Tag: Boston

Boston: Children’s Hospital Walking Map

Boston Children’s Hospital is in the center of the Longwood Medical and Academic Area. Within a 20-minute walk are some of Boston’s best sights for kids [grownups, too!] — a puppet theatre, playgrounds, an anatomical museum, Fenway Park [open for tours], major art museums, galleries and the beautiful Emerald Necklace park, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, winding through the area.

Click for “WalkBoston’s Boston Children’s Hospital Walking Map” on Google Maps

Comments on the DCR’s Arborway Proposals

November 4, 2015

Mass DCR
Office of Public Outreach
251 Causeway Street
Suite 600
Boston, MA 02114

WalkBoston Comments on the DCR’s Arborway Proposals

First of all, WalkBoston commends the DCR on its work to correct the serious safety issues to be found in the present Arborway configuration. We thoroughly endorse the project’s approach of channeling regional traffic to the center lanes and making the “carriageways” function as local, neighborhood streets with improved bicycle facilities and upgraded safety features and connections. We believe the proposed re-design of the Arborway in Jamaica Plain will indeed improve bicycle and vehicular safety.

CONCERNS ABOUT PEDESTRIAN SAFETY AND CONVENIENCE
However, we are not convinced that the changes, taken together, will actually improve safety for people on foot. We are concerned about the multiple pedestrian crosswalks at the Kelley and Murray new roundabouts, which we fear may not improve safety and will certainly make walking across the Arborway much less convenient. Before WalkBoston can support this project we need to sit down with DCR and their consultants, Toole Design, to discuss the safety and increased walking trip times to traverse the roundabouts.

The crosswalks appear to have multiplied since the February 2015 design. For example, slip lanes to facilitate through traffic have been added at both Kelly and Murray Circles. At the new Kelly roundabout pedestrians wishing to walk from Pond Street to Orchard Street will need to traverse nine crosswalks in order to cross from one side of the Arborway to the other. Currently, pedestrians can do this in a simple, two-step crossing with a pedestrian-actuated traffic signal. (See below for more detailed discussion of this issue.)

Moreover, many transportation engineers question the safety of multiple lane roundabouts: “Multiple-lane roundabouts lose many of the safety benefits of single-lane roundabouts. In general, multi-lane roundabouts are not recommended in areas with high levels of pedestrian and bicycle activity.” (Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning 2015) We at WalkBoston are unfamiliar with any multi-lane roundabouts in eastern Massachusetts that are truly pedestrian friendly and would interested to know of any examples DCR or its consultants have found in the course of the planning process. WalkBoston appreciates that the re-design calls for raised crosswalks, which will function as a traffic calming measure, WalkBoston would nevertheless like DCR to consider the efficacy of a signalized, mid-block crosswalk between Kelly and Murray Circles, similar to the mid-block crosswalk near the Arnold Arboretum main entrance.

To make the same journey today, pedestrians from Moss Hill have two signalized crosswalks. One can hardly call the proposed configuration an improvement for someone on foot.

HISTORIC STONE WALL
WalkBoston supports retention of the historic stone wall, however, if it is necessary to break through the wall in order to make a crucial connection to improve vehicular Kelley circulation, and then re-build the new wall ends to look like the historic wall ends, WalkBoston would support this — and it’s likely that most local residents would, too. We do not think it is necessary to protect the stone walls in their entirety. The February plan for Kelley had a more logical connection from the roundabout to Orchard Street.

PARKING ON THE CARRIAGEWAYS
At the October public meeting, someone suggested that the new proposed parking lane on the carriageways be eliminated to enhance the parkway appearance. A surprising number of people agreed with this. WalkBoston strongly supports local parking on the carriageways for the following reasons:
Residents along the Arborway are entitled to have street parking for guests as residents on adjacent streets do.
Parking along the carriageways is a benefit for overflow, event parking for Jamaica Pond and the Arnold Arboretum. The demand was clearly present. Even though Kelley Circle is posted as “no parking”, visitors have habitually parked there when visiting Jamaica Pond.

CONCLUSION

WalkBoston remains deeply concerned about pedestrian safety and accessibility along the Arborway. The proposed DCR redesign is a major step forward for bicycle and vehicle safety and convenience. It is not as large a step forward for pedestrian safety and may be a step backward in terms of pedestrian friendliness and convenience. We believe very strongly that the Arborway should be designed to be a fully multimodal roadway with vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian traffic treated on an equal basis. The parks and ponds in the area are a unique attraction and the area’s residential and commercial neighborhoods are well suited to walking and biking. The Arborway should support and promote both forms of transportation in order to prevent ever-‐increasing vehicular traffic volumes and to meet the recreational and health goals of the Emerald Necklace of which it is an integral part.

Sincerely,

Dorothea Hass, WalkBoston Don Eunson, Jamaica Plain resident

cc: Julie Crockford, President
Emerald Necklace Conservancy.

Comments on the re-design of Melnea Cass Boulevard

June 8, 2015

Patrick Hoey, Transportation Planner
Boston Transportation Department
Room 721
Boston City Hall
Boston, MA 02201-2021

Dear Mr. Hoey,

WalkBoston is pleased that the Boston Transportation Department (BTD) conducted a public meeting that provided an opportunity for area residents and others to comment on the re-design of Melnea Cass Boulevard (MCB).

WalkBoston is well aware of the tremendous progress that has been made in trying to plan for and design an inviting, practical, pedestrian-friendly Melnea Cass Boulevard that will serve the local community as a city street and neighborhood asset. WalkBoston nevertheless finds that, despite significant improvements, the redesigned boulevard will continue to function primarily as an arterial roadway and not as a community-enhancing street.

BUS RAPID TRANSIT (BRT) CORRIDOR
The city’s decision to “reserve” a major swath of land along MCB for a possible future Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor seems to WalkBoston to be an obstacle to the boulevard’s ability to serve the neighboring community as well as it could.

As we have discussed, buildings sited close to a street will fall within a driver’s line of vision. This perceived narrowing of the street’s width automatically slows speeds and makes it easier, safer and more practical for people to cross the road and better use the corridor. BTD’s current approach of reserving open land for BRT passage means that buildings will not be developed bordering the boulevard, thus seriously compromising its ability to function as a multimodal city street.

Practically speaking, if the “Urban Ring” BRT is ever built, its passage through the high-income areas of the Longwood Medical Area, Museum of Fine Arts, Fenway, Boston University, Back Bay, Charles River and Cambridge will doubtless run through a tunnel. Putting the one-mile Roxbury MCB portion in a tunnel would be a much easier cut-and-cover proposition than the rest of the route. Roxbury deserves this option so that new buildings can be built closer to Melnea Cass and the road will be humane in scale.

If land is not reserved for the BRT the width of the re-designed roadway corridor can be substantially reduced, resulting in the preservation of many trees, especially those on the north side of the roadway. For example, between Shawmut and Washington the roadway is shifted 40-60 feet north to provide a 40-foot wide sidewalk in front of Parcel 9. We assume this excessively wide space is incorporated into the design to preserve the BRT corridor.

However, if this sidewalk’s width were reduced it would not be necessary to remove many mature trees. WalkBoston also notes that the inclusion of parking on several blocks along MCB results in a wider roadway corridor that would provide space for a future BRT. However, the parking also results in the removal of mature trees. Developments along MCB have on-site parking, such as Tropical Foods. Hence WalkBoston questions the need for creating new parking on MCB.

OTHER SUGGESTED ADJUSTMENTS
We support the proposed design elements mentioned in the letter from the Friends of Melnea Cass Boulevard (FMCB) – narrower curb radii (like those currently on MCB), improved signal timing and leading pedestrian indicators, and raised roadway crossings on streets intersecting with MCB. We also support recommendations made by Livable Streets to reduce traffic signal cycles to 80 seconds to encourage walker compliance, and bus stops located within 50 feet of a crosswalk and on the far side of the traffic signal to provide for signal priority. WalkBoston would like to discuss with BTD and its consultants how signal timing will work for pedestrians and how crosswalks might be straightened to shorten crossing distances. At high pedestrian crash locations such as MCB/Washington, perhaps an all-way WALK would be a safer signalization option for walkers, provided wait times were a reasonable length.

WalkBoston suggests wide crosswalk widths of 14-15 feet (such as those in Peabody Square in Dorchester and Huntington Avenue at the YMCA) with generous vehicle stop lines. We would also like BTD to assess whether more space could be found for wider sidewalks, for instance at areas like Tremont to Harrison Avenue and other locations.

Finally, we would like a fuller description of what is planned from Hampden Street to Massachusetts Avenue — trees, sidewalk, bicycle lanes, why parking has been added with the consequent loss of trees.

PRESERVING TREES
The issues of tree plantings and tree removal are of vital concern for pedestrians. Our 2013 summer walk showed how important mature trees are in providing shade and protection from traffic along MCB. WalkBoston hopes the City can find ways to preserve as many trees as possible as described above. Wider, tree-lined sidewalks are more appealing than specially built median strips put in place for trees. In our experience trees and plantings in medians rarely flourish, or even survive, and most importantly, they do not provide shade for walkers.

Currently the plans show two-way bicycle lanes on both sides of MCB. If the lanes were reduced to one lane on each side, the cycle track could be reduced from 10 to 8 feet or less, again, resulting in the preservation of trees. As suggested by other commenters, WalkBoston urges the layout of curving pathways for bicyclists and walkers in order to preserve mature trees.

THE TREMONT/MELNEA CASS BOULEVARD INTERSECTION
We are uncertain about the redesign of this intersection and the elimination of the slip lane. It seems a desirable change until one considers the effect of two right-turn lanes into MCB plus an additional lane added on the Tremont crossing. Both seem to create difficult conditions for pedestrians. Thus, we request traffic information in order to help us to assess the impacts of this design. (A recent Transportation Research Board publication may provide some helpful information on pedestrian impacts and benefits from slip lanes: A Report on the Development of Guidelines for Applying Right-Turn Slip Lanes – available at: http://www.trb.org/SafetyHumanFactors/Blurbs/172629.aspx)

WalkBoston would like to see these and other adjustments to the current design in order to further improve the pedestrian experience along the redesigned boulevard. We would, of course, be glad to assist in this design effort.

SOME PROCEDURAL REQUESTS
In order to address our detailed questions regarding the MCB design, we request that you schedule a working session with BTD and its consultants. WalkBoston understands that the FMCB have requested or will soon request a similar meeting and we would be happy to have a combined BTD, FMCB and WalkBoston meeting on these areas of concern.

Thank you so much for the City’s detailed and extensive work with WalkBoston and the Roxbury community on this important street. We believe the outcome will be better for everyone.

Sincerely,

Dorothea Hass and Ann Hershfang

cc: Representative Byron Rushing
Representative Gloria Fox
Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz
Austin Blackmon, Environmental Cabinet Chief
Councilor Tito Jackson
Councilor Ayanna Pressley
Councilor Michael Flaherty
Friends of Melnea Cass Boulevard
Livable Streets
Boston Cyclists Union
United Neighbors of Lower Roxbury
Whittier Tenants Task Force
Madison Park Development Corporation

Comments on Community Path Extension Fencing

June 2, 2015

Mary Ainsley
MBTA Design & Construction Department
GLX Project office
100 Summer Street

Cc: Karen Arpino Shaffer, Michael McBride
HDR Gilbane

Dear Ms. Ainsley,

We are writing you to express thanks and concern about the Community Path Extension Project and one of its design elements. First, thank you very much for your hard work keeping the Community Path Extension project moving forward. This project has the opportunity to create a bicycle pedestrian super highway connecting major destinations from Bedford to Boston.

However, we are very concerned about the forbidding fencing that your informative video rendering of the path brought to our attention. To our dismay we find the project includes above head-level fencing on both sides of the path on the entire corridor between Lechmere and Washington Street Station. This important one-mile corridor, with no exits along the way, is the only section with such visual barriers on both sides of the right-of-way.

Our assumption is the fence is in the design for the safety of users of the path. We believe that this forbidding-looking fencing will ironically create an unsafe prison-like feeling for users. It will be particularly onerous for pedestrians whose slow travel speeds will mean a very long unpleasant trundle through this section. Our fear is that the aesthetic will deter use of the path. Fewer users might well create a sense of danger during nighttime and off-peak hours and actually attract undesirable activities that may happen in the absence of safety-in-numbers. In essence a “safety” feature will likely render the facility less safe over time.

On the flip side of the dangerous feeling the fencing provides, it also blocks what in many cases will be a spectacular view. Imagine the North Bank Bridge (just across the park from the planned Lechmere Station) with its dramatic and beautiful architecture if it were enclosed on both sides. It would be dreary rather than the treasure it is.

We’re not asking you to create production values similar to the North Bank Bridge. Rather we ask you to work creatively to find a way to remove the chain link fence and preserve an eye level unobstructed view on at least one side of the path for as much of the Lechmere to Washington Street Station that you can. A rendering of the fence as designed can be seen here. This can be compared with this rendering with fencing removed on one side to see that the look and feel of the experience is greatly improved. For comparison, here is a similar finish at Harpers Ferry in Virginia.

Finally, we have heard that the Green Line Project is undergoing value engineering. We hope that you will consider this reduced fencing along the Community Path Extension a win-win in reducing project costs while improving the finished product.

Sincerely,

Mark Chase
Advocacy Committee, LivableStreets Alliance

Wendy Landman
Executive Director, WalkBoston

Pete Stidman
Executive Director, Boston Cyclists Union

To make progress on our roads

The Boston Herald article “Shattuck: Marty Walsh, IndyCar dare us to think fast” (5/22/2015) had one excellent quote, challenging Boston “To make progress on our roads, like they do in other first-world nations.”

Here are three examples of progress on roads in other first-world nations.

Sweden:
http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2014/02/economist-explains-16

“With only three of every 100,000 Swedes dying on the roads each year, compared with 5.5 per 100,000 across the European Union, 11.4 in America and 40 in the Dominican Republic, which has the world’s deadliest traffic, Sweden’s roads have become the world’s safest.” … “Planning has played the biggest part in reducing accidents. Roads in Sweden are built with safety prioritised over speed or convenience. Low urban speed-limits, pedestrian zones and barriers that separate cars from bikes and oncoming traffic have helped. ”

Netherlands:
http://www.northeastern.edu/studyabroad/programs/netherlands-sustainable-urban-transportation/ (Northeastern University does summer study abroad in the Netherlands, led by Professor Peter Furth.)

“While the Netherlands is as affluent a country as the US, the Dutch drive cars half as much as Americans, ride trains 10 times as much, and ride bikes 40 times as much. They also have the world’s best traffic safety record, with a traffic fatality rate 67% lower than ours. Dutch bicycling infrastructure makes it safe for everyone – children and elderly as well – to ride bikes anywhere, and is a major reason that more than 25% of trip nationwide, and more than 40% in cities like Delft and Amsterdam, are made by bike. The goal of this program is learn Dutch principles for planning cities and for designing bikeways, roads, and transit networks that make ABC (all-but-car) transportation so attractive, and that make cities livable and safe.”

France:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/11586802/Large-chunk-of-the-river-Seines-Right-Bank-to-be-cut-off-to-cars-in-Paris.html

“‘This is an urban, almost philosophical project, which consists of seeing the city in another way than through the use of cars,’ she said, citing as examples the French cities of Lyon and Bordeaux, whose riverbanks have been successfully reclaimed for pedestrians.”