![[The Esplanade Association logo]](../images/logo_med_bluebg.gif){kind=logo}
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
DCR announces interim repairs to Storrow Drive tunnel
Department of Conservation and Recreation, November 7, 2008
Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Commissioner Richard K. Sullivan Jr. today announced the agency will spend $6.8 million on interim repairs to the Storrow Drive tunnel while a long-term construction plan is finalized.
“Our first responsibility is to public safety,” said Commissioner Sullivan. “These repairs are necessary to keep the Storrow Drive tunnel operational until we begin the full reconstruction. We will use the additional time those repairs provide to work through the challenge of managing reconstruction of this heavily traveled roadway and place it in the context of all the major projects that have to be done in the area in the years ahead.”
The interim repairs, which will begin early in 2008 and continue for six to nine months, will include replacing deteriorated concrete in the roof and wall sections and installing waterproofing membranes in roof joints to prevent water seepage. Work is expected to be conducted at night, allowing the tunnel to be open for traffic during the day.
DCR has already begun $430,000 in immediate repairs to the drainage system and structural beams in the tunnel. Those repairs began Sunday, Nov. 4, and are expected to conclude in four to six weeks. Sullivan said DCR is also in the process of finalizing negotiations with a nationally recognized, independent engineering firm to review its pending and future work on the Storrow Drive tunnel.
In addition, DCR will work with the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, the Executive Office of Transportation, and the Massachusetts Highway Department (MassHighway) to conduct a sequencing study of road and bridge repairs in the Charles River Basin. The study will determine the optimal order and timing of the projects to protect public safety, maintain traffic flow, and manage construction impacts. That study, for which many stakeholders will be consulted, is expected to be completed in six to nine months.
“This study will enable the state’s transportation and environmental agencies to place the Storrow Drive tunnel rehabilitation in the context of all the major projects that have to be completed in the area in the years ahead,” said Commissioner Sullivan. “The long-term Storrow Drive solution cannot be realized without considering the entire transportation network.”
MassHighway Commissioner Luisa Paiewonsky said, “Proper planning is critical to any infrastructure investment, and this study will provide a path for us to address the road and bridge needs in the Charles River Basin. We look forward to working with EOEEA and DCR on this study to lay out a plan that will address these needs in a realistic and safe manner.”
Over the next 10-15 years, six major DCR bridges over the Charles River, as well as the Bowker Overpass, will require approximately $300 million in repairs or reconstruction. These bridges and roadways carry more than 440,000 vehicles a day into and out of the city of Boston. The sequencing study will help DCR and MassHighway determine the best order to minimize traffic disruption and impacts on surrounding communities. MassHighway will manage the construction on all of these projects.
The major projects being studied are:
* BU Bridge, which carries about 41,000 vehicles a day;
* Craigie Drawbridge and Craigie Dam Bridge, about 116,000 vehicles a day;
* Eliot Bridge, about 70,100 vehicles a day;
* Longfellow Bridge, about 49,500 vehicles a day;
* River Street Bridge, about 32,100 vehicles a day;
* Bowker Overpass, about 27,000 vehicles a day;
* Storrow Drive Tunnel, about 105,000 vehicles a day.
Preliminary reviews of the DCR bridge and tunnel projects indicate that the Craigie Bridge and Craigie Dam Bridge will be the first to reach construction. The drawbridge needs a complete replacement of the draw span, the machinery, and the electrical systems, at an estimated cost of about $19 million, while the dam bridge needs superstructure and deck repairs and sidewalk replacements, for an estimated cost of about $5 million.
Work on the Craigie bridges is currently under design by the firm of Hardesty and Hanover, and DCR estimates the design and specifications will be completed by December 2008, with the project ready for bid in January 2009.
The Department of Conservation and Recreation crews will be reconstructing a portion of the Charles River Pathway, which runs adjacent to Soldiers Field Road between the BU Bridge and River Street. During the reconstruction, the pathway will be closed; pedestrians and bicyclists are encouraged to use the Memorial Drive paths as a detour. The DCR would like to thank park users for their patience and cooperation as pathway improvements are made.
=========================================================
Major changes are on the way for one of Boston's busiest roads, and it's going to cause headaches for commuters and people who live nearby.
NewsCenter 5's Jack Harper reported that crews will soon begin repairs on the Storrow Drive Tunnel. It is only a temporary fix to some serious problems.
"It will not be a laid-out area. It will not be a detoured area, and this project will, again, buy us five years, at least," Department of Conservation and Recreation Commissioner Richard Sullivan said.
"If we fix the tunnel and then put our heads in the sand for another five years and wake up and decide we need to do something, it will be too late," said Patrice Todisco, of The Esplanade Association.
Community activists said that the DCR must now move in many directions in a hurry.
"Hopefully, the DCR has done a very good job in terms of all the interim planning they needed to do with traffic management and waste management and park protection," Todisco said.
"There is absolutely nothing simple about this. There is nothing simple about the larger project of all the infrastructure, but it is a great opportunity," Sullivan said.
Crews will work around the clock, and the noisiest work will be done during the day. It will take about six months to complete.
"We can work together, but I don’t know if we can live together on this project, but I certainly hope so," Todisco said.
===============================================
1,500 help beautify state parks, beaches
The Boston Globe , May 18, 2008
From left, Becca Cyr, Matt Lenzi, and Kayla Clark pulled out weeds yesterday near the Arthur Fiedler Footbridge. (Yoon S. Byun/Globe Staff)
Excerpt:
It made sense to Becca Cyr that she should do her part to clean up the Esplanade yesterday. After all, her Somerville apartment has no backyard. So the 24-year-old, like most city dwellers, will get her dose of green this summer at public parks and beaches.
"It's nice to be outside, and to get in the dirt," she said, while raking up leaves along the Esplanade with eight other volunteers, then dumping the extra foliage into huge brown bags. "We don't have [our own] yards to tend to."
The volunteers were taking part in the state's second annual Park Serve Day.
Its aim was to ready green spaces for summer and to strengthen the bond between residents and their nearby parks, said Lisa Capone, spokeswoman for the Department of Conservation and Recreation...
===============================================
Team Esplanade
The Beacon Hill Times, April 22, 2008
Team Esplanade gathered at the Hatch Shell on April 15 for a final group meeting before the marathon. As the only official “green” charity chosen by the Boston Athletic Association, runners are raising money to support The Esplanade Association (www.esplanadeassociation.org), an active “friends of the park” group working to protect, restore, and enhance Boston’s historic Charles River Esplanade since 2001.
Pictured from left to right, back row: Dan fico, Patrick Hamm, Cheryl Barry, Bryan Irwin, Patrick Fay, Peter Esselstyn, Kevin Uniacke and Melissa LeVangie. Front row: Kevin Quinlan, Ellen Duranceau, Sarah Torkelson, Katie Weber, Deena Behar, and Guadalupe Martinez.
=========================================================
Goose droppings are top Esplanade Concern
The Boston Courant, April 12, 2008
Excerpt:
A survey of visitors to the Charles River Esplanade revealed goose feces at their foremost complaint.
The results, culled from interviews with 346 park users, were revealed last week at The Esplanade Association’s annual meeting.
To reduce goose droppings, the association entered “GeesePeace”, a program run by the MSPCA, in 2003. Volunteers visit nests along the Charles to inspect goose eggs. If the eggs have not been fertilized, the volunteers cover them with a layer of oil to stop oxygen from penetrating the shell, preventing them from fertilization.
The association also hires two border collies trained to herd the geese and push them into the river, encouraging them to relocate to areas with less human activity.
Other grievances regarding the Esplanade included a lack of amenities like restrooms and drinking fountains, litter and unleashed dogs. However, more than 85 percent ranked the park as a “major factor” in their enjoyment of the city.
=========================================================
Esplanade Association discusses survey results at its annual meeting
The Beacon Hill Times, April 8, 2008
Excerpt:
The Esplanade is a mecca not exclusively for downtown residents. In fact, approximately 65 percent of the people who use the parkland do not live in Beacon Hill or Back Bay, according to a survey that was conducted last year by The Esplanade Association (TEA).
So what else is new?
Other points in the survey, which was discussed at the TEA’s annual meeting last Thursday, indicated that users of the Esplanade expressed high satisfaction about access to the park but that these same people were dissatisfied about availability of restrooms and drinking fountains.
Of course, despite its reputation as a tourist destination, Boston has never been known for these type facilities being made available in larger numbers to tourists, let alone for residents who use the park system.
Another concern expressed by users of the Esplanade is the inconvenience and danger of having to share walking paths with cyclists, geese droppings, the traffic on Storrow Drive, and the ongoing maintenance and desire for more functional amenities.
Rick Sullivan, Commissioner of the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) also addressed the association and told how his team looks forward to improving the Esplanade and working with TEA...
=========================================================
Esplanade Association links with Boston Marathon
The Boston Globe,
February 8, 2008
The Esplanade Association announced that it has been chosen by the Boston Athletic Association as the only environmental charity selected for this year’s Boston Marathon.
The association describes itself as a nonprofit collaboration of citizens working to protect, restore, and enhance Boston’s historic Charles River Esplanade.
Proceeds raised will benefit the association and its ongoing mission to protect and restore the three-mile stretch of the Esplanade in Boston, the association said.
=========================================================
Boat Haven Partners contribute $400,000 to Esplanade docks
The Beacon Hill Times, January 8, 2008
A partnership of The Esplanade Association (TEA), the Union Boat Club (UBC), Community Boating (CBI) and the Lawrence and Lillian Solomon Fund has recently completed a $400,000 fundraising campaign in support of the reconstruction of the docks at Commissioners Landing East and West and Governors Landing on the Esplanade. Patrice Todisco and Jeryl Oristaglio of TEA and Charlie Zechal of CBI conveyed the funds to Commissioner Rick Sullivan of the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) the week before Christmas. The reconstruction of the Boat Haven docks and the contiguous granite landings has been a priority of The Esplanade Association since its inception. These historic features were built as part of the Esplanade’s 1923 redesign by eminent landscape architect Arthur Shurcliff. They provide a formal connection between the river and park and provide opportunities for boating and sunning. The dock reconstruction has been underway since the fall and is scheduled to be completed this spring. It will be followed by the restoration of the granite work at Commissioners Landings. The project is being overseen by the Department of Conservation and Recreation and their consultants, Bourne Engineering.
The Boston Landmarks Commission has decided that the Charles River Esplanade should be evaluated for recognition as a city landmark. Ten city councilors and roughly 850 city residents signed a petition seeking the designation.
The state Department of Conservation and Recreation, which manages the park, has proposed using a portion of the Esplanade as a roadway to handle traffic while a Storrow Drive tunnel is reconstructed. Landmark status would force the state to seek the commission's approval for any proposed changes to the parkland.
The landmarks commission will now conduct a study to determine whether the park warrants landmark status and to outline the parameters for its preservation.
But the study could take some time: The commission must reopen its priority list for reviewing projects, and then the report would take at least three months to develop. If the commission approves it, the mayor has 15 days to veto a decision and the City Council has 30 days to approve or veto it.
During this week's commission meeting, a DCR spokesman praised the Esplanade as a cultural asset but stopped short of calling for its designation as a landmark.
Richard Sullivan, DCR commissioner, said yesterday that he has not abandoned the notion of using the Esplanade as a detour during construction.
"We haven't taken anything off of the table," Sullivan said.
=========================================================
Excerpt:
Worried about the state's on-again, off-again proposal to use Esplanade land for a temporary roadway, Boston residents and park advocates are asking the city to designate the Charles River waterfront a landmark, a move that could thwart its use as a road.
On Tuesday, about 800 city residents filed a petition with the Boston Landmarks Commission seeking recognition that could help protect the parkland from being used as a Storrow Drive detour or for any other form of development.
The state Department of Conservation and Recreation, which operates Storrow Drive, has been considering a construction plan that would reroute traffic onto a stretch of the Esplanade during renovations to the Storrow Drive tunnel. Though the department has decided to delay renovations and make only interim repairs, residents have been asking the Boston Preservation Alliance how they can permanently protect the parkland from such projects...
=========================================================
Excerpt:
Officials at the Department of Conservation and Recreation, less than a week after announcing they had postponed plans to rebuild the decaying Storrow Drive Tunnel, said yesterday that the agency will spend $6.8 million on interim repairs.
The tunnel repairs will begin early in 2008 and continue for up to nine months. The repairs will replace deteriorated concrete in the roof and walls and waterproof roof joints to prevent leaks.
The work will be done at night, allowing the tunnel to remain open to traffic during the day, agency officials said.
"These repairs are necessary to keep the Storrow Drive tunnel operational until we begin the full reconstruction," Commissioner Richard K. Sullivan Jr. said in a statement. "We will use the additional time those repairs provide to work through the challenge of managing reconstruction of this heavily traveled roadway."
Officials said the agency has already begun a $430,000 project to repair the 56-year-old tunnel's drainage system and structural beams. Those repairs began Sunday and will continue for about six weeks.
=========================================================
Students learn and volunteer
The Beacon Hill Times, October 2, 2007
Excerpt:
The Advent School has partnered with The Esplanade Association (TEA) to sponsor a section of the park, improving the area and incorporating outdoor activities into its science curriculum.
"Students will be using the park as an outdoor learning lab," said Patrice Todisco, Executive Director of TEA.
While many local schools and universities send volunteers to the park, this program is different because of the Advent School's long-term commitment to the project. "This is a year-long, intense, sustained program," she said. "The kids are in the park every week. It's not just a bout maintenance, it's about them learning about the park."...
=========================================================
Revived plan for detour on Esplanade stirs outrage; State touts savings during tunnel project
The Boston Globe, August 16, 2007
Excerpt:
The Patrick administration revived a plan last night to build a temporary bypass road through the Charles River Esplanade to expedite reconstruction of the crumbling Storrow Drive tunnel, igniting outrage among residents who decried the damage that would be inflicted on the widely used park in Boston's historic Back Bay...
=========================================================
Teen leaders working to beautify the Esplanade
The Beacon Hill Times, August 14, 2007
Excerpt:
A new teen leadership program, put together by The Esplanade Association (TEA), in cooperation with the Boston Youth Fund, is already showing great promise as the eight Boston area teens enrolled in the program meet the halfway mark of their summer involvement.
"This program allows teens from around the city to apply for summer jobs, working with TEA to take care of the Esplanade and at the same time open them to career possibilities they might not have considered before," said Teen leadership Program Coordinator Ninya Loeppky. "TEA has a longer term vision of having a yough council - similar to the one that operates in New York City's Prospect Park - and they felt that a good way to start was to have a summer program that brings youth into the park, especially youth who might not ordinarily come to or use the park."...
=========================================================
New and improved drinking fountains for Esplanade
The Back Bay Sun, July 13, 2007
Excerpt:
Three of the Esplanade’s nine water fountains, one located at the Teddy Ebersol Fields, one near the Hatch Shell, and one at Dartmouth Street, are currently broken, and, according to Wendy Fox, Press Secretary for the Department of Conservation and Recreation, are either undergoing or awaiting repairs.
Meanwhile, the Esplanade Association has been working with architects and engineers on a project to eventually replace several aging and often broken water fountains on the Esplanade and fix the current piping system.
“Some of the fountains might be working, but they are dismal,” TEA’s Executive
Director Patrice Todisco said. “They are old, concrete fixtures set in mud that you would want to think twice about before using.”
According to Todisco, a new model has already been chosen that is better looking and more reliable. However, she said the project is complicated due to the necessity of fixing the entire water system, and the timeline depends on construction scheduling and the progress of behind-the-scenes engineering. TEA will also pursue outreach and fundraising to help pay for the project, and hopes to reconvene with DCR, who they met with eight months ago, in order to finalize plans...
=========================================================
Boston Landmarks Orchestra bring classical music to Hatch Shell for summer-long festival
The Back Bay Sun, July 6, 2007
Excerpt:
The July 4th performance of the Boston Pops will not be the only time a full orchestra takes the stage at the Esplanade this summer.
The Boston Landmarks Orchestra will kick-off a nine concert festival at the Hatch Shell beginning Wednesday, July 11, at 7 p.m.
“The history and the setting of the Hatch Shell make it a unique outdoor venue for
classical music,” said Landmarks Conductor and Artistic Director Charles Ansbacher, who founded Boston Landmarks Orchestra in 2001 to perform free concerts celebrating historical, geographical and architectural settings in Boston. “With the Charles River on one side and the panorama of the city skyline on the other, it is the perfect spot for evening concerts in the summer. We are extremely excited about undertaking what we hope will become a new summertime tradition for the residents of Boston.”
The Esplanade Association Executive Director Patrice Todisco said of the Landmarks’ concerts, “We did support these concerts coming to the Hatch Shell because we think their mission of bringing classical music to people throughout the city in important historical and geographical locations fits very much with the mission of the Esplanade and the Hatch Shell.”...
=========================================================
A new twist on an old pastime; Boston Model Sailing Club teaches the joys of model sailboats
The Back Bay Sun, July 6, 2007
Excerpt:
They come to play at the Esplanade and, with the Charles River at their backs, these men and women do consider their hobby to be a playful enterprise. But do not be fooled; There is method to their whimsy.
Boston Model Sailing Club is a program of The Esplanade Association, which owns many of the boats its members use. However, the program is not just about reliving one’s youth. Rather, the model sailing that goes on at the Storrow Lagoon on an almost weekly basis during the summer is about connecting people to the Esplanade with more than concerts and jogging. It is about using and preserving the Storrow Lagoon for their its intended purpose – model boating.
“This lagoon was expressly built for pond yachting, which was a big pastime around the turn of the century,” explained BMSC volunteer coordinator Erik Bullerjahn. “This group was established in 2002 by The Esplanade Association as a way to reconnect that pastime of sailing small boats on the lagoon with the people who use the parks now.”...
=========================================================
The Esplanade Association volunteer program helps keep park looking great
The Back Bay Sun, June 29, 2007
Excerpt:
In its brief six-year history, The Esplanade Association (TEA) has already built a strong reputation as a leading proponent for preserving, maintaining and beautifying the Charles River Esplanade.
Yet, this group is not just a bunch of activists working behind the scene to draw attention and raise funding for major projects like the Boat Haven or solar-powered trash compactors, two initiatives on which TEA has worked closely with the Department of Conservation and Recreation.
This is a group that also knows how to get its hands dirty and do the work that is required to keep the Esplanade looking beautiful year round...
=========================================================
Todisco to head Storrow Drive's Landscape Advisory Committee
The Beacon Hill Times, February 6, 2007
Excerpt:
The proposed replacement or renovation of the Storrow Drive Tunnel will have a significant impact on the historic three-mile parkland along the Boston shore of the Charles River, so it was only fitting that Patrice Todisco, executive director of The Esplanade Association, which watches over that land, be given a key role in the planning process.
At a meeting last week, she was elected chairman of the Storrow Drive Tunnel Project’s landscape advisory committee, a group of citizens and landscape architects that will work hand-in-hand with the project’s Transportation Committee to determine the best way to redo the tunneled eastbound portion of the road that is said to be in poor condition and in need of repairs.
It is a mission she cares deeply about. “The project’s design, construction and eventual completion will profoundly impact the lives of the many individuals who use the park daily,” she said, “making it imperative to proceed with great care and a deep understanding of the park’s history as well as its current and future use.”...
=========================================================
Manning, Salvage & Lee awards 100K pro bono grant to TEA
Manning, Salvage & Lee, January 2007
Manning, Salvage & Lee (www.mslpr.com) has named The Esplanade Association the recipient of its 2007 Agnew Carter McCarthy Community Grant, which provides $100,000 of in-kind public relations services to a select non-profit organization for a two-year period. The agency will help enhance the reputations of TEA among Massachusetts residents through increased media visibility.
The Esplanade Association works to restore the Charles River Esplanade by acting as the primary steward, partner, and advocate of Boston's public park.
"The Esplanade is home to many powerful memories for thousands of individuals from around our state, the nation, and the world, " says Ed Cafasso, managing director of MS&L Boston. "We're so excited to support the Association's efforts to maintain and improve a wonderful and treasured park that means so much to so many."
The Angew Carter McCarthy Community Grant recognizes the 23-year community service legacy of Jack Agnew, Lew Carter, and Terry McCarthy, whose Boston PR agency was aquired by Manning, Salvage & Lee in August 1999. Each of the three founders spent considerable time during their respective careers serving on civic, arts, community, and communications industry non-profit boards in Greater Boston while managing the firm.
"We are thrilled to have MS&L's support to help increase awareness of what The Esplanade Association means to the Boston community," says Patrice Todisco, executive director of TEA. "This partnership will help us highlight the Association's accomplishments and alert the public to the continuing needs of this landmark park."
Photo ©2004 Penny Cherubino
Privacy | Copyright | Site Map | Site Credits
The Esplanade Association
376 Boylston Street, Suite 503
Boston, MA 02116
617.227.0365
