Monday, October 8, 2007

Our Position

The Esplanade Association strongly opposes the use of the Esplanade as a by-pass road during the construction of the Storrow Drive reconstruction project.

We further request that the DCR work in cooperation with transportation officials from the City and State to develop a comprehensive regional plan for traffic during construction that does not encroach upon the Esplanade.

Throughout the public process key concepts regarding the project have emerged. These include:

  • The Esplanade serves a regional use and is part of a system that accommodates bikers, pedestrians, runners and walkers from a broad geographic area. It is more than a neighborhood park.
  • The construction of the interim roadway will impact the operations of the park including the Hatch Shell area. The roadway will be sited close to the lagoon and pedestrian walkway. If it extends to Clarendon Street, the Lotta Crabtree Fountain will need to be relocated.
  • No mechanism currently exists to securely safeguard parkland mitigation funding to offset the impacts of park loss during construction. In addition, the public should not accept a roadway in the park as a rationale for standard park improvements and infrastructure.
  • Storrow Drive is not a highway but a limited access parkway.
  • The loss of healthy mature trees is not easily offset. By moving the roadway into the park a significant buffer will be eliminated.
  • The project is but one component of a regional, complex transportation network that includes the Boston University, Longfellow and Craigie bridges, the Turnpike and the Bowker Overpass.
  • Transportation planning for the project has never assumed that current levels of capacity can be maintained on Storrow Drive during construction. In addition an early goal of the project was to mitigate the impacts of traffic on the Esplanade and develop alternative methods of transportation.
  • The project must encompass additional resource dedication from the MBTA, the Mass Turnpike (ramps), transit vans, a water shuttle, the Inner Belt concept, the Red-Blue line connection and others.
  • Using the park for a by-pass roadway for two to three years will significantly impact the quality of life for those who use and love the Esplanade. There are no quick fixes and complete landscape restoration can take up to 40 years to achieve.
  • If the option of a by-pass road is included in the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) it will make it easier for the DCR not to solve the problem any other way. A road through the park is the cheapest, quickest solution. The Esplanade deserves better.

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