Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Aqueduct Trail topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Historic District Commission raises design and materials concerns about proposed Aqueduct trail
Summary
Commissioners who attended an Aqueduct trail design meeting urged historically appropriate railings, intermittent larger newel posts, lighting and consideration of user experience; members also noted load limits on the aqueduct that rule out heavy paving and discussed ADA/AAB accessibility differences.
Commission members reported on an early‑stage Aqueduct trail design meeting and urged the project team to adopt historically appropriate materials and details.
Tom Reardon and other members said the proposed guardrail appeared to be a modern, utilitarian guardrail that would be out of character with an 1896–98 structure. Reardon recommended breaking long, monotonous runs of guardrail with scaled newel posts, considering Victorian‑appropriate detailing, adding low‑level illumination to highlight the arches at night and providing benches to encourage public use.
Members also raised engineering and accessibility constraints: the aqueduct cannot support heavy paving or large construction equipment, so full pavement is not feasible; project plans discussed sealing membranes with gravel approaches instead. Commissioners noted differences between federal ADA guidance and Massachusetts Architectural Access Board (AAB) requirements and suggested the design team confirm which state guidelines govern the project and how to reconcile ramp and stairway discrepancies.
Funding and approvals remain preliminary: commissioners said the project will likely need CPC funding and Mass. Historical Commission review and that design teams should follow Department of the Interior standards for historic structures. The commission agreed to stay involved in review as plans develop.
