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Globe still not keen on pedestrian malls
By neilv on Mon, 03/09/2009 - 5:09am
The Globe reports all the way from Chicago, "Chicago's pedestrian mall solution: traffic."
The article seems to try to make a case against Downtown Crossing as a pedestrian mall.
There are no quotes that are pro-pedestrian mall. The only quote from a Bostonian is one with missing context from Elizabeth Hollander at Tufts, who used to be Chicago's planning commissioner. (The article does not say what prompted the Globe to look at Chicago.) There are no quotes from professors in Boston's top-rated urban planning departments, nor from the City of Boston's own planners and engineers, nor (as far as the article says) from anyone who has actually studied Downtown Crossing.
(Obligatory disclosure: I volunteer on pedestrian issues in Cambridge, but I have no interest in Downtown Crossing other than as a shopper there.)
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Comments
News coverage vs. editorials at the Globe
What is suspicious about today's Globe news story is that it comes on the heels of their recent editorial about re-opening Downtown Crossing to vehicular traffic.
The Globe's news coverage about casino gambling has shown both positives and negatives despite their editorial page's endorsement of casinos. Will their news coverage on the pedestrian mall show similar balance? We'll see.
It seems to me that the biggest threat to the vitality of Downtown Crossing is the gaping hole that was Filene's, not the vehicular access to the roadway. The city may have cut off its nose to spite its face -- by rushing approval of the Filene's redevelopment (without close inspection of the developer's funding resources) it may be driving a stake through the heart of the city's desire to keep the street closed to traffic.
Very interesting. Adding
Very interesting.
Adding traffic to the mix of Downtown Crossing does minimal damage compared to the schemes the BRA has for that area. They seek to 'cleanse' and gentrify every corner of Boston into a shining kingdom of yuppiedom, devoid of depth, history, or diversity.
The BRA's extensive powers and corruption warrant a serious investigation.
Globe's coverage
The reason this looks like a trend is because this is actually one news item run as two stories (or a story and a follow up).
So let's look at what is causing The Globe to look skeptical about the pedestrian mall at Downtown Crossing. On March 1st Michael Levenson wrote an article about Downtown Crossing where multiple authoritative sources spoke against the utility of the pedestrian mall. Today's piece, from the same reporter, should have more explicitly been noted as a follow up to the original piece. In the original piece there are pro-pedestrian mall quotes and the the sum of the two pieces actually add up to some good reporting.
Whether Downtown Crossing should be reopened to traffic can and should be debated. Without any inside knowledge I would suspect that the editorial stance, if they gave it any thought, would be to parrot the BRA and keep the pedestrian mall.
Ooops!
"My Bad" as the kids say. Serves me right for trying to decipher the workings (such as they are) of the Globe's editorial stances. Consistency and supporting arguments have never been their strong suit.
Globe is pretty much alone in it's view
I really don't understand why the Globe is pushing so hard to have DTX reopened to vehicles. Cities all over the world have shown that pedestrian streets can be great for business when there are actually a vibrant mix of businesses there, when the street actually is closed to ALL cars, and when there are active uses such as sidewalk cafes. Bring in a supermarket, some cafes and bars, and a wider mix of retail, and I'm sure it can be a success. Just as prohibiting cars from an area alone doesn't mean it will be successful, the same can be said for reintroducing cars to that same area.
I look forward to the day
I look forward to the day when I can drive my SUV thru the Natick Collection.