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Comment Letter: General Electric Headquarters Project EA 15547

By WalkMassachusetts | September 30, 2016

September 30, 2016

Matthew Beaton, Secretary
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Attn: MEPA Office, Alex Strysky
100 Cambridge Street, Suite 900
Boston, MA 02114

Re: General Electric Headquarters Project EA 15547

Dear Mr. Beaton,

WalkBoston has reviewed the Expanded Environmental Notification Form for this project and we
offer our comments below.

We are excited that GE is locating its headquarters in Boston, and is proposing a project that has such an urban plan where the great majority of trips to the site will be by people walking – about 70% if both walking and transit/walking trips are included. Ensuring that walking connections to the site are convenient, accessible and attractive will be critical to welcoming the public and GE staff to the headquarters.

We think there are several aspects of the site that are exciting for pedestrian access, and where great attention to the details of the walking environment will provide important access benefits.

1. The Fort Point Channel setting – The public realm improvements associated with the project are substantial and will take advantage of the waterside site for its many users.

• The project will include a major building entrance facing a widened 18-foot Harborwalk. On the water’s edge overlooks are provided to heighten contact with the Channel and its water views. A seating zone along the Harborwalk is provided as an extension of the central plaza between Brick Buildings and the New Building. We hope that GE will include site programming that takes advantage of the waterfront portion of the site.

• A path network connects the site with the Harborwalk, including accessible paths. It is likely that many pedestrians will use the stairway from Summer Street to the Harborwalk as this is the most direct route between the site and South Station. The route should be well marked with pedestrian wayfinding signs.

• We recommend adding shade trees along the Harborwalk, and amenity that is mentioned quite often in walkers’ comments.

2. Site entrance on Necco Street – Compared with the Harborwalk entrance, the Necco Street entrance design seems less well developed in the EENF. However, this will be the principal entrance to the site for residents arriving from the Fort Point and Seaport Districts, South Boston, and for people driving to the site. Also, Necco Street will of necessity be the route for people with disabilities because the Harborwalk access is via a stairway from Summer Street and the site.
• The Necco Street entrance should be designed to be as important and attractive as the Harborwalk entrance. The sidewalk is shown as widened to 12’, but is narrowed to carve out a lengthy vehicle drop-off lane along much of the site’s frontage. The sidewalk also accommodates the loading zone and garage entries, and bicycle storage on the sidewalk is also suggested. In combination, this mix of service uses would diminish the quality and functionality of the Necco Street sidewalk. We request that the proponent re-examine the sidewalk design to provide a gracious and welcoming entrance along Necco Street.

• Necco Street should be designed as a tree-lined street. In the 100 Acres Plan (2007) that includes this site, Necco Street is proposed to provide walking access to the proposed parkland that extends from the Fort Point Channel to the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. The street is privately owned, suggesting the possibility for joint action with neighboring properties to improve it. The street right-of-way is nearly 60’ wide which could readily incorporate a design that accommodates two 10-foot travel lanes, two 7-foot parking lanes, and a wide tree-lined sidewalk along the site that also includes
benches and additional landscaping.
• The sidewalk at the main entrance to the buildings should have additional width to accommodate the many potential users. A compelling and elegant front door might be incorporated into the plans for reconfiguring the Brick Buildings.
• A Necco Street crosswalk should be provided at Necco Court to accommodate safe crossing from the large Necco Street Parking Garage across the street.

3. Off-site approaches to the Necco Street site entrance – The existing walking route from Summer Street (and thus South Station) to the boundary of the site is difficult for persons with disabilities to travel. The proponent should take the lead in ensuring that walking improvements are made to this route. This may require significant coordination with the City and with neighboring landowners, but will result in improved access for all users of the neighborhood.

• There is no curb ramp provided from Dorchester Avenue onto the Summer Street Bridge (south/GE side of the bridge). A curb ramp should be provided.

• Accessible access to GE from Summer Street will need to be provided via Melcher Street. However, the sidewalk along the south side of Melcher Street appears appears to have an excessive cross slope that is hazardous for persons with disabilities, and difficult for anyone pushing a stroller or pulling a suitcase. This cross slope will need to be fixed.

• Between Melcher Street and Necco Court on the west side of Necco Street, the sidewalk appears to be 8’ wide, but curb ramps are not provided where driveways cross the street. The sidewalk should be rebuilt to meet ADA requirements and provide a gracious walking route between GE and South Station.

4. Winter weather conditions and general maintenance –

• Management and operations planning should ensure good snow clearance between the site and South Station along the Harborwalk and the sidewalks of Necco and Melcher Streets. The proponent should work with adjacent property owners and business associations to assure good access to its site under winter weather conditions.
• The proponent should explore a greater degree of enclosure and a weather-resistant design for the GE Plaza walkway, a portion of which will be covered by a translucent canopy suspended between Brick Buildings and New Building. The current plan appears to work primarily in warm months, and multi-season use will add interest and vitality to the site.

5. Off-site issues – We urge the proponent to work with the city and the neighboring property owners to bring all nearby pedestrian facilities up to date.

• For example, the sidewalk at the bend of Necco Street (just south of the proponent’s site) needs to be completed, and there are uneven and heaved bricks in the Necco Street sidewalk from the bend to A Street. In addition several areas of the A Street sidewalk toward the Broadway Red Line station are not ADA compliant, because they are too narrow or have missing or insufficient curb ramps.

• The proponent should work with the City to ensure that traffic signal timing works well for pedestrians at intersections near the site.

We appreciate your consideration of our comments and your responses to them, and we look forward to working with GE, the City and other Fort Point community members on this exciting project.

Please feel free to contact WalkBoston with questions you may have.

Sincerely,
Wendy Landman
Executive Director

Cc Peter Cavanaugh, GE Ecosystem Transformation Leader

Comments on the Marine Wharf Project ENF 95585

By WalkMassachusetts | September 23, 2016

September 23, 2016

Matthew Beaton, Secretary
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Attn: MEPA Office Analyst: Alex Strysky
100 Cambridge Street, Suite 900
Boston, MA 02114

Re: Marine Wharf ENF 95585

Dear Mr. Beaton,

WalkBoston appreciates the opportunity to comment on this project and the pedestrian services it provides. The project is very interesting as it occupies a key site in the South Boston Seaport District.

The site is proposed to be developed as a 245 room hotel, which will be able to take advantage of the good and direct walking access to major sites nearby: within a radius of about 2-3 city blocks (1/4 mile) are the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, the Black Falcon Pier and Cruise Terminal, and the Boston Design Center. In addition the site is about 300 feet from a direct view of the Reserved Channel and its port activities – an exciting area of the Seaport District.

Other sites in the Seaport District are more difficult to access from the development site. Although both the performance space at the Blue Hills Bank Pavilion on the waterfront and the Harpoon Brewery and Beer Hall are within ¼ mile of the site, they are accessible only via Harbor Street, through a heavily industrial district dominated by truck traffic – not uninteresting, but somewhat unpleasant as a walking route.

Bus service along Summer Street is excellent, connecting both to South Boston and Downtown. An adjacent transit service that is somewhat complex is the Silver Line, which runs a branch along Black Falcon Avenue that connects into the main tunnel to the World Trade Center Pier and South Station. To reach the airport via the Silver Line, riders must transfer at Silver Line Way Station, not far from this site, but difficult to access because there is no direct walking route leading to it. The proponent may want to work with public agencies to secure more direct and safe pedestrian access to Silver Line Station, which is nearby – slightly more than 500 feet away as the crow flies.

Waterfront walks in the area surrounding the site are not encouraged, despite the location adjacent to the Reserved Channel. The Boston Harborwalk will someday pass directly through the Raymond Flynn Marine Park adjacent to the site, because it is a major land connection between the Seaport District and South Boston. However, at the moment the Harborwalk route is not completely signed between Northern Avenue and the South Boston parks and historic sites, leaving this area without a designated portion of its route.

Wayfinding signs would help hotel patrons find the many attractions of the South Boston Seaport more easily. The proponent should work closely with the group of organizations that have been planning and experimenting with wayfinding networks throughout the Seaport over the last year.

Sidewalks surround the proposed development on both Summer Street and Drydock Avenue. The lovely Raymond Flynn Marine Park, immediately adjacent to the site, affords additional open space for hotel patrons, but has not been incorporated into plans for the building and service areas.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to submit these comments.

Sincerely

Robert Sloane
Senior Planner

Comment Letter: A proposal for the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge

By WalkMassachusetts | September 19, 2016

September 19, 2016

Mayor Martin Walsh, Boston
Mayor Denise Simmons, Cambridge
Stephanie Pollack, Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation
Tom Tinlin, Massachusetts Highway Administrator
Leo Roy, Massachusetts Commissioner, Department of Conservation and Recreation
Monica Bharel, Massachusetts Commissioner, Department of Public Health

Re: A proposal for the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge

Dear Friends:

Boston and Cambridge have declared themselves Vision Zero cities. The Healthy Transportation Compact has united our state agencies in concerted efforts to increase active transportation and improve safety for walking and bicycling.

DCR is on track to add a new Charlesgate Path and a signalized pedestrian/bike crossing of the Mass Ave Bridge to connect the Esplanade with the Back Bay/Kenmore neighborhoods (the crosswalk will be located where the Mass Ave. Bridge crosses the open space between inbound and outbound Storrow Drive). The new Charlesgate path, and the enhanced connection between the Esplanade and Charlesgate via the new crosswalk will generate significant new use by people walking and biking.

These are wonderful developments for people from across Massachusetts and the world who commute, amble and sightsee on the Esplanade, along Memorial Drive, and across the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge! And, they are all leading to more people on foot and bike on the bridge.

As we see the increase in people walking and biking, the lack of safe biking accommodation on the Mass Ave Bridge is leading to large numbers of bicycles on the sidewalks of the Bridge – an unsafe and uncomfortable situation.

We ask that MassDOT, DCR, Boston and Cambridge explore the re-purposing one of the outbound Mass Ave Bridge vehicle travel lanes to provide space for a protected bike lane on each side of the bridge, with access provided from the Esplanade and Charlesgate paths that will connect to the Bridge.

Based on a very preliminary look at the traffic volumes and lane use on the Bridge, we believe that improving the network by adding low-stress, protected bicycle lanes could be accomplished without significant impacts to vehicle operations. Providing protected bike lanes will both improve the safety of people on bikes and improve the safety of pedestrians by removing bicycles from the Bridge sidewalks.

We look forward to working with you and your staff to explore this suggestion.

Best regards,

Wendy Landman, Executive Director, WalkBoston
Tani Marinovich, Executive Director, The Esplanade Association

Cc Senator Will Brownsberger
Senator Joseph A. Boncore
Representative Jay Livingstone
Chris Osgood, Chief of Streets, City of Boston
Gina Fiandaca, Boston Commissioner of Transportation
Joe Barr, Director of Traffic, Parking, and Transportation, City of Cambridge
Becca Wolfson, Executive Director, Boston Cyclists Union
Stacy Thompson, Executive Director, LivableStreets Alliance
Richard Fries, Executive Director, MassBike
Herb Nolan, Solomon Fund
Renata von Tscharner, Charles River Conservancy
Peter Furth, Northeastern University
Suzanne Walmsley, Boston Athletic Association

Comments on South Boston Waterfront Transportation Center EEA 8505

By WalkMassachusetts | September 12, 2016

September 12, 2016

Matthew Beaton, Secretary
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Attn: MEPA Office Analyst: Page Czepiga EEA 8505 and 13367
100 Cambridge Street, Suite 900
Boston, MA 02114

Re: South Boston Waterfront Transportation Center EEA 8505 and 13367

Dear Mr. Beaton,

WalkBoston appreciates the opportunity to comment on the current proposal for the South Boston Waterfront Transportation Center. We have focused on pedestrian issues associated with this project.

This proposal is quite forward-looking for pedestrians who will be using the facility and/or passing through the site. Users of the Center will be served by pedestrian paths through the site, by the adjacent MBTA Silver Line World Trade Center station and by parking on 9 levels with pedestrian access via elevators and stairs to both D Street and the World Trade Center Avenue Viaduct. As the nine parking levels will be partly located below and partly above the principal level of the Center, the principal pedestrian movements will be centralized at a midway garage floor that corresponds to the level of the World Trade Center Avenue Viaduct. Pedestrian access between transportation modes and exits into the surrounding area will take place primarily at the level of the viaduct.

Several significant pedestrian facilities have been proposed at the viaduct level to integrate the Center into the Seaport and provide connections to business centers and activities in the area, as well as transportation modes that are focused in the area. These viaduct level facilities include:

1. A garage floor that also serves a concentration of a large number of pedestrian movements made at this level.

Pedestrian paths could be marked or painted for walkers on the garage floor or developed with imaginative lighting. These walkways would make walking through this large garage safer for walkers by providing a clear path and a physical reminder and warning to drivers. The viaduct level in particular will have many pedestrians.
It would be helpful to begin the proposed wayfinding system within the garage with emphasis on information at the elevators and at the viaduct level of the garage. A substantial installation of signs could direct arriving patrons from parking locations toward appropriate exits and show the multiplicity of potential destinations that can be reached by each of the major exits.
Smart phone apps could be developed to provide detailed information for pedestrians to use on their phones or pads to find specific routes to desired destinations.

2. A proposed pedestrian bridge between the Transportation Center and the existing Waterside Place building for residents who will be using the garage. The bridge will be connected into the pedestrian network provided for the viaduct level of the Center.

Although the bridge will not be used for access between the Center and Congress Street by non-residents, it should be integrated with the wayfinding and pathway system devised by the proponent.

3. A midblock pedestrian walkway between D Street and the World Trade Center Avenue Viaduct on the south side of the Center structure is proposed to aid pedestrians in reaching the variety of destinations around the Center. The walkway provides pedestrian connections from the World Trade Center Avenue Viaduct and the John Hancock and other buildings along D Street. The walkway, to be built primarily at viaduct level (although it slopes down to meet the grade of D Street), will be approximately 18’ wide, well-lighted and roofed for the majority of the distance between the streets that act as a boundary of the Center.

This long (xxx) walkway does not seem to be overlooked by any people other than those on the walk itself. We request that MassPort provide some details about how the security of walkers will be assured.
This walkway should be weather-protected on the side facing the MassPort Haul Road.
The walkway should be signed to guide pedestrians to destinations on either side of the Center. Signage should be integrated into the overall wayfinding network for the Center and proposed networks for the surrounding area.
The walkway could be enhanced by the addition of facilities such as benches for walkers and intervening electronic posters or interactive displays to enliven the area.

4. Pedestrian plaza facing D Street. The D Street (east) side of the Center will include a generous landscaped plaza as a major contribution to upgrading the current appearance and softening the edges of the structure.

This plaza should also be signed and designed with paths to guide pedestrians to destinations on either side of the Center. Signage should be integrated into the overall wayfinding network for the Center and the district.

5. Pedestrian plaza facing World Trade Center Avenue Viaduct. A large public open space will be provided on the viaduct (west) side of the Center. It will provide space for direct access from the viaduct into the Transportation Center, with connections into the adjacent MBTA World Trade Center Station, a shuttle bus drop-off location on the street, landscaping, bicycle parking (and possibly repair) and information kiosks. Significantly, it will include a covered walkway between the viaduct and the Center. This covered walkway will become part of an extended covered pedestrian facility that will extend between Congress and Summer Streets.

The new covered walkway will be a major feature of this project and a harbinger of the future pedestrian network that will extend beyond this location and connect between both the World Trade Center and the Boston Convention and Exposition Center. It should protect pedestrians in all weather conditions.
The covered walkway should also be an integral portion of the wayfinding network for the Seaport area. A central focus could be an interactive display that helps walkers find their desired destinations, and tells each how long the walk will be for them in the minutes 3 required to make the connection. The proposal calls for displays of real-time modal availability and schedule information, interactive kiosks and bicycle parking and possibly the availability of pedi-cabs.
This large setback seems to set the stage for a future land use that faces World Trade Center Avenue. We think that lively uses along the Avenue would be a good addition to the area’s pedestrian environment.

WalkBoston is excited about the generous additions of elements in this project that will enhance and encourage pedestrian movement throughout the area. Thank you for your consideration of our comments.

Sincerely

Bob Sloane
Senior Planner

Comments on Allston Brighton CDC’s BC Neighborhood Improvement Fund Proposal

By WalkMassachusetts | August 24, 2016

August 24, 2016

Re: Support for Allston Brighton CDC’s BC Neighborhood Improvement Fund Proposal

Dear BC Neighborhood Improvement Fund Committee,

We are writing to support Allston Brighton Community Development Corporation’s proposal to improve the walking environment along Chestnut Hill Ave at Winship Street in Brighton.

WalkBoston is a nonprofit pedestrian advocacy organization that works to make walking safer and easier in Massachusetts to encourage better health, a cleaner environment and vibrant communities. WalkBoston sits on the City of Boston’s Vision Zero Task Force. When a serious or fatal crash occurs, the task force studies the crash details and location, and recommends appropriate street design changes to make the streets safer for residents walking, biking, driving or taking transit in the area.

Following a serious vehicle crash involving a runner in January at Chestnut Hill Ave and Winship Street, the Task Force discussed ways to create a shorter crossing distance for people walking, and more predictable turning movements for people driving. A bump out and expanded pedestrian area as described in the application would accomplish both of these goals, and also create new public space for the neighborhood.

You can learn more about this crash and the recommendations here:
http://www.visionzerocoalition.org/chestnut_hill_ave_and_winship_st_brighton

We hope that you will consider Allston Brighton CDC’s proposal as a step forward in making the City of Boston safer and more accessible to all members of the community, no matter how they get around.

Best regards,

Brendan Kearney

Communications Manager
City of Boston Vision Zero Task Force Representative