Connect Historic Boston
Neighborhood: Charlestown/Downtown/North End
Description: The City of Boston and the National Parks Service collaborated on a planning process to create a pedestrian and bicycle network to connect historic sites in downtown Boston. In 2013 the City was awarded a $15.5 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Grant, from the United States Department of Transportation, for the design and construction of Connect Historic Boston – Phase 1. The City of Boston Public Works Department is leading a team of City departments and consultant firms to bring four of the concepts developed in the planning process to 100% design and construction:
- The Connect Historic Boston Bike Trail – The Bike Trail will be a family friendly bicycle loop around downtown Boston. The TIGER Grant project includes Phase 1 of the trail (Staniford Street, Causeway Street, Commercial Street, and Atlantic Avenue.
- Blackstone Block – The Blackstone Block will become a shared street environment with improved accessibility and connectivity between Haymarket and Faneuil Hall.
- Constitution Road – Constitution Road will become a welcoming multimodal gateway to the Charlestown Navy Yard. The proposed design will maintain current operations of the street for residents and buses, while improving bicycle and pedestrian access.
- Joy Street – Traffic calming and increased walking space on Joy Street will shift the street in favor of pedestrians and lead the way over Beacon Hill by foot.
Project Status: In construction
Estimated Project Cost: $23,000,000
Project Start: Spring 2015
Estimated Project Completion: 2018
Project Design Team:
- Bill Egan, Project Manager, BPWD
- Howard/Stein-Hudson, Design Consultant – Bike Trail
- Fay, Spofford, and Thorndike, Design Consultant – Blackstone Block
- Nitsch Engineering, Design Consultant – Constitution Road & Joy Street
Project Construction Team:
- Katie Choe, Project Construction Manager, BPWD
- P. Gioioso & Sons, Inc, Contractor
