July 20, 2012

Secretary Richard Sullivan
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
MEPA Office
100 Cambridge Street, Suite 900
Boston, MA 02114

RE: New Brighton Landing Expanded Environmental Notification Form (EENF) MEPA # 49909

Dear Secretary Sullivan:

WalkBoston has reviewed the EENF for the New Brighton Landing proposal. The potential improvements that this project will be able to bring to the area are substantial. The pedestrian aspects of the proposal are likely to play an important role in the way in which the project functions and relates to the surrounding neighborhood and nearby public buildings.

The core of the project is a series of new buildings on a campus focused on a new headquarters building for New Balance Corporation. A hotel, offices and a new sports center are included, along with open space and wide sidewalks that will add pedestrian amenities to the area.

We do have concerns that the surrounding area will be impacted greatly and that, so far, the project proponent has specified very little about what changes will be made to the neighborhood streets that will bear the brunt of the access into this site, including the changes that will be made to sidewalks and street crossings for those who choose to walk to the site. In May, we submitted comments to the BRA regarding this project, and had hoped that the proponent would address our comments in this filing. There are many questions remaining, and we repeat our comments to the City below.

The New Brighton Landing Master Plan includes a major indoor sports facility to be shared with neighborhood residents. It includes new office buildings that will house many new workers on the site and small retail facilities to serve people coming to the site. The proposed sports facility is an exciting addition to the neighborhood’s recreation resources and will be a major attraction for the surrounding community, and pedestrians will need access to and from the site from many directions. We have a number of suggestions for the streets that surround the site.

North Beacon Street
Bounding the south side of the site, North Beacon Street will serve as a collector for pedestrian access into the site from several local streets including Etna, Dustin, Murdock (connecting directly to Brighton High School), Gordon and Saunders Streets.

Pedestrian improvements suggested for this portion of North Beacon Street:

1.  Pedestrian signals and signs should be placed at the intersections where most pedestrians are likely to cross North Beacon Street for access into the site: Life/Etna Streets and Arthur Street.
2. Wayfinding signs should be added at these locations to help residents find the new facility.

The Mass Pike splits the development site from the North Brighton/North Allston community and pedestrians from that neighborhood must access the site via either Everett Street (along the eastern edge of the site) or Market Street/Birmingham Parkway (along the western side of the site). Both of these streets need improvements to provide good access for walkers.

Everett Street
Everett Street connects North Beacon Street to Western Avenue and Soldiers Field Road via a bridge over the Turnpike. The street has sidewalks along its entire length, but they are of poor quality: most are asphalt that is indistinguishable from the roadway surface and may thus be dangerous to walkers. No curbs separate sidewalks and vehicular traffic lanes.

Pedestrian improvements suggested for Everett Street:

1. Everett Street is so important to neighborhood walking and for access to the river that its sidewalks should be totally rebuilt for pedestrian safety – widened and separated from road traffic by a curb where none now exists.
2. Crosswalks should be added at all major intersections on Everett Street, including North Beacon Street and Soldiers Field Road.
3. Cut-through traffic should be discouraged and pedestrian safety should be considered along streets where traffic diversions are predictable, such as Franklin Street.
4. Wayfinding signs on Everett Street should be added at intersections to help local residents and visitors find the proposed site. Wayfinding signs should also be provided to help pedestrians find the Telford Street pedestrian overpass across Soldiers Field Road. This is the only place where there is pedestrian access from Allston to the river that does not require crossing at least four lanes of relatively high-speed roadway.

Market Street/Birmingham Parkway
On the west side of the site, Market Street and Birmingham Parkway form a continuous straight route that links North Beacon Street to Soldiers Field Road. Sidewalks exist on both sides of Market Street and on the east side of Birmingham Parkway between Lincoln Street and Western Avenue. Birmingham Parkway may be unique in the city; for more than one-half mile – between Western Avenue and its intersection with Soldiers Field Road near Watertown – it has no pedestrian crosswalks of any kind, although there are traffic signals where crosswalks might be located.

Pedestrian improvements suggested for Birmingham Parkway and Market Street:

1. The sidewalk on the east side of Birmingham Parkway will provide the primary pedestrian access route between the proposed development and the North Brighton/ North Allston neighborhood and is also the primary access route to the parks along the Charles River for on-site workers. Given New Balance’s product line and work force we anticipate that there will be a significant number of runners who will seek to reach the Charles River’s world famous running paths.
2. Birmingham Parkway between Lincoln Street and Western Avenue is very wide. North of Lincoln the Parkway has two southbound traffic lanes and four northbound, this widens to five lanes between Lothrop Street and Western Avenue. This wide street provides an opportunity: one lane of northbound Birmingham Parkway plus the existing sidewalk should be converted into a combined bicycle-pedestrian greenway between the New Brighton site and the river.
3. Pedestrian crosswalks and pedestrian countdown signals should be added at the intersection of Western Avenue and Birmingham Parkway (where signals already exist) to allow walkers to safely gain access to the riverside parklands.
4. The sidewalk along the east side of Market Street connects via a crosswalk at Lincoln Street to the sidewalk on the east side of Birmingham Parkway. Pedestrian countdown signals may be appropriate at this location as traffic may increase as a result of the proposed development.

Suggestions for future walkways in the area

1. A master plan for pedestrian and bicycle access between this site, its surrounding neighborhoods and the river should be considered. There are presently no high quality connections and there are great opportunities to link the existing and proposed residential and commercial uses to the wonderful open space resources that are nearby.
2. The portion of Birmingham Parkway between Lincoln Street and North Beacon Street is an access road to just a few adjacent properties, and provides “back-door” access to Soldiers Field Road businesses via Wexford Street. It appears to have low traffic volumes and would seem to be a candidate for a ‘greenway’ toward the west where it meets the river. This portion of Birmingham Parkway should be examined to see if its vehicular use could be reduced in speed by physical reconstruction of lanes to a narrower width, and whether the road could be reconfigured into a greenway comprised of major walking and biking routes to the river.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this proposal. Please feel free to contact us with questions you may have. We look forward to hearing how our suggestions are addressed in subsequent revisions to the plan.

Sincerely

Wendy Landman
Executive Director

Cc: Keith Craig, Project Manager
Harry Mattison, Allston/Brighton North Neighbors Forum
Herb Nolan, Solomon Fund
Guy Busa, Howard/Stein-Hudson