DOWNTOWN CROSSING – When the Big Dig tore down the elevated Interstate 93 in 2005, the city started to build the mile-long Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway. This spring and summer will be the first test of foot traffic along the area. Businesses have an opportunity to connect the city by attracting new customers to an area long under construction.The four parks, stretching from the North End to Chinatown, were completed in November 2007, but final touches are still being added.
The cost for the design and construction by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority was $40 million.
"You couldn’t see across the street because of the giant green posts," said Scott Shoer, bar manager of Lobby restaurant on Broad Street. "[The Greenway] is gonna be great for business. It opens up the Financial District to the Waterfront."
He said it will open up tourism by connecting the two areas. Tourists who stay at the hotels, such as the Intercontinental Hotel, along the Waterfront have easy access to the city and more options of things to do.
"It completes the whole package," said Louise Lu, desk receptionist at Intercontinental Hotel. She said since the city finished the construction, she has seen a positive effect. Lu said in the summer she expects visitors to use the parks outside the hotel.
Nancy Brennan, executive director of The Greenway Conservancy, which is responsible for the parks’ maintenance, said the parks are the most important public parks in Boston to open in the last 30 years.
"[The Greenway] visually and physically connects the neighborhoods to the center of the city and the newly cleaned Boston Harbor to Boston’s center," she said. "Public transportation will make all this accessible to the metropolitan residents."
Brennan said local businesses are optimistic about the Greenway. She said when the weather turns warm, the parks and restaurants will be filled with people.
She said the parks are different from others because they are technologically sophisticated. There are five different fountains controlled by four different computer systems. She said the computers control the velocity. They can lower the height of the water when it is windy.
Niamah Murtagh, bartender at Biddy’s Earlys, said she has not seen any changes in business since the construction finished. She hopes more people get to know this part of the city.
Andrea Riahi, a law firm employee on Summer Street, said the parks are beautiful.
"They are nice to come out to and have greenery among the concrete," Riahi said.