Nantucket North?

I sometimes get a chuckle from reading a visitor's description of Newburyport. This one from a personal blog will give many the creeps. (And yes, we know Blue isn't in Newburyport.)

A quick hop from Boston is the amazing little coast town of Newburyport, where you can stay the night @ blue. If you're not up for a plane to the Vineyard or ferry to Nantucket, this might just do.

By the way

The Rail Trail is deservedly drawing all the attention this past week, but I'm pleased to see Brown Square completed and open and the Inn Street fountain repaired.

The place is looking spiffy.

Once the Rail Trail is open

I had the pleasure of giving friend and commenter PKL a tour of Newburyport last week. He'd been in town for a reunion in Boston last weekend, one that I had planned to attend but had to back out of at the last minute, so he grabbed the commuter rail up from Boston for lunch at Angies, coffee at Plum Island Roasters, and a walk around downtown and the rail trail.

Our conversation about the rail trail led to this little tidbit. Seems like it would be a perfect addition for the Newburyport and Salisbury rail trails, and it's an idea that we've tossed around earlier.

This is unlikely to happen, I admit, but it's interesting to see what someone else accomplished.

Addendum: Imagine if we put the political and financial resources currently directed at enlarging the existing park on the waterfront into this effort? Now THIS would be progress. THIS would draw people to our city. Sure we couldn't shag fly balls on a bridge (safely, anyway) but that's never going to happen on the waterfront park. I'm sure there will be rules against most activities, creating a lovely.

Incidentally

Speaking of the Rail Trail

All Along the trails...
Food. Local eateries will offer free "bites"
Art. Open air artists will practice their craft
Music. Young musicians will play for all to enjoy
Celebration. Ribbon cutting ceremony at 1:00 PM in Newburyport with local, state and MassDOT officials
Activities. Children's games, Geocaching, natural and historical interpreters, community group displays and more...

Connect to both trails via FREE ferry boat between Cashman Park in Newburyport and Cove Marina in Salisbury.





See CoastalTrails.org

for more information including parking and

accessible points of entry

FREE PLANTS!!!

Joking obviously. Loving these planters at the bottom of the rail trail hill. Let's some kid ride his bike into the river now!

Parking Garage

You know what? I don't really care much about this parking garage vote.


I don't like either proposal. The drawings I've seen for Titcomb Street concern me. It does look like an imposing structure at the gateway of the city. I envision a parking garage creating an ugly mate to the Horton's Terrace structure that currently stands across from the former Fitness Factory, a pair of oversized book ends blocking too much sky and light. 


I actually do prefer the Green Street site. However, I bow to those concerned about the historical and commercial impact of tearing up and then building on the site. I think it can be done well, and I just find Green Street to be such a superior setting. But the concerns are legitimate.


I wasn't sure why I couldn't get behind either plan. Then Jim Roy helped me out. I missed Ed Cameron's dramatic reading of Jim Roy's statement at the public hearing last week (I arrived late with Boy Two in Tow), but Ed kindly published Jim's written thoughts on his blog here. (Jim submitted a cleaned up version in a letter to the editor here.)


Jim cleared up my confusion quickly with this statement. 

... building a downtown garage is part of a quid pro quo -- without it, we will never have a completed, open, green waterfront in any of our lifetimes. It's that simple. 

After reading that I realized that I didn't feel strongly about the parking garage because I'm not a fan of establishing a park on the NRA lots. (BTW, Jim is just incorrect in stating that ALL of Newburyport wants a park. That's not true.)


I absolutely don't think a wider stretch of grass will add much to the downtown. And I am worried that it will cost us money, too much money. Not only will we not collect taxes on potentially taxable land, but we'll be paying some serious cash out for park maintenance. Money we simply don't have. But let's not go there again.


Perhaps I'd be more supportive of the garage if we were using the lots appropriately, but this whole battle has proven one point that I firmly believe.


Questionnaires, polls and vague, dreamy questions about the waterfront are fine. Sure, ask the people if they want a park downtown and they'll say yes about half the time (maybe more, whatever.)


But when the discussion slips into details: Where are we going to put the cars that are currently parked there? Who's going to pay for the construction of the park? How are we going to maintain a park when we can't fix our sidewalks (Yes, this is a real issue) or properly educate our kids? The support easily slips away.

Slurrrrrrrp

I just had a really good smoothie. Might be the best downtown.