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Boston hires engineering and design firm to help city decide how to spend $28 million on the Common

Mayor Walsh's office announced today it's hired Weston & Sampson of Boston to help the city figure out how to improve the Common with $28 million from the sale of the old Winthrop Square garage.

In 2017, Millennium Partners agreed to pay up to $153 million to tear down the shuttered garage and put up a mixed-use building.

The exact final amount will depend on the sales of condos in the building, but the company made a large enough initial payment - $100 million - to allow the city to set up a fund for Boston Common renovations and upgrades. Some of the money from the sale will also go towards the Public Garden and Franklin Park.

Weston & Sampson, which has done other park work in Boston, will

Deliver creative, innovative, and technically sound plans that can withstand heavy use, New England weather, and the test of time - a vital goal for this landmark park with its complex infrastructure over garages, tunnels, and supply lines.

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Comments

Simple, easy, reduces lane widths which helps with pedestrian crossing. People here and from out of town could enjoy ride around our wonderful public space vs. the 6 lanes that motor vehicles treat like a drag strip.

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And a two-way cycletrack on Charles Street to link it all up with the Longfellow Bridge and Esplanade paths.

There isn't that much traffic there and the need is great.

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Swirly, you jest.

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Don't call me Swirly.

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which indeed gets very little car traffic. It would be easy to reallocate some of that space to a northbound bike lane.

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Indeed, that stretch normally functions as one travel lane and 2 double parking lanes, rather than 3 travel lanes. It could easily lose one, so long as said bike lane is physically separated so it doesn't remain a double parking lane.

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I walk Charles Street every morning, Swirls, to the T stop (through Beacon Hill). There is plenty of car traffic to be seen.

So, you are advocating that this one way street become, what, one lane and/or removing parking? Good luck.

Let me put in another way. Any plan that inconveniences another group of human beings by another group of people (who, BTW, are a minority) who can't or choose not to ride a bike, is not on my table.

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Easy to change the current three southbound travel lanes to that. There is never enough car traffic to fill three lanes now.

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See "two double parking lanes and one travel lane", above.

Get over your fetish.

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I walk that same stretch and traffic is minimal.

There are also supposed to be THREE travel lanes, but they are so underused that nobody notices the double parking and the takeover of one of the lanes by cyclists.

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businesses on Charles St that are dependent on car traffic and on street parking for their businesses to be viable.

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And shut down Charles street to car traffic between the common and garden. What an incredibly dumb place to put a street.

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You took a perfectly reasonable suggestion and made it look bad.

It is possible for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles to co-exist. Spin is right. At least around the Common there is capacity for cycle tracks, and most likely going up Charles Street to the circle, too. No need to heap your "cars are bad" spiel on top of this.

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shutting it all down is maybe too far, but theres room for a two way cycle track.

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I don't bike that often, but I have tried to ride a Blue Bike from Copley to Downtown. It's kind of scary. Giving cyclists a safe place to ride benefits all modes.

I will say this- I hope that a cycle track wouldn't cost the whole $28 million, but for $5 mil it's a great investment.

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Stuart Street to Washington Street, all one-way with traffic on fairly slow streets. Boylston is a little busier than Stuart but still not bad.

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The garage's only entrance and exit are along that street.

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The parking garage badly needs a bike lane.

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you do know Charles Street has been around for a very, very, very long time, no?

And no one is going to shut down any street completely for car traffic. Let us begin again.

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But please tell us again how stupid it is, and how it's not at all related to another of your hysterical episodes.

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It used to go in the opposite direction once, they changed it for some reason .

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It carries very little traffic, has 20billionty lights, and is effectively one lane of traffic with two lanes of double parking/deliveries/bikes going in either direction.

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And people like to enjoy walking without having to dodge bikes which seldom yeild to them so kerp the bikes paths off the common and have bike stop lights at cross walks.

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.

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I hear those things are awfully loud.

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You know, a town with money's a lot like a mule with a spinning wheel. . .

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He’s so good at finding people to help spend money.

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The BPDA was about to sell this for about $25 million. Shirley and Pat challenged them and made them put it out to bid. Lo and behold it was worth six times what the experts said it was worth and the city will net about $125 million.more dollars.

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How about enforcing the existing laws that ban smoking cigarettes and weed? The fines will actually bring money in.

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How about using it to build more housing which is actually a crucial need in this city

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More trees and money for the care of trees after all, this is what parks are for: fresh air for city dwellers. Stop paving more and more of the Boston Common and the Public Garden -- while I understand that trucks need to be able to drive through both parks for various reasons, it should be limited. Paying for more park rangers on foot and on horses to patrol the Boston Common should also be a priority. We're all tired of seeing people doing drugs and urinating in the park.

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How about using the money to hire workers who keep the parks clean all day every day, instead of just emptying trash barrels only in the morning and then only 5 days a week? A lot of my summer evening walks through both areas have been spoiled by seeing trash everywhere.

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Can Weston & Sampson deliver creative ideas for the Boston Common space. Beer Garden. Food carts. European-style crafts market. Art. Concert space?

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Not a food court!

Granted, maybe something could be done with the Frog Pond building. Way underused.

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