The Emerald Necklace Greenway
Once upon a time--and once again
Once upon a time you could walk from the Charles River to Franklin
Park along a continuous linear park. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted
more than a century ago, the Emerald Necklace was an uninterrupted ribbon
of parkland that connected the Back Bay with Brookline, Jamaica Plain
and Roxbury. People on foot and on horseback could get from one section
of the park to another in a beautiful landscape of walking paths, bridle
paths and carriageways. That's how the Emerald Necklace was designed
and that's how it functioned for many years.
Not today. Over the years automobile use has exploded. Roads that cut
across the parks have been widened and the parkways themselves have
become busy commuter routes. The continuous linear park designed by
Olmsted is now broken in six major places. Today you have to dodge rushing
traffic to get from one part of the park to another and in some places
you can't even see that the park continues.
As we approach the new century it is time to reconnect the Emerald
Necklace. Consistent with the goals set forth in the Emerald Necklace
Master Plan, BikeBoston, a project of MassBike, is leading a coalition
of organizations and community groups that want to see a multi-use greenway
path system from end to end of the Necklace. This is just the start
and much more needs to be done to work with the City of Boston, the
Town of Brookline and the Metropolitan District Commission to secure
the resources and political will needed to make this greenway happen.
We need your help. Go out and explore the Emerald Necklace. Bike or
stroll the existing paths. Let us know where you find breaks in the
greenway and what improvements you suggest for the safety and enjoyment
of pedestrians and bicyclists. And while you're at it, contact your
elected officials and agency representatives. Let them know where the
breaks are and express your support for an Emerald Necklace Greenway
that is connected once again. Come to the next Greenway Festival
(we had them in 1999 and
2001.
For more information, please contact BikeBoston, P.O. Box 743, Boston,
MA 02130 or (617) 522-1382 or at
http://www.massbike.org/eng/.
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