose their shit, but also obviously the public access to water?

Truthfully though, I'm against claiming eminent domain in almost all circumstances, and that includes this one. They do own the land.

What I would like to see is for the city to start ignoring them in all other matters and in fact take the somewhat antagonistic approach of allowing redevelopment of the garage with a plan that blocks as much of their precious views as possible, then brokering a deal in which they open up access to the street in exchange for a thinner less "intrusive" building.
 
Proposition Joe said:
What they should have done is decreased the surface roads by two lanes and made a trolley that travels alongside the Greenway. The North Washington Bridge and the Northern Avenue Bridge could have supported a trolley (after some repairs) and you could have the oft mentioned tourist line stretching from the Seaport to the Navy Yard.

Unfortunately the state is angling towards replacing the Northern Avenue Bridge with a car bridge instead of rehabbing and I'm not sure the North Washington Bridge is designed to support trolleys.

However, I'm not so sure that they should have put developments* on some of the parcels. I think the Greenway has really come together and I can't think of any particular parcel that merits its existence as park space either on its own merits or because of its location. Get rid of all the on and off ramps, some lanes off of the surface roads, and some of the more useless cross streets and the Greenway can become pretty much perfect. My point being, the only thing acting as a linear scar in this area is the overbuilt road infrastructure.

*Other than maybe a structure covering the Dewey Square eyesore, that could even include a wall for murals.)
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As someone who actually uses the surface roads, I can tell you that the last thing on my mind is "Hey, you know what this road needs? Less lanes!"
 
The backups on the surface roads seem to be mostly because too many cars are trying to access I-93 at the same time. And then when I-93 backs up, it ripples all up and down the surface streets.
 
jl326 said:
As someone who actually uses the surface roads, I can tell you that the last thing on my mind is "Hey, you know what this road needs? Less lanes!"
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As someone who actually uses the Greenway I can tell you the last thing on my mind is, "Hey, you know what this park needs? More honking car horns and toxic auto emissions!"

A trolley system would be a huge upgrade over all the cars. In the meantime they should close of at least part of the area to cars on weekends. Same thing with Charles Street between the Common and Public Garden. There shouldn't be roads going through parks and cities shouldn't be designed around the wants of suburban car drivers.
 
You're right, never try or believe in anything. Don't even think things could be better because the world will never change.
 
No need for a ferris wheel here. The clock tower's observation deck has the area covered.
 
DZH22 said:
No need for a ferris wheel here. The clock tower's observation deck has the area covered.
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But we could have our own bizarro version of Big Ben and the London Eye (kind of, sort of)!
 
in the course of living here for most of my life and going to both high school and college in downtown boston, i've heard -- on at least three occasions that i can recall -- people (tourists) ask if the customs house tower is big ben!
 
chrisbrat said:
in the course of living here for most of my life and going to both high school and college in downtown boston, i've heard -- on at least three occasions that i can recall -- people (tourists) ask if the customs house tower is big ben!
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I think a case can be made that the Custom House is the world's second best clock tower. It's an iconic building for any location.
 
Kinopio said:
As someone who actually uses the Greenway I can tell you the last thing on my mind is, "Hey, you know what this park needs? More honking car horns and toxic auto emissions!"

A trolley system would be a huge upgrade over all the cars. In the meantime they should close of at least part of the area to cars on weekends. Same thing with Charles Street between the Common and Public Garden. There shouldn't be roads going through parks and cities shouldn't be designed around the wants of suburban car drivers.
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Yeah.. I'm not a suburban car driver but even I recognize that many many suburban car drivers contribute to working in the city. If you like your bicycle or T pass or whatever, good for you. Just because you don't have a need for the surface road doesn't mean that several others don't.

P.S. I don't like the cacophony of honking horns or motorcycles over-revving just to get attention (just as another example) as much as the next guy, but that has to do more about behavior and etiquette rather than the availability of roads itself.
 
i remember, the first time i visited london, being surprised at how relatively short/small big ben is. it's gorgeous, but not especially imposing -- custom house tower is significantly taller (496' compared to 315').

also -- i agree with your assessment. mostly. i'd say it's the best clock tower. :)
 
jl326 said:
But we could have our own bizarro version of Big Ben and the London Eye (kind of, sort of)!
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chrisbrat said:
i remember, the first time i visited london, being surprised at how relatively short/small big ben is. it's gorgeous, but not especially imposing -- custom house tower is significantly taller (496' compared to 315').

also -- i agree with your assessment. mostly. i'd say it's the best clock tower. :)
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Oh yes, the London Eye is definitely notably taller than Big Ben. A therorectial ferris wheel on the Greenway would be much shorter than the Custom House clock tower; thus my reference to "bizarro," meant to indicate opposite.
 
Proposition Joe said:
You're right, never try or believe in anything. Don't even think things could be better because the world will never change.
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There will always be a need for multi land roads in the city. Like it or not, it is, and will always be the primary mode of transportation for those living outside the city and those who rely on their cars for work. Not everyone can jump on the train, sit at a desk for 8 hrs, then jump on a train back home. Some need their cars all day. Taking a lane away and doubling the traffic impact is actually a preposterous idea. So yes, keep dreaming, its not happening. There have been more projects to add lanes, than to take away lanes in the last 10 years.
 
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