The Charles River Conservancy has proposed making a portion of Boston’s Storrow Drive car-free on Sunday mornings. Unfortunately this busy east-west boulevard paralleling the Charles River won’t become a permanent thoroughfare for bikes, skaters, joggers, and walkers: but it’s a step in the right direction.
The plan is to close the westbound section to car traffic for a five mile stretch from April to November between 7:30 and 10:30 a.m. Memorial Drive, a road which parallels the Charles on the Cambridge side, has a 2-mile stretch of road closed on Sundays from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. for the same season. Memorial’s successful car-free day has been going on for over 30 years. The combination would give Boston-area residents some nice options to get outside, and out of their cars.
From the Boston Globe:
"It’s a fabulous idea that helps jumpstart Boston’s effort to be a more livable city," said Steven E. Miller, cofounder and former executive director of Hub on Wheels, an annual bike event. "And the best part is it disrupts almost nothing – you’re leaving the inbound lanes open, you’re not stopping any cross-river traffic, and you’re not stopping anybody from getting to hospitals or any businesses that are open early Sunday morning."
The proposal is certainly not without it’s car-driving detractors (see this page’s comments). Storrow is a major artery accessing Boston
Other Bostonians think the idea is a good beginning, but would like to see the outdated Storrow permanently shut down.
For more good Carectomy news in Boston
For an incredible example of a city closing roads to cars on weekends, see: Car Free in Bogota
Photo via flickr by Pear Biter.
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