Letter to MassDOT regarding the Casey Overpass Project

July 12, 2011
Mr. John Romano, Public Outreach and Information, Casey Overpass
MassDOT
10 Park Plaza, Suite 3170
Boston, MA 02116

Dear Mr. Romano:

On behalf of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, I am writing to applaud you for your efforts to conduct a comprehensive public process around the renovations of the Casey Overpass. Our representative, Mary Hickie, has been reporting back on the group’s progress to date.

We at the Conservancy are committed to bringing people together to preserve, enliven, and advocate for the Emerald Necklace parks. One of our main goals is to increase access into and within the park. That said, the prospect of redesigning the section of parkway between the Arnold Arboretum and Franklin Park is an exciting one.

I would like to formally share our collective goals for the design and planning of the Casey Overpass project. Our priorities include:

Connecting the parks

The area surrounding the Casey Overpass is an important missing link in the Emerald Necklace. Currently, there is no safe and accessible route for pedestrians and cyclists going from the Arnold Arboretum to Franklin Park. We request that the design solution include a viable route that is safe in both directions and accessible for all users.

Accommodating all users

"The car is no longer the king in Boston", said Mayor Thomas M. Menino in 2009. The Casey Overpass was designed and built during a time when infrastructure was being designed primarily for the automobile. We ask that this time around, equal weight be given to pedestrians, transit users, and bicyclists, as well as automobiles. Bridge Concept A showing two bridges and presented at the last public meeting (6/29) is still, in our opinion, a large mass, casting a lot of shadows and making for an unpleasant experience below.

Olmsted’s original vision and the parkway experience

Olmsted’s original intent featured parkways as pleasure roads connecting people to parks as opposed to the commuter speedways that they have become. While we realize that this will continue to serve as a commuter route, we believe there is a way to reconcile through vehicular traffic with the parks’ original goals. We ask that you look to the parkways throughout the Emerald Necklace for design cues regarding this section in order to create a seamless experience that unifies the park. Some examples from other parkways include street trees, green medians, and the parkways abutting parkland. It would also be very useful if the design team could provide the WAG members with other examples of bridges that have successfully been removed in favor of an at-grade solution.

Creating livable/ complete streets for the abutting neighborhoods

As a parks organization we fully recognize the benefits that green space brings to neighboring communities. We hope that like us, you view this project as an opportunity to reunite the divided neighborhoods around Forest Hills, bringing neighborhoods back together and closer to the park. The design solution should create a transportation solution that is compatible with the community and will not exacerbate but in fact correct traffic problems that already exist on Washington / South Sts. In keeping with this sentiment we request that D.O.T and the consultants suggest ways to mitigate regional traffic from using the adjacent streets as cut-throughs on their route to Boston and beyond. This will be critical both in the final solution and during the demolition and construction phases of the project.

Based on the aforementioned priorities, we think it might be more difficult to reconcile these goals with a bridge solution but we remain open to all alternatives. In listening to fellow WAG members we see that many accept that another bridge will be able to carry the regional traffic because of their experience with the current bridge. However, it is much more difficult for many to imagine an at-grade solution that could work for the 2035 traffic numbers without benefit of your consultant’s expertise on traffic counts. I realize that you may wish to complete the WAG feedback process before investing time in a detailed review of the numbers but to wait until the optimum time, in our opinion, would be to engender a recommendation by many in favor of a new bridge.

We have seen countless examples of successful bridge removals that result in new vibrant communities and cityscapes, and believe that a solution that removes the overpass would place Boston with other forward-thinking cities nationwide that are rethinking the way they view roads, communities, and green space.

Again, thank you for your willingness to include all stakeholders in your process.

Sincerely,

Julie Crockford
President, Emerald Necklace Conservancy