Jamaica Plain Centre/South streets redesign

[greenlinetobrooklyn]

Removing cars from Centre Street sounds like a great idea, but in practice probably would not be. Here's an article from the Boston Globe about DX and how removing car traffic may not have been the best idea

Would car traffic bring back the crowds?

[cden4]

greenlinetobrooklyn, that article has so many flaws in it's logic, it's laughable. Just as taking away cars doesn't mean people will come, putting them back doesn't mean it's going to make things any better. Aside from the fact that DTX is anything BUT car-free right now, the fact that there are vacant stores and a giant hole in the ground isn't helping anything. The city recently had a public meeting about how they are planning to actually enforce the regulations (more physical barriers and more enforcement) and make it a functional pedestrian zone as it was originally designed to be. They showed some photos from 1975 just before the pedestrian zone was created. It was total chaos and gridlock. Cars were backed up through the whole area and people had to squeeze between them to get anywhere.

(See the Downtown Crossing thread, where we've pretty much beat this topic to death.)

[cden4]

Originally Posted by anthonyx26

JP has its own distinct flavor and I think most people from the neighboorhood would not want to be confused with people living in Brookline or Newton (neither of which are in Boston proper). The _people_ of JP would have gladly accepted the Green Line over the route 39 bus, it was more a matter of a few skittish businesses and not to mention a very skittish MBTA who didn't want the project.

- anthonyx26

For some reason it seems like the majority of business owners in the city seem to think most of their customers drive to shop, even those who are directly on a T line or are in places where there is a ton of pedestrian traffic. Their opposition to anything that may possibly take away any on-street parking or potentially make it a little harder to drive I feel actually hurts their cause. There will never be enough physical space for all their customers to drive there. If they want to get the most customers, they should be DEMANDING better T access, better walking conditions, and better bike access. THAT's how you get more customers in the city!