The personal enmity between Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino and former Massachusetts Turnpike Authority chairman James J. Kerasiotes, who unilaterally spearheaded the surface corridor's master planning process, did not help matters, said several people who have worked closely on the project. Nor, they said, did the dwindling amount of planning and design resources at the city's own redevelopment agency. Add to that the multiple, often overlapping, entities charged with developing and implementing a master plan, from a mayoral Central Artery Completion task force and a turnpike authority steering committee to architects, business leaders and community advisory groups. The fragmentation was so bad that the state legislature formed a 12-member Commission on Surface Artery Governance and Finance last year to bridge the gaps. The state Highway Department owns most of the open space, but who will operate and maintain the finished park has yet to be determined, although it is likely to be a nonprofit trust.
Funding is also in limbo.
That said, few participants expect a resolution any time soon. There has been no way to do anything easily. Meanwhile, despite dozens of public meetings, no single theme or overarching vision for the entire area has emerged. But elsewhere, there's talk of everything from museums to fruit orchards, and debates continue about whether space should primarily fulfill the desires of residents or tourists, businesses or environmental groups. I'm not sure we've reconciled these points of view.