Strong hands for Greenway
AFTER YEARS of disjointed efforts to find a manager for the Rose Kennedy Greenway, legislation has emerged in the House that clearly puts the nonprofit Greenway Conservancy in charge - at least for the next 20 years - and dedicates public money to help the conservancy handle the job. The bill, a priority for House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, should relieve much of the ambiguity that has hobbled decision-making along the ribbon of parkland where the elevated Central Artery used to be.
The bill gives control of the Greenway parks to the conservancy, a private charitable organization, under a 20-year lease from the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, which owns the land. It provides $2 million in immediate funding from the Pike and up to $5.5 million in annual matching funds from a dedicated Registry of Motor Vehicles fee that should be insulated somewhat from annual budget wrangling.
With the money, the conservancy would maintain the Greenway "as a first-class public space," program events there, and establish rules for acceptable conduct, from skateboarding to dog walking. The conservancy would also develop design guidelines for memorials or other structures on the Greenway, among other responsibilities.
A major problem is that for the purposes of this bill, the "Greenway" only refers to the passive parks, not the three "development" parcels still controlled by the Turnpike Authority, which include plans for museums, performance spaces, and a YMCA. The entire Greenway needs a strong, overarching vision. At present, its two dozen parcels act more like a collection of individual spaces instead of a seamless whole.
The Greenway hasn't even had a formal opening yet, and some parcels are already showing signs of neglect. The four-plus acres of open space at Dewey Square, where the benighted Massachusetts Horticulture Society once planned a winter garden, look bereft. Other parcels - on the North End side, and even the unloved "ramp parcel" across from Rowe's Wharf - are more successful, providing welcoming public spaces for residents, workers, and visitors.
The legislation raises some concerns, notably whether the matching funds from the registry fee will create an incentive for the conservancy to balloon its budget, creating a needless bureaucracy. The bill should be amended to ensure that the conservancy's operations will be transparent, and public access to the parks as broad as possible. The watchdog Leadership Council established by the legislation needs to have teeth. Future development abutting the Greenway needs to animate the open spaces, but it should also be sensitive and in scale.
The Rose Kennedy Greenway has immense promise to reknit a city scarred by the Central Artery. Passing the conservancy legislation is the necessary first stitch.
