Author: Ava Dimond

Comment Letter Re: Boston Common Master Plan

Comment Letter Re: Boston Common Master Plan

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Nathan Frazee
Project Manager
Boston Common Master Plan
Boston Parks Department
1010 Massachusetts Ave.
Boston, MA 02118
via email: nathan.frazee@boston.gov 

RE: WalkBoston Comments on 2022 Boston Common Master Plan

Dear Mr. Frazee:

WalkBoston has followed the progress for the Boston Common Master Plan over the last few years, and we appreciate the time and attention that has been placed on creating an inviting public realm and an enhanced sense of arrival and safer crosswalks at all entrances. We’ve highlighted some sections from the draft report below.

Park Entrances: 

  • We encourage the Parks Department to work with the Transportation Department to ensure the important mid-block crossing of Charles Street at Mayor’s Walk is a raised crosswalk; the draft language hedges in saying it is “A large crosswalk, possibly elevated.” Many people drive way too fast on Charles Street; a raised crosswalk will help calm traffic between two significant parks. 
  • The Shaw 54th Memorial was left out of an earlier draft since it is not accessible from the Boston Common (and due to restoration work by the National Park Service); we are pleased to see that an accessible entrance to the Common from the Shaw 54th Memorial is incorporated into the draft as an early action project.
  • We are pleased to see an early action project for Park Street Station’s plaza will further develop a proposed grading scheme to create an accessible path similar to how Government Center combines stairs and ramps. We had concerns with the previous draft that seemed to frame a direct route down the hill near Park Street onto the plaza at a location near the curbs of Tremont Street. 

Seating & Benches:

  • The report states there are approximately 238 benches in different states of repair today on the Common, down from 390 at the time of the 1996 Management Plan. We are very pleased to see a commitment to both increasing the number of benches available in the Common and providing a higher level of accessibility for existing and new locations, including prioritizing bench locations with new tree plantings for shade. 
  • It is noted that “Armrests should be considered as an accessibility measure; armrests help the elderly and all park users more easily stand up from a seated position. In this way, benches can be used to further the social agenda of the park, making the experience more equitable and accessible for all visitors.” During our Age-Friendly work in Boston with the Age-Strong Commission, participants have expressed that benches with arms help them both with sitting and standing back up from a bench. 
  • We encourage you to look at the improvements the City of Boston made to Cassidy Playground in Allston-Brighton. The redesign created many different seating options, including benches with and without arms, that give park users the opportunity to find seating that works best for their needs at the time. We hope that you can find a solution that meets the needs of older adults without creating hostile architecture. 

Safer bike facilities to reduce bike/ped conflict:

  • Thank you for the continuation of the current policy of excluding bicycle riding in the park. We appreciate the support for the Transportation Department’s work to create better bike facilities on the streets surrounding the Common. If those lanes are a safe option, more people biking will use them. This policy assures the safety and calm of the paths for pedestrians and avoids conflicts between walkers and cyclists. 

Thank you for the opportunity to comment.

Brendan Kearney
Deputy Director of Advocacy, WalkBoston

News Reports and Social Media Highlight Dangerous North End Intersection

News Reports and Social Media Highlight Dangerous North End Intersection

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Although construction on the new North Washington St. Bridge isn’t estimated to be completed for two more years, pedestrians crossing the nearby intersection North End say it presents a clear danger that the city of Boston must address now. An Instagram account called @northwashingtonstbridge has taken to documenting the “traffic and safety nightmares” associated with the bridge that connects Charlestown to the North End. The intersection is frequented by parents and children, tourists following the Freedom Trail, and cyclists and pedestrians commuting to work. They often have to weave around traffic that is blocking the intersection even when the walk sign is on due to the traffic overflow from the bottleneck caused by the North Washington St. Bridge.


Channel 7 News’ “7 Investigates” spoke with transportation expert Peter Furth, a Northeastern professor of civil and environmental engineering, about the dangerous intersection. He cited it being “way over capacity” and emblematic of “terrible traffic management,” and has made suggestions to the Boston Transportation Department to ameliorate it. The last few weeks have seen increased police enforcement to prevent vehicles from blocking the crosswalk, but it remains inconsistent. NBC10 also reported on the story a few weeks ago, detailing the cause of the new bridge’s delays and interviewing Katy Fleming, a Charlestown mother whose child was nearly killed when crossing the street last year.

WalkBoston is glad to see concerned residents speaking up about the danger the intersection poses, and are hopeful that this increased media attention will encourage the city to take immediate action before someone gets hurt. 

From Pilot to Permanent– Sidewalk Snow Clearing Progress in Boston

From Pilot to Permanent– Sidewalk Snow Clearing Progress in Boston

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WalkBoston was excited to see that Boston City Councilor Kenzie Bok announced this week that the City of Boston has plans for more sidewalk plows and an expanded Sidewalk Snow-Clearing Program this winter. This is a big deal!

Thank you Mayor Wu, Councilor Bok, Public Works, and the many people that have worked to move sidewalk snow clearing from plan to pilot to what will be a normal part of Boston’s snow clearing response, with ~80 Bobcats available for the effort. This is very exciting, and we know many people that have volunteered or worked at WalkBoston are really, really, pleased since this has been a frustration (and opportunity for improvement) that has been highlighted for years!

Ensuring people can continue to navigate sidewalks and curb ramps in the days after winter storms is critical to making a year round livable city for everyone. Thank you for recognizing that, and finding a way to make this a reality. It is really appreciated!

Lastly, sidewalk snow clearance isn’t just “a Boston thing.“ The most recent round of MassDOT’s Shared Streets and Spaces Funding Program for the first time allowed communities to use the money to buy snow removal equipment for pedestrian & bicycle facilities: as shown in the press release, 43 communities across the state did just that!

MassDOT 2022 Moving Together Conference

MassDOT 2022 Moving Together Conference

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Last week WalkBoston had the opportunity to attend and table at MassDOT’s Moving Together Conference. It was wonderful to be surrounded by colleagues who are as passionate about the possibilities of active transportation and public transportation as the WalkBoston staff is. Walking, alongside bicycling and public transport, encourages better health, a cleaner environment, and more vibrant communities in Massachusetts.

Iolando, Brendan, Althea and Wendy attended workshops and panels, networked with fellow transportation advocates, and shared about WalkBoston’s work while tabling. It was especially great to talk to so many people on November 1st, day one of this year’s Beat the Bay State Challenge, and encourage them to sign up and create teams! 

One panel that stood out to Brendan was “MassTrails – Investments in Trails Across the Commonwealth,” which featured Dan Driscoll and Stella Lensing from the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), Megan Mello of Kittelson, and Pete Sutton and Kayla Sousa of MassDOT. Officially launched in 2018, the MassTrails Team has recently completed its fourth round of grant awards funding $11.8 million in MassTrails Grants to 81 projects throughout the Commonwealth. The team is seeking to create a cohesive network of trails across Massachusetts; excitingly, Dan Driscoll announced that $40 million was recently appropriated by the Governor for funding the Mystic River bridge crossing and they will be restarting the design process soon! 

Check Out Medford’s New Wayfinding Signs!

Check Out Medford’s New Wayfinding Signs!

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Last month WalkBoston went on a “field trip” to visit the wayfinding signs we helped the City of Medford design and install this past August. Implemented with funding from a MassDOT Shared Streets and Spaces grant, the signs represent an easy, low-cost measure that makes Medford more accessible and navigable to pedestrians. As Aateka Shashank writes, 

“As part of the many ways in which cities can encourage travel by foot or bike, wayfinding signage allows pedestrians to make mental maps and visualize their city by connecting sidewalks and footpaths that lead them to their destinations, rather than by the automobile-oriented street signs.”

Following a team lunch, all members of the WalkBoston staff plus Board Member Nina Garfinkle, who designed the signs, followed a route that began in Medford Square.
    
We then walked to the Footbridge over the Mystic River, crossing it and taking the River Path. This part of the walk was beautifully scenic and peaceful.
    

We passed the Condon Shell Bandstand with its beautiful mural depicting the Mystic River. (The Mystic River is a modified form of the Algonquin name “MissiTuk,” meaning “great tidal river” in reference to the Mystic’s tidal waters.)

We also encountered this rain garden and sidewalk bump out at the corner of Winthrop and South Street. Rain gardens help mitigate flooding and pollution from stormwater runoff by providing a permeable surface for precipitation to be absorbed and filtered. This one has the additional benefit as a piece of traffic calming infrastructure, as it shortens the crossing distance for pedestrians and forces drivers to slow down while turning the corner. This is the type of improvement you’ll soon see in the City of Boston with the new Environmental Standards for Green Infrastructure!


WalkBoston eventually reached a Medford landmark on South Street: “Grandfather’s House,” the one depicted in the famous poem “Over the River and Through the Woods” by Lydia Maria Child.

We saw lovely gardens and wildflowers along the way.
    
WalkBoston also took some time to visit and reflect on the Royall House and Slave Quarters Museum which preserves a 17th century mansion, slave quarters, and the remnants of a 500-acre estate that had been home to the Royall family, “the largest slaveholding family in Massachusetts, and to the more than 60 Africans they’d enslaved. It’s thought to be the only surviving freestanding slave quarters in the northern United States.” Read more about the site here.
    
WalkBoston ended our field trip at Medford City Hall, where we greeted the Office of Planning, Development, & Sustainability that had approached us in making the wayfinding signs a reality. If you come across the signs in Medford, be sure to scan the QR codes to learn more and submit feedback. WalkBoston was grateful for the opportunity to explore Medford on foot and experience its natural beauty, charming streets and rich history.