Menino defends keeping Downtown Crossing street traffic-free

(John Tlumacki/Globe Staff)

During his downtown tour, Menino stopped by The Watch Hospital on Bromfield Street and greeted owner Norm Rubin.

By John C. Drake, Globe Staff

Mayor Thomas M. Menino strolled through Downtown Crossing this morning, shaking hands with shop owners and defending his administration's insistence on keeping traffic off Washington Street.

The urban shopping district has been plagued by decreased foot traffic, stalled retail development, and concerns over crime. Some observers have said it's time for the city to abandon its 30-year-old ban on noncommercial vehicle traffic on Washington Street.

But Menino said today that maintaining the stretch as a pedestrian area was key to the city's redevelopment plans.

"It's important to have people walking there," said Menino after cutting the ribbon on a new Boloco restaurant on School Street. "In the future, as we redevelop Downtown Crossing, we could have galleries along the walkways on weekends. Having traffic there doesn't help the flow of pedestrians as you move forward."

A key city planner said later that the city is open to allowing limited vehicle traffic during off-peak hours, with the introduction of traffic-calming measures.

"It may be that there's limited traffic that comes through when there aren't the volumes of people," said Andrew Grace, senior planner and urban designer at the Boston Redevelopment Authority. "That's one of the things we're going to look at.

"But just saying cars are better than people I don't think in 2009 is really the approach that we want to take in a dense urban center."

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