Boston Globe, MA
July 26 2005

Greenway guidance
July 26, 2005

MANY MAPS of the Rose Kennedy Greenway contain no mention of Parcel
13. Planners expected the small plot between Faneuil Market and
Christopher Columbus Park to be included with the large Parcel 12,
now tentatively designated as the site for a Boston History Museum.
But no. With little fanfare, the Legislature directed that Parcel 13
be the site of a memorial to Armenian heritage and the Armenian
genocide.

Three choice Greenway parcels extending north from South Station have
been designated for development by the Massachusetts Horticultural
Society, but the Turnpike Authority has threatened to seek other
uses. The authority is also watching the YMCA, which is facing
increased costs for its proposed building near the North End.

The new Intercontinental Hotel near Russia Wharf is now designed with
a double-car-width valet parking pullout, so pedestrians would have
to swerve away from the street and under the hotel canopy in order to
proceed on the sidewalk bordering the Greenway. The city of Boston’s
Public Improvement Committee gave the OK for this design.

Two points about these issues: (1) All are important to the future of
the Greenway, and (2) None is the responsibility of the Rose Kennedy
Greenway Conservancy.

Chaired by Peter Meade, the Conservancy is making considerable
progress in pulling together design and programming ideas and in
raising private funds. It is the best hope to become the long-awaited
client — the true manager of the Greenway. But it does not now have
the mandate or the tools to do the job.

Situating an Armenian memorial in Boston is a fine idea, and the
design work now underway may be excellent, but it is ridiculous for
the Legislature to be picking off street corners within a massive
project and mandating what will go where with no reference to 15
years of planning.

The Legislature, the MBTA, the city, the Turnpike Authority, and
other parties can all contribute to a good result, but only if they
are brought together by some entity that has the clout to coordinate
them effectively. This applies also to fundraising, where there is
now too much competition.

Until now, the Turnpike Authority has made most of the decisions
related to the Greenway. It has hired top designers and guided a
process that may yet produce a result close to the project’s
extraordinary potential. But the Turnpike Authority is a road agency.
It should cede more authority to the Conservancy, which is positioned
to rally the public and private support needed.