Boston Flora

Tag: Bowker Overpass

  • Saturday, May 13, 2:00 pm – Free Tour of Charlesgate Park

    This past November, MassDOT held a public announcement that funding had been secured for two bridge projects the Bowker Overpass. While the designs are not yet ready for public comment, the Charlesgate Alliance, the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, and the Esplanade Association have partnered to advocate for the greenest possible outcomes for these transformational projects.

    Promised outcomes include removing the offramp over the Muddy River at Charlesgate East and Commonwealth Avenue and, in collaboration with our partners at the Esplanade Association, daylighting the terminus of the Muddy River as it enters the Charles. These two MassDOT improvements will act as bookends as we work to improve the heart of the park between the Mass. Turnpike and Beacon Street. Join us on a free tour of Charlesgate Park about the vision for its future on Saturday, May 13 at 2:00 pm.

    Register  here so that we can get a head count and tell you if a rain cancellation occurs.

    Tours start in The Grove area of the park (just in from the NW corner of Beacon St. and Charlesgate East), where we planted new trees last June. Look for buds on the maple trees! Allow two hours for the complete tour. Below is an image of the area circa 1954, for reference.

  • Tuesday, June 12, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Bowker Overpass Meeting

    The Department of Transportation has announced a formal meeting to discuss the future of the Bowker Overpass and new ramps from that structure to the turnpike.  The meeting will take place Tuesday, June 12, from 6 – 8, at the Mezzanine Conference Room of the Boston Public Library in Copley Square.   The Friends of the Charlesgate ask that we come to the meeting and show support at this all important event.  Decisions could be made there that will determine the long-term fate of both the Bowker and the Charlsgate, and could impact the quality of life in the city of Boston for many years to come.

    Charlesgate Park, located in Back Bay West, is the link to the Charles River from the historic Emerald Necklace and was destroyed with the construction of the Bowker Overpass in 1967.  This overpass connects Storrow Drive to Park Drive and upper Boyston Street.  Now, as the 40 year old structure approaches its final years as a safe and viable roadway, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Transportation is faced with a critical decision: rebuild the Bowker Overpass or remove it permanently, establishing alternative routes, and restore the once lovely parkland known as the Charlesgate to its intended use as an urban green space in the downtown neighborhoods of Boston.  The restoration could potentially provide a pedestrian-friendly passage to the Esplanade as well as reestablish the continuity of the Commonwealth Mall to Kenmore Square.

    The Friends of the Charlesgate is actively seeking to remove the overpass. With the support of Representative Marty Walz and Boston City Councillor Mike Ross, they have met to discuss this issue with representatives from Mass DOT, the Boston City Transportation Department, the BRA, the Medical Academic and Scientific Community Organization, the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, and the Muddy River Restoration Project.  Visit their website at http://cgatepark.com, and while there you may sign the petition supporting the restoration of Charlesgate Park.