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Sail Pavilion Environmental Impact Report favors two Charles River sites
By Brian
Fitzgerald
The best location for Boston University's proposed $3 million sailing
pavilion on the Charles River -- a project that has generated much debate
in the community -- would be one of two riverfront sites, one near Granby
Street and one near Sherborn Street, according to a draft Environmental
Impact Report released on November 24.
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An aerial view of five possible sites for the new BU Sailing Pavilion: its present location (Site 1), near Granby Street (Site 2), near Sherborn Street (Site 4), near the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge (Site 5), and north of the MIT Boathouse in Cambridge (Site C). Photo by MassGIS Orthophotography |
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The report, prepared by Epsilon Associates, of Maynard, Mass., concludes
that either of the two sites would minimize interference with pedestrian
walkways along the Charles River Reservation. The locations would also
enable the most community use because they are near the central portion
of BU's Charles River Campus, Kenmore Square, and public transit. The
handicapped and the elderly would also have easier access to these sites.
The report states that a sailing pavilion near Granby Street, BU's preferred
site, "would minimally impact parkland resources and use." The
Sherborn Street location, which the report ranks second on a list of five
possible sites, would not obstruct an existing bike path or the paved
riverside path near the Sherborn Street footbridge.
A site in Cambridge northeast of the MIT boathouse, proposed by the Charles
River Watershed Association in a recent report, was termed "unacceptable"
because it would provide poorer access to students, the elderly, the handicapped,
and those taking mass transit and school buses. It would also have a more
pronounced effect on the narrower Cambridge riverfront parkland, and "create
dangerous boating conditions and unavoidable conflicts between sailing
and crew boats" because of its proximity to rowing lanes. Furthermore,
a sailing pavilion there could make walkers who are reluctant to wait
for the Amesbury Street pedestrian signal (1,200 feet west of the site)
or use the Magazine Beach overpass (more than 4,000 feet west) cross Memorial
Drive unsafely.
Another site, near the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge on the Boston side
of the river, according to the report, "may prompt users from the
community at large to attempt dangerous at-grade crossings of Storrow
Drive and the Charlesgate ramps," would "provide minimal visibility
of recreational sailors who venture upriver toward the BU Bridge"
for the sailing coach or supervisor, and has generally poor wind conditions.
The report is the latest document in a public process that has included
more than 20 meetings between BU and neighborhood leaders and elected
officials in the past two years.
Under a bill filed in July 2000 by State Senator Robert Travaglini (D-East
Boston), BU would lease land from the Metropolitan District Commission
(MDC) and construct a 6,000-square-foot building to replace its current
sailing pavilion, a small, dilapidated 62-year-old structure near the
BU Bridge. The University would replace the old pavilion with public parkland.
The new structure would contain public restrooms maintained by BU and
have pay phones and emergency phones, a concession stand, and two drinking
water fountains in an area that lacks these services. BU would also renovate
and expand an existing fitness area and maintain and landscape the grounds.
Supporters and opponents of BU's proposal agree that the current sailing
pavilion poses a hazard to joggers and bicyclists because of multiple
blind spots on the z-shaped path around the structure. It is also next
to the only deep-water channel in that portion of the Charles, pitting
sailboats against larger power boats in an area where the wind is often
unpredictable. The MDC, which manages the Reservation, originally approached
BU in 1997 with concerns about the dangers of the pavilion. The relocation
of the structure is part of the MDC Charles River Basin Master Plan, a
document that examines how the Esplanade can best be preserved and enhanced
in the years to come.
Opponents, however, accuse BU of trying to take a shortcut through the
public process. They insist that BU should have filed an environmental
notification form to begin the procedure. However, attorneys representing
BU pointed out in a public meeting at the Massachusetts State House on
April 23 that the normal course of action is to file legislation prior
to an environmental review.
Nonetheless, on June 29, Secretary of Environmental Affairs Robert Durand
issued a certificate requiring the preparation of an Environmental Impact
Report detailing several potential locations for the pavilion.
The report contains the project's objectives and benefits, looks at river
use patterns and traffic issues, ranks the sites for visual impact, analyzes
parkland use in each location, and shows how construction impact will
be mitigated with noise and erosion controls. It includes maps, aerial
photos, and photo-montage views of the structure at each site.
"The report is quite impressive in its scope and detail," says
BU sailing coordinator Brad Churchill. "It goes into depth on the
pluses and minuses of each potential site, and it's easy to see why the
Granby Street site is the safest and most accessible."
Public review of the document will end on December 24, 2001. However,
the public comment period could be extended 30 days if requested by those
opposing a site.
7
December 2001
Boston University
Office of University Relations