DCR Parkways MASTER PLAN August 2020 Information contained in this document is for planning purposes and should not be used for final design of any project. All results, recommendations, concept drawings, and commentary contained herein are based on limited data and information, and on existing conditions that are subject to change. Existing conditions have not been field-verified. Field verification, site condition assessments, engineering analysis, and design are necessary prior to implementing recommendations contained herein. Geographic and mapping information presented in this document is for informational purposes only, and is not suitable for legal, engineering, or surveying purposes. Mapping products presented herein are based on information collected at the time of preparation. Toole Design Group, LLC makes no warranties, expressed or implied, concerning the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of the underlying source data used in this analysis, or recommendation and conclusions derived therefrom. Traffic crashes are complex occurrences that often result from multiple contributing factors. the success of the safety recommendations included in this Plan depend on multiple factors outside of Toole Design Group’s control. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS Charles D. Baker, Governor Karyn E. Polito, Lt. Governor Kathleen A. Theoharides, Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs DCR STAFF TEAM Jim Montgomery, Commissioner Dan Driscoll, Project Manager Jeff Parenti, Deputy Chief Engineer PREPARED BY Toole Design DCR Parkways Master Plan i CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................1 CHAPTER 2: EXISTING CONDITIONS ASSESSMENT .................................................... 13 CHAPTER 3: DESIGN STRATEGIES ............................................................................ 37 CHAPTER 4: PROGRAM AND POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS .......................................... 75 CHAPTER 5: PROJECT RECOMMENDATIONS .............................................................. 87 Focus Area 1: Revere Beach and Lynn Shore ................................................................................90 Lynn Shore Drive, Nahand Road, Carroll Parkway, Lynnway, Revere Beach Boulevard, Ocean Parkway, Winthrop Parkway, Revere Beach Parkway Focus Area 2: Middlesex Fells .................................................................................................102 Fellsway, Fellsway West, South Border Road, Elm Street, South Street, North Border Road, Park Street, Hillcrest Parkway, Fellsway East, East Border Road Focus Area 3: Lynn Fells and Breakheart ................................................................................... 121 Lynn Fells Parkway, Hemlock Road, Forest Street Focus Area 4: Mystic Valley ....................................................................................................133 Mystic Valley Parkway, Mystic River Road Focus Area 5: Upper Charles ...................................................................................................148 Forest Grove Road, Norumbega Road, Recreation Road, Park Road, Boulevard Road, Quinobequin Road Focus Area 6: Charles River Basin West ....................................................................................154 Charles River Road, North Beacon Street, Birmingham Parkway, Soldiers Field Road, Greenaugh Boulevard, Everett Street Focus Area 7: Charles River Basin East .....................................................................................168 Land Boulevard Focus Area 8: Old Harbor ........................................................................................................ 171 William Day Boulevard, Old Colony Avenue, Babe Ruth Park Drive Focus Area 9: Back Bay Fens ................................................................................................... 180 Fenway, Park Drive Focus Area 10: Chestnut Hill ................................................................................................... 189 Chestnut Hill Driveway, Saint Thomas More Road Focus Area 11: Jamaica Pond .................................................................................................. 192 Perkins Street, Parkman Drive Focus Area 12: VFW Parkway .................................................................................................. 197 Veterans of Foreign Wars Parkway, Centre Street ii DCR Parkways Master Plan Focus Area 13: Hammond Pond Parkway ...................................................................................205 Hammond Pond Parkway Focus Area 14: West Roxbury .................................................................................................. 212 West Roxbury Parkway, Bellevue Hill Road Focus Area 15: Stony Brook & Neponset ....................................................................................224 Neponset Valley Parkway, Turtle Pond Parkway, Dedham Parkway, Dedham Boulevard, Smithfield Road, Enneking Parkway Focus Area 16: Blue Hills ........................................................................................................239 Chickatawbut Road, Hillside Street, Blue Hill River Road, Unquity Road, Blue Hills Parkway, Green Street Focus Area 17: South Shore ....................................................................................................251 Neponset Avenue, Quincy Shore Drive, Furnace Brook Parkway Focus Area 18: Nantasket .......................................................................................................266 Nantasket Avenue, Hull Shore Drive CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION .....................................................................................271 DCR Parkways Master Plan i DCR MISSION STATEMENT To protect, promote and enhance our common wealth of natural, cultural and recreational resources for the well-being of all. iv DCR Parkways Master Plan Chapter 1: Introduction INTRODUCTION regional traffic during the highway-building era of the Introduction 1950s and 60s. The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) As a result, the parkway network today represents a wide oversees a network of diverse parkways that serve some variety of conditions. Some feature elegant promenades of the Boston region’s greatest natural assets, from the and popular recreational trails, while others are shores of the Atlantic, to the views from Great Blue Hills, themselves significant barriers to walking and bicycling and the woods and trails of the Middlesex Fells. As due to missing or unrepaired or missing sidewalks, greenways connecting communities across the region, infrequent crossings, lack of bicycle facilities, and high- they are also essential routes for regional travel by every volume, high-speed traffic. mode. At a time of increasing interest in walking and bicycling for transportation and recreational purposes, improving safety, access, and comfort for these modes on the parkways of metro Boston represents an opportunity to dramatically expand the regional greenway network. The Plan articulates a vision for an interconnected network of walkways and bikeways throughout metro Boston that provide residents of all ages and abilities with access to recreational destinations and healthy transportation opportunities. Short-term improvements that can be rapidly implemented, long-term capital investments, and policy and design guidance for improving the parkways for all travel modes are the key features of the Plan. By realizing the vision set forth in this Plan, DCR will enhance the legacy of the parkway system by ensuring safe, comfortable access for users of all modes and all ages abilities. History The Metropolitan Boston Parkway System began its development in the late 1800s as urban planners and reformers sought to create outdoor recreational opportunities for city dwellers. Parkways were originally intended for recreational travel as access roads within parks, or roads connecting one park to another. Starting in the 1920s, the increase in automobile travel and accelerating pace of suburban development put pressure on parkways to serve as routes for local and regional through traffic. Access for walking and bicycling was diminished as many parkways were widened to serve DCR Parkways Master Plan 1 Chapter 1: Introduction Study Area Municipality Miles This Plan focuses on a group of parkways that span the Boston 25.4 metropolitan Boston region. Although several parkways Quincy 11.6 Medford 10.0 in this Plan are part of other ongoing studies, the vast Milton 9.8 majority have not been subject to detailed planning or Revere 9.4 analysis in recent years. Many have not been recently Saugus 5.5 Winchester 4.5 worked on or upgraded, and thus represent key Nahant 4.2 opportunities to be modernized to current standards for Lynn 3.7 Melrose 3.7 pedestrian and bicycle accommodations and roadway Brookline 3.3 geometry. Importantly, they all serve key regional Stoneham 3.3 destinations for both recreational and transportation Everett 3.0 Newton 3.0 purposes. Parkways that are being studied as part of a Malden 2.2 stand-alone effort and those with existing facilities for Watertown 2.1 Weston 1.6 nonmotorized users are not included in this Plan. Canton 1.6 Arlington 1.6 The following summarizes the study area: Hull 1.5 Chelsea 1.1 • 115.7 roadway centerline miles in 30 different Wakefield 1.0 Cambridge 0.7 municipalities Dedham 0.6 • 741 intersections Somerville 0.4 Waltham 0.3 • 103 miles of sidewalks Swampscott 0.2 • 18 miles