When Not Budging and Inch is Measured in Inches

Big Dig officials keep telling Boston that the project is almost complete. Bostonist will believe it when we see it. With the mélange of Jersey Barriers (named for the cow, not the state), confusing signage, incomplete parks, and on and off ramps that may or may not get you on or off anything, the project doesn’t seem to be in those final stages. The Rose Kennedy Greenway, the 30 acre park system between the North End, Aquarium and the rest of Boston, remains a rough cement riddled dirty mess. Part of the plan for the greenway is a pedestrian way that flows right past the InterContinental Hotel currently under construction. The hotel’s plan to move the sidewalk favored their valet pull in rather than pedestrian right of way. WalkBoston and the InterContinental have been in negotiations fighting for each others interests. Today the Boston Globe reports, they both may have budged just a few inches (literally inches, ok, maybe a foot here and there) to an acceptable compromise.

Bostonist is often filling this space with our trials and tribulations while riding around greater Boston on a bicycle. Every now and again we’re reminded that Boston is a walking city. It’s nice to know that there’s at least one organization sticking up for pedestrian rights. Filling up at the Hess proximate Bostonist is down to $1.99 (and nine tenths)a gallon—officially under two dollars. But gas is still expensive, walking is free. Creating a pedestrian right of way through the Rose Kennedy Greenway seemed to Bostonist part of the draw to the Big Dig project, which would give priority to green space instead of the elevated central artery. The negotiated compromise has narrowed the drop off lanes requested by the intercontinental and all but eliminated the median separating the lanes from Atlantic Ave. The new plan puts the sidewalk at 6 feet 8 inches wide past the still unfinished InterContinental, but a much straighter path than had been the hotel's proposal. During the windy winter months Bostonist dart across traffic to catch an hotel awning heaters warmth. We’re certainly glad that WalkBoston is working to make this a safer, more user friendly endeavor.

Image courtesy of WalkBoston