GREEN STREET GUIDELINES FOR ALLSTON-BRIGHTON

Project Background

in February 2007, the Allston Brighton Community Development Corporation (ABCDC) received a grant from the Department of Housing and Community Development to create design guidelines for green corridors, and hired CRWA as a consultant to develop design guidelines for pilot streets in Allston Brighton. Simultaneously the Allston Brighton Green Space Advocates (ABGSA), that CRWA is one of the founding members of, undertook a collaborative effort to analyze a set of streets in the Allston-Brighton, in order to select potential locations for green street retrofits.  A combination of factors including stormwater infrastructure challenges, auto and pedestrian mobility issues, and community interest led to the selection of three streets for in-depth analysis and conceptual design development for green streets. 

The streets selected for analysis were Everett Street, Market Street, and Brooks Street (See Map in Figure 5).  Each street runs predominantly north-to-south, with stormwater pipes that accept flows moving north to outfalls on the Charles River.  The buried stormwater infrastructure is roughly five feet beneath the ground surface in this part of Boston.  Each street has its own set of mobility and safety challenges that would be aided by the creation of a more pedestrian-friendly green street design. The design guidelines provide specific instructions that the neighborhood can incorporate into future redevelopment plans to improve streets for walkers and bicyclists, to make public parks more accessible, and to strengthen the overall open space network in the neighborhood.  

Pilot Green Streets in Allston Brighton. This map locates the three streets selected to represent three types of Green Streets for developing design guidelines

Community Outreach and Design Process 

Over the course of summer 2007 community workshops were held to engage the local neighborhoods and identify specific issues relevant to potential future street design scenarios. Considerations included which streets can accommodate bike lanes, which streets can accommodate street trees and other low-impact designs from the menu of green infrastructure available. 

Everett Street Workshop and Focus Group Discussions

Brook Street Workshop and Site Tour

View a PDF of the first Everett Street workshop presentation.
View a PDF of the first Brook Street workshop presentation.
View a PDF of the first Market Street workshop presentation.

Following an extensive site analysis process specific Low Impact Design (LID) opportunities were identified for each corridor based on which the guidelines were developed. This map shows the proposed recommendations for greening Everett Street:

Proposed section along Everett Street showing porous pavement sidewalks and conveyance swale.

Another proposed section along Everett Street showing porous pavement sidewalks and conveyance swale.

Before (left) and after (right) scenarios for greening Braintree Street parking lot along Everett Street

View a PDF of the second Everett Street workshop presentation.
View a PDF of the second Brook Street workshop presentation.
View a PDF of the second Market Street workshop presentation.

Download the final Green Street Guidelines report (68 pages) in PDF format. View the final Green Gathering presentation in PDF format.