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Newbury Street to be pedestrian only on three days this summer
By adamg on Fri, 05/18/2018 - 10:11am
The mayor's office reports Newbury Street will shut to motor vehicles between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on July 8, Aug. 12 and Sept. 9, as part of the third annual summer "Open Newbury Street."
In a statement, Mayor Walsh said:
From being able to shop for products both in the store and out, to enjoying lunch next to a street performer, we are happy that residents and visitors will get to experience this opportunity, and are grateful to the business owners and residents who have worked with us to expand this next edition of the Open Newbury Street series.
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Comments
Aim Higher
We can and should aim higher than closing Newbury to cars only three times per year.
Charleston, SC closes King Street--their main commercial drag--to cars the second Sunday of every month ("Second Sundays on King").
Basically every city in the
Basically every city in the US has better pedestrian areas than Boston(of course every European city is way better in this regard). Pedestrians are treated like garbage in Boston while drivers are spoiled and subsidized by taxpayers.
Boston is 15x bigger than Burlington Vermont yet Burlington Vermont has a better pedestrian area. Their Church Street is a real car free pedestrian zone. It doesn't have cabs driving down it like our so called pedestrian zone.
Boston
Closed the epicenter of its shopping district to cars in the 1970s. That area is still closed to cars today.
If you get the chance, you should visit there. It is at the intersection of Washington, Summer, and Winter Streets. We call it "Downtown Crossing." There's even a T stop there.
Out of curiosity, where are the pedestrian streets in downtown New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles?
[edit- added a verb to the last sentence. Sorry about that.]
The example of DTX
And when they closed Washington Street to traffic in the late 70s and renamed it "Downtown Crossing" look what happened to it. Empty storefronts and strung out homeless people all over. The attempt to make it more suburban mall-like and "encourage lingering" backfired badly and it went from a thriving shopping district to the wasteland we later knew it as, before trying to reinvent its elf as a residential neighborhood with a Roche Brothers, Primark and Old Navy. But there were some long hungry years in there which DTX has not completely recovered from. Shutting thoroughfares in the heart of a city down from traffic is not all it's cracked up to be. And I say this as a pedestrian who does not own a car.
But it can work
I called out Kinopio for his hyperbole, but Church Street does work, a fact I refuse to deny. Banning cars did not cause the decline at DTX (in the 1980s the key "anchors" were Filenes, Jordan Marsh, and Woolworths, one dying out and the other two being merged into a separate department store) nor would restoring traffic to the streets improve things (see other major American cities that did not create pedestrian malls and how their retail also declined.) A big problem facing Downtown Crossing is that activity in the end us up to the whims of the landlords. How long as Barnes and Noble been closed? It was closed before Borders closed, and Borders is now a Walgreens. When there is a will, there is a way.
Problem is
Its no longer the neighborhood epicenter it was.
Take a look at all the commerical (office) zoning. Check it out at 9:30 any night of the week.
DTX died when they allowed residents to be pushed out, not due to the street. Its very much an example of the live there, work over there, and play somewhere else mentalities of the 80s. You can see it from the darth of ground floor retail outside of DTX in the closed off, canyoned financial district.
Newbury is apple to oranges anyways despite the above.
I'd also point out thus is slowly what the city/Massport is doing to the seaport where commercial office space is heavily favored over residents and community amenities. The city likes it because they canndrag their feet on expensive civic obligations and massport just likes the money.
70s Punk Clubs in the Deserted Financial District
"You can see it from the darth of ground floor retail outside of DTX in the closed off, canyoned financial district."
I love that description of the financial district as "canyoned". It's a spot on description. But it was ALWAYS that way, even in the 70s and 80s. Outside of DTX there was never much retail action in the financial district and certainly no nightlife. Faneuil Hall did not yet exist as we know it now, only as deserted husks of buildings. The fact that this area was such a no man's land allowed it, for a short time in the late 70s, to be ground zero for punk rockers with a triumvirate of clubs the mainstream world was unaware of. The fondly remembered Cantones on Broad, The completely forgotten Space on Batterymarch (which was actually my favorite of them all) and the very short lived Maverick's (I forget what street it was on. Held in esteem by some, but actually the most insignificant of the three). For a short, glorious period, us rockers (now old people) owned the night in that deserted canyon.
*Still open to commercial vehicles
Which makes sense cause you know, deliveries. But maybe you meant that distinction between cars and delivery trucks. The point its, its not totally closed to motor vehicle traffic.
But maybe a bigger criticism is a lack of pedestrian areas around the Common and Public Garden. Its really embarrassing that we have 4 lanes dividing those amazing public spaces from the rest of our city core.
As for NYC, they've done a good job adapting streets to serve people, bikes and motor vehicles.
Sure, different city, different road layouts blah blah blah but that doesn't mean we can't innovate here in Boston too: https://www.6sqft.com/before-after-10-nyc-blocks-and-enclaves-transforme...
http://www.chicagocompletestreets.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Chicago...
https://la.curbed.com/2017/6/19/15832876/la-walkable-rankings-pedestrian...
Edit: But you said "pedestrian streets" which is a carefully worded rebuttal so here are some links for that too.
Central park recently went car-free: https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2018/04/28/urban-reads-central-park-goes-car-...
LA is considering it to help fight pollution: http://www.climateactionprogramme.org/news/london-considers-car-free-day...
Plenty of cities around the world are doing it, why can't Boston?: http://www.businessinsider.com/cities-going-car-free-2017-2
I know of two people thrilled at this news!!
My good pal Jonathan Berk, who will no doubt be Tweeting up a storm kissing Marty's ass for realizing his white privilege wet dream and the woman I saw sleeping in the alley behind Brooks Brothers last night. Al least she'll be able to be better rested without the bustling of Ubers double parking all up Newbury Street all day.
You're a real class act
Calling out people on UHub who aren't mentioned in the post just because you're apparently petty. And then making fun of homeless people. You're a piece of work.
Talk to me
when they close Blue Hill Ave for the privileged to enjoy shopping at the Burberry or the Alan Bilzerian store there. Then call me petty.
They've closed down Blue Hill
They've closed down Blue Hill Ave for parades, so what is your point?
You're smart...
I'm sure you can figure it out. Now check out little Berkie's Twitter. Then tell me how petty I am.
Today, for instance
the Haitian-American Unity Parade took over the northbound side of Blue Hill Avenue from Mattapan Square to Harambee Park.
I get your point, Ron
You get mine?
Is your point
That you are living in the past? Or is it that you are clueless as to what goes on on Blue Hill Ave.?
Wait, yo...
I thought I was the one with anger issues...?
No anger issues on my behalf
Just kind of sad to see you reference places like Blue Hill Avenue as if it is still 1988.
You're right for once!
Only it's more like 1958! Only now whitey is trying to move them out!
I have no idea what point you are trying to make
But several of us have pointed out occasions when the city closed parts of Blue Hill Avenue to traffic, either for parades or for public Open Street events that were similar to Newbury Street's.
Thanks, Ron!
Still da man!!!
Change is hard
Can't I just stick with calling you dumb instead of having to calling you petty?
Please call me at 617-HOT-TAKEZ to discuss. (Please? I'm a very bored and lonely retiree...)
Yes, and the impotent attacks from the peanut gallery
from the obviously very upset with my calling out of their privilege continues!
Isn't there a post on someone of color getting killed in a neighborhood where they don't close the streets to promote the false image that this town is welcoming to all you can go haunt and infect with more musings on my psychological state as opposed to actually retorting intelligently?
Supply an intelligent retort
Please. And try to do it without some goalpost shifting, name calling, and childish behavior. I think you'll find most of us here do like to discuss things with intelligence and considerate thought. I find your posts generally lacking of any of that and I don't think I'm alone in that opinion. You just want to stir the pot and want the rest of us to appease you, which, admittedly, I'm kind of doing right now, unfortunately.
Maybe start by asking if the people who live around Blue Hill Ave want what you're suggesting before touting it as something you know for a fact. If there are people there that want it, great! But prove it, please. I'm not going to take your word for it, personally. I see you using the issue as a cudgel just to attack Berk just because you don't like him. Which, fine, you certainly don't have to like him, but you should be honest about it rather than being so disingenuous about it.
Their privilege?
Isn't this the same privilege you've enjoyed all your life as a white man? Why do you say "their privilege?
Blue Hill Avenue was closed twice for Open Streets events
in 2013 and 2014. Quite successfully, too. I wish the city would do it again this year.
How about Boylston
The should close Boylston St from Mass ave to South Station
Why... so you can shop at
Why... so you can shop at Tesla and the Apple store after your shopping spree at the mall ful of chain stores? Pssst.... there's this place in called Natick... you'd love it!
I think it's great that
I think it's great that people who aren't on bikes and in cars get a break from being harassed on public streets!