North End Cross Street Boutique Hotel Comment Letter

Lance Campbell
Senior Project Manager
Boston Planning & Development Agency
April 19, 2021

Re: WalkBoston Comments on North End Cross Street Boutique Hotel

Dear Lance:
WalkBoston attended the public meeting on April 7th for the North End Cross Street Boutique Hotel and offered comments during the virtual meeting. We are pleased that many of the changes will improve the pedestrian experience in approaching and using the proposed buildings, as well as the newly created plaza and passageway.

The passageway between the two buildings will create a new connection between the Rose Kennedy Greenway and Cutillo Park for people walking. We are glad to see the plan will activate the plaza for people along the Greenway, as it includes new seating opportunities both bordering the building with the hotel and restaurant spaces, as well as new public seating closer to the corner of Hanover Street. We appreciate the visual cue of the concrete sidewalk through the site plan’s plaza as recommended by the City of Boston’s Disability Commission.

The Cross Street and Hanover Street intersection is currently used as a geofenced rideshare pickup and drop-off location, as users are directed within their apps to meet their drivers here. This geofencing makes it possible to limit rideshare pickup and drop-off on other streets in the North End, and is one way that the City of Boston can regulate curb use. With an improved pick up and drop-off area included in this project, we hope that this effort will continue.
Finally, we ask that the proponent commit to clearing the entire plaza and crosswalks curb cuts of snow and ice during the winter months in order to ensure safe walking throughout the year. Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the plan. We would be pleased to discuss any of these items further with you.

Thank you,
Stacey Beuttell
Executive Director, WalkBoston

Brendan Kearney
Deputy Director, WalkBoston