Storrow Drive
| Storrow Drive James Jackson Storrow Memorial Drive
| |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Streckenverlauf des Storrow Drive (rot) | |
| Basisdaten | |
| Ort | Boston |
| Ortsteil | Back Bay |
| Angelegt | 1951 |
| Hist. Namen | Massachusetts Route C9 |
| Anschlussstraßen |  Soldiers Field Road (Westen) Embankment Road (Osten)
|
| Querstraßen |  Route 2A
|
| Nutzung | |
| Nutzergruppen | Autofahrer |
| Technische Daten | |
| Straßenlänge | 1,98 mi (3,2 km) |
Der Storrow Drive (offiziell James Jackson Storrow Memorial Drive) ist eine Stadtautobahn im Bostoner Stadtteil Back Bay im Bundesstaat Massachusetts der Vereinigten Staaten, die vom Leverett Circle aus ostwärts entlang des Charles River verläuft.[1] Die Straße ist als Parkway ausgelegt, d. h. sie ist auf Pkw beschränkt. Lkw und Omnibusse dürfen sie nicht benutzen. Sie wurde nach James Jackson Storrow benannt und endet an ihrer östlichen Kreuzung mit der Massachusetts Route 28, von wo aus sie als Teil der Route 28 unter dem Namen Embankment Road weiterführt.
Der Storrow Drive wird insbesondere für einen schnellen Zugang zu Orten im Stadtzentrum genutzt.[1] In westlicher Fahrtrichtung gibt es über die Harvard Bridge eine Verbindung zur Massachusetts Route 2A bzw. Massachusetts Avenue. Der Storrow Drive führt weiter an der Boston University vorbei, bis er an der Boston University Bridge zur Soldiers Field Road wird, die ab dort die Massachusetts Route 2 weiterführt.
Die Straße wird vom Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation verwaltet und ist als Bestandteil des Emerald Necklace ebenfalls Teil des Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston. Gemeinsam mit dem Memorial Drive und dem Cambridge Parkway ist der Storrow Drive darüber hinaus Teil des im National Register of Historic Places gelisteten Charles River Basin Historic District. Bis 1989 verlief über den Storrow Drive auch der U.S. Highway 1, der jedoch heute entlang der Interstate 93 geführt wird.
Namensgeberschaft
Der Parkway wurde nach dem Investmentbanker James J. Storrow benannt, der eine Kampagne zur Einrichtung des Charles River Basin sowie zum Ausbau der Flussufer zu einem öffentlichen Park ins Leben rief. Allerdings unterstützte er nie einen den Fluss entlang führenden Parkway, und seine Witwe stellte sich auch öffentlich dagegen.[2]
Verkehrsbelastung
The road is notorious for speeding and aggressive driving because police enforcement along the road is difficult without a breakdown lane. Radio traffic reports have warned motorists about "ponding" on Storrow Drive, which occurs when snow and frozen ground prevent water from draining properly into storm drains.[3] The underpasses also commonly flood during heavy rains, sometimes stalling low-riding cars.Vorlage:Citation needed An additional problem is narrow lanes.
Nutzung als Parkfläche
During some summer night concerts at the Hatch Shell, many drivers park their cars in the outbound lanes of Storrow Drive.[1] The free concerts and fireworks displays attract 200,000 people, and many take advantage of the free parking.[1]
Geringe Bauhöhe
A newcomer to Boston might be surprised at an abundance of signs giving road clearance height.[1] Periodically, despite the signs, a truck or other large vehicle will get wedged under a bridge, which causes traffic to back up for several miles.[1] In one incident a truck full of scissors became stuck and spilled its cargo, causing over 30 cars to get flat tires—two got four flat tires—and the road was backed up well into the afternoon.[1]
Geschichte
Between 1958 and 1971, Storrow Drive was designated Massachusetts Route C9.Vorlage:Citation needed
Frühe Gegner
James Storrow had been instrumental in earlier projects along the Charles River, in particular the Charles River Dam. Additions to the Esplanade had been made during the 1930s only by omitting an important part of the project, a proposed highway from the Longfellow Bridge to the Cottage Farm (Boston University) Bridge, which had provoked tremendous protest.[4] After Helen Storrow, the wife of the now deceased James Storrow, supported a group opposed to the highway, it was dropped;[4] part of the funding was to have come from a million-dollar gift from her.[5] Soon after Helen Storrow's death in 1944, a new proposal for the construction of the highway was pushed through the Massachusetts Legislature. In spite of still strong opposition, and through some dubious parliamentary procedures, the bill approving construction of the highway and naming it after James Storrow was passed in 1949.[6]
Bauphase
Construction took place in the years 1950–1951. As part of the attempt to preserve park land, any land used by the highway had to be replaced by reclaiming new land along the shoreline.[7] Storrow Drive was officially opened in a ribbon cutting ceremony by Governor Paul A. Dever on 15 June 1951.[8]
Gegenwart
The Storrow Drive Tunnel, through which Storrow Drive runs along the Esplanade just north of Clarendon, Berkeley and Arlington Streets, has been deteriorating since it was built in 1951, and by mid-2007 the Department of Conservation and Recreation determined that repairing the tunnel may be impossible because it was not waterproofed when it was built, and damage in the intervening years has been significant. Consequently the tunnel may be rebuilt at a cost upward of $200 million, a project that would require closing critical sections of Storrow Drive to traffic.[9]
Despite the chaos this would cause to drivers, it also could present an opportunity for the city to improve the area. For example, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino has proposed covering Storrow Drive near the pedestrian Fiedler Bridge, replacing the old bridge with a wide, ground-level park space that would better connect the green space of Boston's Public Garden with the Esplanade.[10]
Other plans for the road include closing it to traffic Sunday mornings in the summer, much as is done across the river on Memorial Drive. This would create a recreational area for walking, biking and roller blading on weekends, though some have criticized this proposal as unnecessary due to the presence of the Esplanade paths and the existing Memorial Drive road closure. The drive however is usually closed during the July fourth independence celebration at the Esplanade.
Liste der Ausfahrten
Exits on Storrow Drive are unnumbered. Mileposts are a continuation from Soldiers Field Road.
| Mile | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Road continues as Soldiers Field Road | ||
| 4.1 | University Road – Boston University, Brookline | Eastbound exit only. To  Route 2
|
| 5.0 | Kenmore Square, Fenway | Old alignment of U.S. Route 1. |
| 5.1 |  Route 2A (Massachusetts Avenue) – Cambridge
|
Westbound exit only. |
| 6.0 |  Route 28 South – Copley Square, Back Bay
|
Official eastern terminus of Storrow Drive. |
| Road continues as Embankment Road / Route 28 North | ||
Einzelnachweise
- ↑ a b c d e f g Ira Gershkoff, Richard Trachtman: The Boston driver's handbook. the almost post big dig edition. 3. Auflage. Da Capo Press, Cambridge, MA 2004, ISBN 978-0-306-81326-9, S. 27–29 (Online in der Google-Buchsuche).
- ↑ Shary Page Berg FASLA: Cultural Landscape Report, The Esplanade, Boston, Massachusetts. (PDF) The Esplanade Association, April 2007, S. 30 ff., abgerufen am 23. September 2012 (englisch).
- ↑ Dick Amsterdam, Nancy Parsons: Morsels from the Better Mousetrap: Tips, Tricks and Tales About Corporate Communications for Small Businesses. Xlibris Corporation, 2000, ISBN 0-7388-1674-4, S. 143.
- ↑ a b Nancy S. Seasholes: Gaining Ground: A History of Landmaking in Boston. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA 2003, ISBN 0-262-19494-5, S. 206 (google.com).
- ↑ "Fight begins on $4,855,000 Basin Project", Boston Evening Transcript, March 6, 1929.
- ↑ "Embankment Road approved by House in stormy session", The Boston Globe, April 29, 1949.
- ↑ Massachusetts General Court Acts of 1949, Chap. 262
- ↑ Massachusetts Road Opened In: The New York Times, 16. Juni 1951. Abgerufen am 22. Februar 2007
- ↑ Storrow Tunnel may need replacing In: The Boston Globe, 24. Juli 2007. Abgerufen am 5. Mai 2008
- ↑ New vision over Storrow Drive In: The Boston Globe, 19. März 2008. Abgerufen am 5. Mai 2008
Koordinaten: 42° 21′ 7,7″ N, 71° 5′ 18,9″ W
[[en:Storrow Drive]]