The New Retail Thread

Time for some drive-by shooting in Chestnut Hill...

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Wegmans:

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This stretch of Rt 9 is in desperate need of a pedestrian bridge.
 
They're putting in a high-visibility signalized pedestrian crossing - I think that's only bound to muck things up even further. A ped overpass would be nice, but even better would be ensuring that the walking path from the Chestnut Hill T stop to developments on both sides of Route 9 didn't involve wandering through parking lots. They could so easily design a clear and obvious pedestrian and bike path through these new developments to maximize any potential for TOD.
 
Signalized pedestrian crossings did wonders for the walking environment around Fresh Pond and the adjoining rotaries and stripmalls. I expect this will be a similarly welcome improvment.
 
Shepard said:
They're putting in a high-visibility signalized pedestrian crossing - I think that's only bound to muck things up even further. A ped overpass would be nice, but even better would be ensuring that the walking path from the Chestnut Hill T stop to developments on both sides of Route 9 didn't involve wandering through parking lots. They could so easily design a clear and obvious pedestrian and bike path through these new developments to maximize any potential for TOD.
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How many people do you really think are working out at Equinox/LA Sports Club, Dining at Davio's/DelFrisco's, buying $150 yoga pants at Lululemon etc. and are walking the 10-25 min. to take the T? I wish I was wrong but I have a feeling it is a tiny fraction of the shoppers at these developments.
 
BosDevelop said:
How many people do you really think are working out at Equinox/LA Sports Club, Dining at Davio's/DelFrisco's, buying $150 yoga pants at Lululemon etc. and are walking the 10-25 min. to take the T? I wish I was wrong but I have a feeling it is a tiny fraction of the shoppers at these developments.
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Few at the moment - largely because the perception is that these stores are up to 25 minutes' walk from the T. They aren't. From the T stop to the heart of this new development known as "The Street" is 0.4 miles through the parking lot. That's about as long as the walk from Hynes or Copley into the heart of the Prudential Center. The difference is perception - it feels longer and more tedious walking through a parking lot. My argument is that it doesn't need to feel that way with proper pathing and accommodations. I do believe there is and will be untapped transit demands here.
 
BosDevelop said:
How many people do you really think are working out at Equinox/LA Sports Club, Dining at Davio's/DelFrisco's, buying $150 yoga pants at Lululemon etc. and are walking the 10-25 min. to take the T? I wish I was wrong but I have a feeling it is a tiny fraction of the shoppers at these developments.
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The people who work there.
 
Shepard said:
Few at the moment - largely because the perception is that these stores are up to 25 minutes' walk from the T. They aren't. From the T stop to the heart of this new development known as "The Street" is 0.4 miles through the parking lot. That's about as long as the walk from Hynes or Copley into the heart of the Prudential Center. The difference is perception - it feels longer and more tedious walking through a parking lot. My argument is that it doesn't need to feel that way with proper pathing and accommodations. I do believe there is and will be untapped transit demands here.
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Some of those pics are of Chestnut Hill Square, not "The Street", which is most certainly NOT a 5-10 minute walk to the T. It's at least 20-25 minutes from there. I still don't think more than a trivial number of The Streets' target customers are arriving/departing my T a half mile or so walk away and I don't see that changing significantly with any improvements.
 
I know I've taken the T there before, for what little that anecdote's worth.
 
Shepard said:
Few at the moment - largely because the perception is that these stores are up to 25 minutes' walk from the T. They aren't. From the T stop to the heart of this new development known as "The Street" is 0.4 miles through the parking lot. That's about as long as the walk from Hynes or Copley into the heart of the Prudential Center. The difference is perception - it feels longer and more tedious walking through a parking lot. My argument is that it doesn't need to feel that way with proper pathing and accommodations. I do believe there is and will be untapped transit demands here.
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I got off at Chestnut Hill last week, walked to the Apple store at Chestnut Hill Mall to get my laptop fixed. Beautiful evening, but, as noted above, a walk that could be made much more bucolic and civilized instead makes you feel as if your trespassing/skulking about, as you have to awkwardly cut through all those parking lots.
 
DBM said:
I got off at Chestnut Hill last week, walked to the Apple store at Chestnut Hill Mall to get my laptop fixed. Beautiful evening, but, as noted above, a walk that could be made much more bucolic and civilized instead makes you feel as if your trespassing/skulking about, as you have to awkwardly cut through all those parking lots.
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That walk is impossible during the winter btw. You cannot access (the ex-) Atrium Mall or The Mall at Chestnut Hill when there is snow on the ground because the appropriate paths are never shoveled and the sidewalks in general don't exist.

Why the heck didn't you just go to Boylston St though? That area is so transit-unfriendly and without a car, I wouldn't even consider going to that Apple Store.
 
Good enlivening of this outdoor space. It's also good to see a sign that has a bit of ambition. Signage ordinances too often embrace the notion of small and modest=tasteful. That's fine in some places but other locations need big and honking.
 
datadyne007 said:
That walk is impossible during the winter btw. You cannot access (the ex-) Atrium Mall or The Mall at Chestnut Hill when there is snow on the ground because the appropriate paths are never shoveled and the sidewalks in general don't exist.

Why the heck didn't you just go to Boylston St though? That area is so transit-unfriendly and without a car, I wouldn't even consider going to that Apple Store.
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Good question. All things being equal, yes, the Back Bay location is much preferred. However, I live near Riverside, so in this case, it was on the way home.
 
Staples just closed a store on Winter Street (now a CVS) a few years ago. They don't seem to be able to decide whether to contract or expand in downtown Boston.
 
Ron Newman said:
Staples just closed a store on Winter Street (now a CVS) a few years ago. They don't seem to be able to decide whether to contract or expand in downtown Boston.
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I'm actually surprised there aren't more Staples or office supply stores in the DTX/FIDI section. You would think there would be a need for it with all the offices and businesses in the area.
 
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