Protecting a legacy

The surface of the buried Central Artery should be a gift to the public that's developed with eclectic, mixed-use projects

The Central Artery Project was sold to us as something that would leave a legacy of open land in the city: the roughly 1.5-mile-long stretch of highway that now snakes through the middle of Boston would be returned to the public, knitting the city back together. Now that the project is nearing completion -- and is $1.5 billion over budget -- there is some talk that the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority could raise much-needed funds through megadevelopments. This must not happen. The surface artery, when finished, should be a village within our downtown.

Citizens around the Commonwealth, but especially those of us living in Boston, have offered up a vast sacrifice in tax dollars and rush-hour aggravation. For this, we should get what we were promised. It helps that much of the Central Artery tunnel was structurally engineered with nothing more than moderate development in mind -- the tunnel would collapse beneath the weight of office towers. It also helps that the environmental permits issued for the Big Dig demand that 75 percent of the land go to open space, however "open space" is defined. That ratio, although not impossible to amend, would be extremely difficult to change.

At the same time, the surface of the buried Central Artery presents an urban-design opportunity the likes of which Boston won't see again. It's also a challenge unlike any other faced by a large US city. We must get this right. Part of that means not giving in to the shortsighted desire to develop the land to raise funds, but it also means being smart about how we develop the open space. The last thing the city needs is a bald swath of green running through downtown -- a pastoral barrier only slightly less obnoxious than Route 93.

Urban open spaces should be human-scale and surrounded by varied activities at all times of day, making them lively oases -- not empty sweeps of naked land. Large spaces can feel cold and unfriendly, especially in winter, which in Boston stretches from October to April. Think of City Hall Plaza. And few dare cross even Boston Common after dark, which in winter falls in the middle of the afternoon.

Although some parts of the Artery surface border neighborhoods such as the North End and Chinatown, where residents will use the space gladly, a large section adjoins only downtown and the waterfront. We must draw people to this space to make it work. The way to do this is with an eclectic development of mixed-use projects: skating rinks, winter gardens, museums, theaters, community centers, farmers' markets, cafés, and small retail shops. These public spaces should be free or very cheap to enter, so they're truly public and open to everyone -- although obviously theaters and museums may need to charge admission to survive.

This kind of development is possible under the 75 percent open-space requirement if "open space" is liberally interpreted to mean "civic space." The idea of such an interpretation has many supporters -- including former transportation secretary Fred Salvucci, Bennet Heart of the Conservation Law Foundation, Rick Dimino of the Artery Business Committee, and, most important of all, the mayor's office. The Horticultural Society set an important precedent by getting a building approved that would house a winter garden under glass on one of the open-space sites it's designing. North End residents are clamoring for a community center on part of their open space. We should do the same for the long stretch that borders the waterfront.

But the best-designed plan is useless if no one provides money to implement it. Right now a conference committee at the State House is deciding on yet another group to study the Artery surface. But this one -- which, fortunately, is likely to include representatives from the state and the city-- will probably have the power to decide who will own and manage the surface, and what its final design will be.

That group must not allow shortsighted fiscal concerns to spoil this once-in-a-century opportunity to remake our city. When all is said and done, the cost of the surface parks and structures will be a fraction of the money spent on the Big Dig. They're in danger only because they are the last parts to be built. Development of the artery surface will be the most important part of the project. This is our reward for having the courage to embark on this massive public-works project in the first place. It's also our legacy to generations of Bostonians to come. Let's not stick them with a City Hall Plaza-like monstrosity -- or, worse, privately developed moneymakers for the turnpike authority.

Let's get this right.

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