Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Brown, Richardson & Rowe, with Rizzo Associates, was chosen by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation to develop guidelines to safeguard the special character of the wealth of historic parkways across the state, while also addressing safety and multimodal issues. Because parkways are intended for pleasure travel and recreation and include a publicly owned landscape that varies from a narrow corridor to an extensive reservation or state park, they are distinct from federal and state highways and local roads.
The Historic Parkway Preservation Treatment guidelines describe a recommended planning and project development process as well as specific and complete guidelines for the treatment of parkway elements, including landscape context and character-defining features, design controls, bicycle and pedestrian issues, alignment, cross section elements such as lane width, curbs, guardrails, lighting, and drainage. For each parkway subtype—connecting pleasure roads, internal park roads, border roads, ocean and river parkways, and summit, estate and vernacular roads—appropriate recommendations are included.
