So add your ideas! And I hope you'll give feedback on mine.
We all care about this special part of the city and want to make it shine.
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Saturday, August 28, 2010
Why Ideamatic Dorchester?
I've lived in Dorchester for nearly 30 years, and like many other residents (and folks who work or study here), I have ideas on how life in Dorchester could be improved for the public good. In fact, I have lots of ideas and I thought it might be fun to start posting them. I know the best ideas are like yeast and that other people adding to them and bouncing off and building off them makes any idea deeper, stronger, more likely to be realized.
Cycle Sundays: Columbia Road & Franklin Park
For years, Memorial Drive in Cambridge has been closed on Sundays for cyclists, joggers, walkers and those out for a stroll. Once a year, Hub on Wheels in September succeeds in closing Storrow Drive to traffic for a few hours so cyclists can enjoy the ride along the other side of the Charles River.
When Frederick Law Olmsted designed the Emerald Necklace, it was designed to begin at the Public Garden and loop like a garland around the center through Jamaica Plain and through Dorchester over to the beach in South Boston. It stopped short at Franklin Park.
Imagine if we could ride bikes on Sundays (at least) through Franklin Park (from right below the parking lot to the golf club house) to Forest Hills. This would still mean golfers who drive could still do so.
Then imagine that 2 of the 4 lanes of Columbia Road would be closed on Sundays to cars. North Dorchester has a high density of children, and Columbia Road closed off on Sundays would mean they and their families could ride their bikes in safety. It would give North Dorchester a long stretch of a "promenade", creating much needed public common space for walking, jogging and cycling.
What could it cost? Today I made a point of counting the number of parked cars on north side of Columbia Road and there are not that many because already long stretches are "car free" to keep traffic flowing. But on Sunday, there is dramatically less traffic.
What do you think?
When Frederick Law Olmsted designed the Emerald Necklace, it was designed to begin at the Public Garden and loop like a garland around the center through Jamaica Plain and through Dorchester over to the beach in South Boston. It stopped short at Franklin Park.
Imagine if we could ride bikes on Sundays (at least) through Franklin Park (from right below the parking lot to the golf club house) to Forest Hills. This would still mean golfers who drive could still do so.
Then imagine that 2 of the 4 lanes of Columbia Road would be closed on Sundays to cars. North Dorchester has a high density of children, and Columbia Road closed off on Sundays would mean they and their families could ride their bikes in safety. It would give North Dorchester a long stretch of a "promenade", creating much needed public common space for walking, jogging and cycling.
What could it cost? Today I made a point of counting the number of parked cars on north side of Columbia Road and there are not that many because already long stretches are "car free" to keep traffic flowing. But on Sunday, there is dramatically less traffic.
What do you think?
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