The Future Fenway
Charrette
Urban Design Working Group
Open Session Notes
Session #1:Monday,
August 7, 2000
Presentation by Arturo Vasquez: 
¨Use
the Fenway as a two way loop for through traffic
¨Use
satellite institutional parking (existing spaces) for games
¨Use
air rights (Parcel 8) and Landsdowne street for new pedestrian access to
and from Kenmore Square
¨Possibly
close Boylston street on game days and festival days
Comments by Patrick Pinnell:
¨Zero
parking growth
¨Twenty
minute walking paths to park from parking areas
¨Circluator
loop on The Fenway will allow shuttles to parking areas
¨75%
of parking should be AROUND the Emerald Necklace, not on Boylston
¨Currently
1200 spaces in small lots on Boylston (Dresden Bombing parking lots) to
be possible to replace with two 600 car structures as urban village develops
Questions and Answers:
¨Where
do people arriving from through downtown park?
¨Pru
garage or nearby . . . someplace before approaching Kenmore Square
¨What
is underutilized in the area?
¨Emmanuel,
Longwood parking, maybe MFA parking, etc.
¨What
about neighborhoods that do not want institutions to use lots for Sox parking?What
about people who don’t want large pedestrian groups coming through the
neighborhood?
Comments by David Black:
¨Break
this into two pieces:1) Pedestrian
Street; 2) Zero Growth Parking
¨Can
pump traffic through The Fenway, but it is a difficult issue
¨Some
consolidated parking in the closed-off (Boylston Street) corridor could
work, but no additional spaces should be added there
¨Spreading
out facilities will spread traffic demand overall.Parking
before reaching the park area will reduce the need to drive into and through
Boylston Street corridor.
¨We
must explore proper close-in parking areas for vehicles accessing from
North of the stadium.
¨Pedestrian
access from Kenmore is key.
¨Shuttle
busses may be necessary, with the alternative of walking through clearly
labeled paths.
Questions and Answers:
¨Ballpark
walking distances could be an issue.Neighborhood
concerns could be an issue.Driving
around the Fenway could create new congestion.
¨Working
correctly, people will park near where they get into the city, because
circling the Fenway to yet another satellite lot will not be attractive.
¨Fenway
can get two way traffic AND better pedestrian paths
¨How
do we control pedestrian behavior in our neighborhoods?They
need to understand how to act, and what is not acceptable.
¨Can
we limit curb cuts (no curb cuts allowed) on Boylston Street’s six ‘urban
village’ blocks?
