Friends of the Beacon Street
Bridle Path(way)

Updates:

• Town action: Brookline Select Board, per scope and recommendation by the Department of Public Works: Contract, with Toole Design Group, for Beacon Street Bridle Path restoration feasibility and concept design study consulting services. Agenda Item 3B for the October 20, 2020 Select Board Meeting (Approved).

• State action: Massachusetts Office of the Governor with the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Department of Transportation, and Department of Conservation and Recreation: Grant, through the 2020 MassTrails Funding Program, of $32,000 for Beacon Street Bridle Path restoration feasibility and concept design study. (Announced) July 31, 2020.

• State action: Massachusetts Legislature and Governor, per amendment by Representatives Thomas Vitolo, Michael Moran, and Edward Coppinger, with support from Senator Cynthia Creem: Appropriation, from the State’s 2019 budget surplus, of $50,000 for Beacon Street Bridle Path restoration feasibility study. House Bill 4246 for the 191st (2019–2020) General Court. (Enacted and signed) December 12–13, 2019.

• Town action: Brookline Town Meeting, per recommendation by the Transportation Board and Department of Public Works: Appropriation, from the Town’s 2019 Uber/Lyft trip fee revenue, of $117,757 for Beacon Street Bridle Path restoration feasibility and concept design study. Warrant Article 3 for the November 2019 Special Town Meeting. (Approved) November 19, 2019.

• Community event: With the Brookline Bicycle Advisory Committee: Envision Beacon Street 2: Stroll, jog, scoot, and bike the historic Olmsted bridle path along the median, now west of Washington Square. Between Williston Road and Englewood Avenue, Brookline. October 5, 2019.

• Community event: With the Brookline Bicycle Advisory Committee: Envision Beacon Street: Stroll, jog, scoot, and bike the historic Olmsted bridle path along the median. Between Carlton and Kent Streets, Brookline. May 18, 2019.

• Community event: With the Brookline Historical Society: Past and Future Beacon Street: A talk and discussion about the historic Olmsted plan for the street and a vision to restore its bridle path. Public Library, Brookline Village. May 13, 2019.

• Policy essay: Steven Miller: Back to the future: Using Olmsted as inspiration [Steps to move Beacon Street bridle path restoration from idea to reality]. LivableStreets Alliance: The Public Way. January 10, 2019.

  For over a century, Beacon Street in Brookline has been a gorgeous boulevard. But changing times bring new usage patterns. [The] street has previously gone through one re-creation. Is it now time for a second?

• Town action: Brookline Town Meeting, per petition by Jules Milner-Brage: Resolution calling for a study of the feasibility of restoring the Olmsted bridle path along the median of Beacon Street in Brookline. Warrant Article 23 for the November 2018 Special Town Meeting. (Adopted) November 13, 2018.

• Technical report: Jules Milner-Brage with Jackson Lynch and Peter Furth: Concept bottom line, per preliminary study: Restoring the bridle path on Beacon Street in Brookline. May 7, 2018.

  When you search for a way to improve bicycling safety on Beacon Street, look for a protected two-way path—and the kernel of a linear park—presently hidden in plain sight: the historical “bridle way” along the median. Next to the row of shade trees on the wide side of the train tracks, this intrinsic element of the Olmsteds’ 1880s design for the street, and built versions to the 1930s, awaits restoration.
  
  It seems that this improvement may be achievable with little car parking loss, while concurrently rendering the street more humane through shortened cross-walk distances, moderated car travel speeds, and better access for people to shelter provided by the trees in the median.