Greener Pastures

By Rebecca Hadad

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Last Friday, everyone willing to gather in a conference room at an obscenely early hour—all 25 concerned citizens—discussed transforming the city with the Greenway Network. Influenced by Holland's extensive routes, Dr. Peter Furth, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Northeastern University, presented a project, designed by him and his students, to improve bike paths and encourage biking in Boston.

"Often, when you ask a person if they would bike in the city, they say, 'I would if there were a safe route,'" Furth said, insisting the four Greenways—the Minuteman, the Charles River Esplanade, the Harbor Walk and the Arborway—must connect. "Unless your origin and destination are on the same greenway, there isn't a safe route," he said.

Furth is not the only bicycle access advocate. Michael Tyrrell, a civil design activist, leads The Harbor Trail Project, a plan for the 3.5-mile trail from Ruggles Station to the South Boston Fan Pier to connect to South Station, the Arboretum and the Fens. "A multiuse path along the southern seam of central Boston would benefit neighborhoods long detached from open space," he explained. "The Harbor Trail achieves this ... as well as reducing traffic congestion. Now with gasoline costs through the roof, the benefits appear more obvious."

Tyrrell and Furth don't work together, but each addressed the importance of the other's plans. Their goals are simple: To create safer routes and link isolated areas, consequently saving money otherwise invested in gas and parking, while lowering gas emissions by converting drivers to bicyclists.

The costs for Furth's project have not been calculated, though the South Bay Harbor Trail estimates alone total over $4 million. Suburban commuters are still stuck driving into the city, and pedestrians would face new hazards. "Where would [pedestrians] go?" one citizen asked at the meeting. "[Bicyclists] need to obey the bike laws and alert us with a verbal call or bell ... it is dangerous for us."

Despite concerns, the project is in motion. "The state is in the process of advancing $3.8 million for design and construction of the 3.5-mile trail [that will take place] over the next three years," Tyrrell said. "The goal is to make this very urban path as attractive and fun to use as possible. We believe that the trail will encourage Bostonians to look at the former South Bay Corridor in a new light—as a place to be and move through rather than avoid, as was historically the case."