Greenway set for its close-up

DISCUSSIONS of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway are often laborious, from the shadow analysis of nearby development proposals to the plans for building cultural attractions on ramp parcels above Interstate 93. And yet one central question goes unaddressed: How much fun can the public expect to have along this roughly mile-long linear park from Chinatown to the North End?

We should find out tomorrow, when the nonprofit Greenway Conservancy, which maintains and promotes the park, hosts its inaugural celebration. Conservancy director Nancy Brennan is promising "the joyful side of city life" along the Greenway, including free concerts, Duck Tours, Ferris wheel rides, yoga classes, and tide pools for children. That should make for a good day. But a bigger test will be Brennan's ability to site a more permanent attraction - an ice skating rink - next year, perhaps near the Aquarium or in the Dewey Square area between South Station and the Financial District.

While sections of the park in the North End and Wharf District between Christopher Columbus Park and Rowes Wharf are attracting good use, the overall experience of the Greenway remains as underwhelming as some of the immature saplings that line the park. Providing programs and light distractions for residents, workers, and tourists will be especially important given that much of the park is paved and several of the major cultural attractions planned for the Greenway are struggling to raise funds.

The gestation period of the Greenway, like so much connected to the Big Dig, has been long and tortuous. Plans for a "winter garden" on prime parcels near South Station wilted with the fortunes of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Even deep-pocket organizers of the New Center for Arts and Culture slated for a parcel near the Boston Harbor Hotel have been forced to scale down the project and delay the start of construction until at least 2012. The Boston Redevelopment Authority is just the latest agency to get off to a slow start, falling behind in its efforts to solicit bids for a consultant to deal with building heights and other zoning issues along the Greenway.

The promise of the Greenway - a spectacular, lively urban connection between downtown and the waterfront - remains elusive. Success will depend as much on the imagination of Conservancy officials as it will on adequate operating and capital replacement budgets. The inaugural is a great test for how, and how well, the park can be used.

Delays have been infectious on the Greenway. The Conservancy now has its chance to prove that fun, too, can catch on.