Hub residents may be able to experience more facilities, larger park areas and more sustainable maintenance on the Esplanade by 2020.
The Esplanade Association will reveal its vision for the park, Esplanade 2020, on Thursday at 6 p.m. in the Boston Public Library.
“The Esplanade 2020 vision promotes improvements and enhancements to the Esplanade that represent a worthy investment in the well-being of Boston’s citizens,” said Executive Director of TEA Sylvia Salas in a press release.
The name “Esplanade 2020” comes from looking at what TEA can do with a long list of projects over the next 10 years, Salas said. It is also a pun for having 20/20 vision.
Esplanade 2020’s guiding principles include restoring the traditions of the park, reclaiming parkland previously open to the public, making the park more sustainable and maintainable, increasing accessibility and providing facilities, according to TEA’s website.
The Esplanade has been “loved to death” by about three million visitors each year, according to TEA’s website.
TEA has worked with the Department of Conservation and Recreation, stakeholders and planning specialists for more than two years to create this vision for improving the Esplanade, according to the press release.
Salas said there is a long list of projects that need to be addressed at the park. She said the meeting on Thursday is a way to “present ideas to the public and get a reaction.”
From there, she said, it would try to establish a Project Standard Committee while working closely with the Department of Conversation and Recreation.
If TEA is successful, it would like to tackle a few smaller projects, which are more affordable and easier, such as restoring landscapes or some frequently used public buildings, Salas said.
Boston University students said the project was a good idea, although the cost may pose a problem.
“If the city has the budget for beautification it would be worth it,” said BU College of Arts and Sciences junior Hilary Peckos.
CAS junior Christina Yarborough said she thinks Esplanade 2020 is a good idea, but if there are other priorities those should come before Esplanade 2020 in terms of money.
“[The Esplanade] is fine the way it is, but I don’t see it that much,” Yarborough said.
Mashalle Jasem, a freshman in BU’s College of Communication, said even though she does not go to the Esplanade often, she thinks “there are more important issues” and the Esplanade’s “views are enough.”
Jasem also said if the Esplanade was restored, she would be inclined to visit it more often.
Salas said she understands that state funding is limited. Esplanade 2020 is a vision for the future, meant to improve the park and to make it as maintainable and sustainable as possible, she said.
The sustainability aspect would both be cost and environmentally friendly, Salas said.
By making some aspects of the park more environmentally sustainable, she said, Esplanade maintenance will cost less down the road.
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