Tag: Roxbury

Comment letter: Supporting the Whittier Choice Neighborhoods Initiative

July 24, 2014

Wenda Tai, Real Estate Department
Boston Housing Authority
52 Chauncy St., 8th floor
Boston, MA 02111

Dear Ms. Tai: WalkBoston strongly supports the Implementation Phase of the Whittier Choice Neighborhoods Initiative.

The Choice Neighborhoods Initiative comes at a very opportune time. It presents a unique chance to build upon the many transportation and development projects that have begun in Roxbury– the planning area for the Whittier Choice Neighborhood– over the past five years. The City of Boston’s commitment to encouraging walking, bicycling and transit via the Complete Streets Policy adopted two years ago, continues to contribute to the revitalization of Dudley Square and illustrates the benefits of including easy pedestrian access in the Whittier Choice Neighborhood Initiative.

In the coming year, the Complete Streets principles will be applied to the re-design of Melnea Cass, an arterial boulevard in the northern section of the project area. The community has already engaged in a three year planning process of re-design, and implementation funds are available. Alongside re-building Whittier Street Housing, the Initiative can use Complete Streets strategies to achieve the Initiative’s goal of integrating the residents of Whittier Street Housing and Madison Park Village into the overall Roxbury community. Such strategies include slowing traffic on Melnea Cass Boulevard and making it safer and easier for pedestrians to cross Melnea Cass Boulevard, Malcolm X Boulevard and Tremont Street.

After working with many community groups and local residents, WalkBoston agrees with and endorses the recommendations of residents about improving walking connections linking Madison Park Village, Whittier Street Housing and nearby destinations, notably Dudley Square and parks and fitness facilities. In several community meetings that WalkBoston attended, we noted that residents did not indicate high levels of usage or identification with nearby Ruggles Station and the adjoining Southwest Corridor Park– a five mile linear park that includes walking, jogging and bicycle paths as well as tennis and basketball courts, and playgrounds. WalkBoston firmly recommends that a key portion of the Initiative should enable easy access to this major recreational resource.

Residents did express strong interest in safe and direct walking routes to Dudley Square, the commercial and historical heart of Roxbury. To create the lively, human scale community that residents envision, safe and convenient walking connections need to be made between housing and nearby destinations.

In addition to Dudley Station, which provides bus service throughout the City, the Square has restaurants, shops and social services. Dudley Square is also experiencing a renaissance as historical buildings that defined the Square, the Ferdinand, Waterman and Curtis buildings, are being or have been renovated and new office uses like the Boston School Department will relocate there.

WalkBoston looks forward to working with the community on the following walking projects during the Implementation Phase.

1. Provide better street- and sidewalk-level visibility for many of the area’s recreational facilities that are not highly identifiable because of the superblock on Malcolm X between Shawmut and Columbus/Tremont. The Campus High Urban Renewal parcel is a barrier not only for abutters, but other residents of Lower Roxbury.

2. Improve walking connections for residents of Whittier Housing and Madison Park to reach Dudley Square. Residents say the most highly used walking route is along Ruggles Street that runs directly from the housing developments to Dudley. Of particular concern is the intersection of Ruggles/Shawmut where drivers along one-way Shawmut fail to yield to walkers.

3. Improve walking connections between housing and the Post Office at the Shawmut Avenue/Malcolm X Intersection and the Social Security Office on Malcolm X Blvd near Dudley Street.

4. Create a more direct and visibly obvious route from Madison Park and Whittier to the track facilities at Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center. The Athletic Center is a major recreational resource for this neighborhood. Residents can easily access these facilities without crossing any major roadways, but its location is not highly visible.

5. Assess the potential of the proposed Fitness Loop to meet resident needs/interest for a formalized walking route. The Loop would circle the Whittier/Madison Park neighborhood, running along Malcolm X Blvd, Tremont Street, Melnea Cass Blvd and Washington Street. While the Loop layout has an aesthetic appeal, pedestrians do not generally seek out walkways along heavily traveled roadways and transportation corridors. Instead they prefer walking routes that incorporate multiple destinations, such as shops and restaurants. Additionally, cars tend to travel much more slowly along such routes than along the arterial roadways that make up much of the proposed fitness route.

In summary, WalkBoston looks to the Implementation Plan to address the creation of improved pedestrian access through short blocks, safe street crossings, and improved connections to the many extant recreational facilities in the area.

Sincerely,

Dorothea Hass
Senior Project Manger

cc: Patrick Hoey, Boston Transportation Department
Friends of Melnea Cass Boulevard

Comments on Tremont Crossing Environmental Notification Form

June 8, 2012

Secretary Ian Bowles
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
MEPA Office
Deirdre Buckley MEPA # 4900
100 Cambridge Street, Suite 900
Boston, MA 02114

RE: Tremont Crossing Environmental Notification Form

Dear Mr. Sullivan:

WalkBoston has reviewed the ENF for the Tremont Crossing proposal in Roxbury. We are impressed with the potential improvements that this project will be able to bring to the area. The pedestrian aspects of the proposal are likely to play an important role in the way in which this project functions and relates to the surrounding neighborhood and nearby public buildings.

The Tremont Crossing project includes 500,000 square feet of development with small shops and boutiques along Tremont Street, a large retail space set back from Tremont Street, 200,000 square feet of office space, an 11-story apartment building with 240 units, and a new museum for the National Center for Afro-American Artists. The development will also include a large public plaza and a multi-level parking garage with 1,700 spaces.

The site of Tremont Crossing is pivotal, as it forms a link between Madison Park Technical Vocational High School, the John O’Bryant School of Math and Science, Northeastern University, the Boston Police Department main headquarters, and the Southwest Corridor Park. The central focus of neighborhood activity and pedestrian trips is the MBTA Ruggles Station with subway, bus and commuter rail connections through the Southwest Corridor. The development site, physically separated from many of these facilities, directly adjoins Madison Park High School and the John O’Bryant School.

The proposed pedestrian facilities in the development include two wide sidewalks the full length of the site. One sidewalk will be immediately adjacent to the curb along Tremont Street, and the other sidewalk is interior to the site parallel to Tremont Street and separated from it by a very short distance.

The proposed layout at this critical location suggests the following possibilities:

A considerable number of the Madison Park High School and O’Bryant School students will use the sidewalks through the site for daily access to transit at Ruggles Station. Depending on the kinds of retail incorporated into the site, students may also visit the site to shop. The school already has strong business partnerships – clinical rotations and internships with industry partners. This movement of people might be the basis for a connection between the project site and the schools, as the site could benefit from a close relationship with students. The proponent could reflect this movement and take advantage of the pedestrian activity as a basis for a physical realignment of the sidewalks toward the access ways leading to the schools.
It is not clear why two parallel sidewalks are needed to serve the site. The interior sidewalk serves the backs of the retail outlets facing Tremont Street, yet provides the principal point of access to the large retail outlet and to the parking garage. It is unlikely that small retail shops will want to have two entrances – one facing Tremont Street and one facing an interior sidewalk. This may result in an unused edge of the stores – which would be unattractive and possibly create an unsafe interior corridor. We think that this two-sidewalk design is unfortunate and may generate walking patterns that are neither safe nor complementary to the proposed development. Perhaps the two sidewalks could be reduced to one along Tremont Street that serves people more directly including, of course, plazas for sitting and eating along the way, and an entrance to the large retail space that is deeper into the development.
The proposed museum and cultural center is a unique feature of the development. Will it be closely related to the two adjacent schools? Will students from both schools be provided opportunities at the museum and cultural center and should there be special attention to pedestrian access from the schools? How will the Museum be “announced” to visitors who approach on foot?
The major pedestrian crossings of Tremont Street will take place at intersections with Ruggles/Whittier Street, South Drive and Prentiss Street. The major crossing is likely to be at Ruggles/Whittier Street, because of the direct access it provides to the Ruggles MBTA Station. Care should be taken to provide for significant numbers of people wanting to cross Tremont Street at this location. Analysis should be performed to ascertain which crosswalk directions will work best for moving pedestrians safely. Analysis should also be undertaken to determine if a crosswalk is needed at South Drive, in view of the nearby Prentiss Street crossing.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this proposal. Please feel free to contact us with questions you may have, and we look forward to hearing how our suggestions are incorporated into subsequent revisions to this plan.

Sincerely,

Wendy Landman
Executive Director

Boston: Southwest Corridor Park Walking Map

The Southwest Corridor Park was almost a highway. On this walk you can see what happened when the expressway plan was dropped, the narrow corridor became transit lines, and a park was built around it.

The never-built Southwest Expressway would have continued I-95 from Route 128 to downtown Boston, replacing the commuter and Amtrak rail line embankment. Hundreds of businesses and homes between Forest Hills and the South End were demolished in the 1960s to prepare for the new highway. As demolition progressed, however, community residents and activists lobbied in protest. Governor Francis Sargent reexamined the issue and announced his decision in 1972: no road. Funding set aside for I-95 was transferred to public transportation, the first such transfer in the country. The Orange Line–then an elevated line on Washington Street–was relocated into the underground rail corridor.

Click for “WalkBoston’s Boston: Southwest Corridor Park Walking Map” on Google Maps

Boston: BMC/BUMC Neighborhood

These routes are designed to let you leave the hospitals and institutions behind and explore the adjacent South End neighborhood. Many sides of the community are highlighted—charming residential squares, public buildings, the SOWA [South of Washington Street] arts/gallery district, and Restaurant Row. Routes range from 1-3 miles, progressing in length as the route numbers increase. Choose a walk that fits the time you have available and the sights you want to see, or make it a goal to walk all six.

Click for “WalkBoston’s BMC/BUMC Neighborhood Walking Map” PDF

Click for “WalkBoston’s BMC/BUMC Neighborhood Walking Map” on google maps