South Boston Waterfront. The Seaport. Whatever you call it, the area is shaping up to be sterile and uninviting place.
Into the path of the pedestrian the uninspired buildings throw up blank walls of glass and brick, and unmarked doors that are not meant to be opened. The area is seemingly being constructed by those with an aversion to street life. The streets expand like expressways, and the sidewalks are unfathomably wide. The huge swaths of concrete that make up the islands in the center are practically Ballardian.
Crossing them cannot be impulsive, must be planned, and demands a good reason. Newbury or Boylston they are not.
So you might think that with all of this space, and the recent reconstruction of the road, there might be some concessions made to other forms of transportation. Like maybe bicycling. You would be wrong. I cannot imagine what would bring throngs of people to the middle of the road in such numbers to justify keeping each side of the street separated to such an extent. I do know that lovely patch of concrete would be a nice place to funnel bicycle activity. it’s away from cars and the vast majority of foot traffic.
It’s worth noting that this entire stretch was torn up recently to construct the bus tunnel beneath the road. Though at 12 MPH, buses somehow travel more slowly in the dedicated tunnel than they do on the streets. The infrastructure of the Seaport, while new, fails pedestrians, bicyclists and mass transit users. Yet it succeeds in providing a route for the 6,500 space parking garage due to be constructed nearby. Which as a quick walk around the buildings area will tell you, is how you’re supposed to arrive.
January 28th, 2009 at 11:51 am
[...] and was "not considered reckless behavior" by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. And Switchback derides the "sterile and uninviting" design that’s shaping up on the Boston [...]
January 28th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
[...] and was "not considered reckless behavior" by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. And Switchback derides the "sterile and uninviting" design that’s shaping up on the Boston waterfront. [...]
February 14th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
The interesting thing I find about the Seaport is that “in front of it” from the perspective of downtown Boston is Fort Point, so it’s sort of like a new urbanist Potemkin Village. A nice cozy chunk of converted 19th century industrial buildings, and then walk a bit further and WHAM, a little bit of Los Angeles in the heart of Boston.
February 19th, 2009 at 11:39 am
Fort Point is a great area. From what I know it is pretty damn expensive, but imagine if they didn’t tear down all of those buildings behind it, it would be even better right now. I personally think they should run a street car from South Station, right down the middle of Fort Point. It is such a great area.