6 Responses to “Another Rose Kennedy Greenway project in shambles” »»

1. Broad Street Broad
   Comment by Broad Street Broad | 06/04/08 at 2:03 pm

   “I’m sorry, calling it the Parkway is even being too kind. From now on, I’m calling it the Rose Kennedy Dustbowl”

   Come on, John, you are usually much more balanced than this peanut gallery diatribe. I live just minutes from the Greenway, and I am delighted by the use that the RKG is getting – at least on the parcels north of the Rowes Wharf Hotel, where kids are playing in the fountains (especially on the past several hot weekends), where couples (and singles) are reading and sunbathing on the grass.

   I agree that the dusty parcels at the other end (those that the Horticultural Society couldn’t afford to build upon) need work, and we need to solve the issue of homeless* staking out their private turfs (by the Fed Reserve) else it becomes a combat zone like the new harborwalk that skirts the So. Boston waterfront.

   *Before I get attacked for being a privileged yuppie, I want to say that I was in the South End for years before it became fashionable, still have friends there, support and have donated to the Pine Street Inn, vote Democratic and want more federal, state and local funding for mental health, substance abuse, and affording housing (including quality SRO) programs, but at best I am tired of a certain percentage of these guys grabbing at me or aggressively panhandling, and at worst hate seeing, as I still do on visits, drunks pissing and passing out in the little league field – and am outraged when suburbanites claim that I’m not being compassionate enough, that I should give these guys a few bucks when asked.

   That said, and I’m not sure why I got sidetracked, if you don’t like the way the Greenway is shaping up, get involved, sponsor a fundraiser, buy a paver for the Mothers’ walk, add community organization links to your website, and most important, thank those involved in the Greenway for navigating through multiple government agencies, while also raising funds that don’t take away from maintenance for other city parks. Praise them for what they have done right before damning them that it isn’t perfect yet.

   Sorry to be so harsh – rainy days does this to me.

2. John P.
   Comment by John P. | 06/04/08 at 2:11 pm

   I asked a few planners and structural engineers I know and asked about the greenway. They told me that because it was a cut-and-cover type of assembly, it didn’t have much depth for deep trees in certain areas.

   I also wasn’t thrilled to see that building right in front of the Rowe’s Wharf arch. I would have preferred to have open space in front of the arch because it is one of the nicest structures on the waterfront let alone City. I think if more people were aware that they were parking this building there the project might face more problems.

3. CityMouse
   Comment by CityMouse | 06/04/08 at 4:06 pm

   Has the harborwlk become a “combat zone”? I walk to and from work on the harborwalk along the channel almost every day and I’ve never noticed any problem there. I always feel safe on the walk way, although I try not to be out there alone after dark. But that’s certainly not because I feel its over run with homeless people. I don’t actually recall seing homeless people down there. It seems like joggers and dog walkers to me.

4. John A Keith
   Comment by John A Keith | 06/04/08 at 4:34 pm

   Broad: true, there is progress of sorts, and yes, the area across from the North End is very nicely done.

   Must have been the bad weather getting me down.

5. Broad Street
   Comment by Broad Street | 06/04/08 at 6:12 pm

   Thanks John -

   And City Mouse, yes, parts of the Harborwalk I don’t feel safe at during the day – especially the short area near East Berkeley on the SE side, and past Gillette and near the Macallen Bldg on the seaport side. I haven’t walked the channel this spring yet, so maybe it has improved. Last year there were the youngest group of guys (early 30s?) camping out I have seen on the streets.

   But as a co-worker just reminded me, you can’t go many places in Boston now without seeing a lot of homeless on the streets – not just in neighborhoods like the South End, but also in the Common.

   Again, I’m not a cruel, uncaring Republican or Libertarian or whatever group thinks that government shouldn’t be involved. But it seems that Boston is too small to solve all these issues. As the largest city in Massachusetts, and in New England, we are forced to deal with problems that other communities don’t need to bother with. Who ends up on the streets in Dover or Manchester-by-the-Sea? If we had a Federal government that realized that cities like Boston can’t and shouldn’t handle these problems on their own – and yes, it is a problem, not an “alternative living arrangement” as one person I know describes it, as this supposedly conveys more respect. (I have been a liberal Democrat all my life, but it seems that there are forces from the radical left that seem to think I might as well vote for McCain if I don’t agree with their entire platform).

   I am rather new to blogs, so I an learning how difficult it is to stay on topic.

   Back to what was originally posted: the Greenway, over time, has the potential to be a great public space, and we need to be mindful of how difficult of a job it is for the planners to do something that everyone agrees with.

   Unlike John P., I think the New Center is a fabulous design, and we need something bold to cover up those ramps. I agree with him that Rowes Wharf arch is a great vista, but if we bring more people down to this area as these arts buildings will, they will see the arch as the best gateway to the Harbor. The New Center design is not hostile to its setting – unlike the streetscape around the Marriott Hotel on the waterfront. How did that beast get built?

6. John P.
   Comment by John P. | 06/05/08 at 11:54 am

   Oh, I think the design is very cool, I just prefer to have an open space in front of the arch. Take a look and see what you think.

   http://www.daniel-libeskind.com/projects/show-all/new-center-for-arts-and-culture/

   Now that James Hook has burned down, perhaps this building could punctuate the bridge and address the Fort Point Channel and help define that edge?

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