Aberjona River - Problem Statement Revised

Problem/Issue affecting the aberjona:
In my early analysis of the Aberjona River Basin - as I was walking from Wedgmere Station area towards the upstream part of the Aberjona River along the margins and banks of the river looking for infrastructure issues that could be addressed as a problem related to the river - I found out through my observations that the physical aspect and characteristics of the river beds, banks as well the size and shape of the river channel are indeed a potential factor that can contribute for future flooding and soil erosion. Although there is a dam which was built in recently years located at the center of the town between Mains Street and Mystic Valley Pkwy and it helps control the velocity and volume of water discharge, I can see that an improvement can still be made in the river beds as well the banks.
Because the river shows a degrading variation of slopes high in the river beds and most parts not having much gradient at all along the way of it is course and very often encountering obstructions as it makes in its way down, it is more likely that this portions of the river will cause a change in the stream flow by altering the friction of water and decreasing velocity, thus becoming more vulnerable to flood and soil erosion. Also because some of the river bed’s roughs condition, and the irregular shape of the river channels, varying from wide and shallow to narrow and deep in most parts, and having a closed contact with the channel extremities can too cause potential flood during a rainfall. The waters in this case, can turn turbulent if the velocity increase in the discharge of water due to the irregular shape of the channels. The channels need to be a certain depth and width in order for the water to flow properly in a much uniform way.
Including to my problem statement, I like also to mention a potential issue in the infrastructure involving the rail road, walking trails and sidewalks near the banks of the river. Some portion of the Aberjona River happen to be very close to the rail road, thus because the consistency of train going back and forth down the rails, this in fact could be a factor for soil erosion and also affect the river beds close by as the train passing many time through a period of times. The Commuter Rail near the river beds causes friction in the soil, which it contributes for soil erosion.
The walking trails used for jogging and walking as well biking are not design appropriately for the activity. Some of these trail surfaces are in very poor condition often with eroded asphalt or eroded dirt and do not offer a private or exclusivity space for the exerted activity. The sidewalks, also often used for jogging and bicycling, are too narrow and do not support enough space for a proper use of it. Walking trails are not so attractive and could need a special attention on beautifying them and making them more accessible.
I also think that the park at Shannon beach requires attention for improving the beds of the lake. The water is too close to the bank and can easy over flow the park in a rain storm event or similar if the waters become turbulent. The ground surface in the center of the park is very wet and often you can see accumulation of water spots in the middle of the grass. The park does not offer a space to practice sport and do not offer a playground for kids to play, rather it is just an open space. In my analysis I did see several park users walking along with their dogs in a leash. Perhaps, the park also lacks a dog area exclusively for them to run around and interact with other dogs. Overall I believe the park needs to be rearrange and beautified so users could have a better use of the space provided.

Goal for Resolving the Problem:
My goal is to redesign the beds and banks of the river and reshape the channels for more proper flow of the water. I want also to reinforce parts of the river bed that crosses or gets near with the commuter rail tracks to make then stronger to support the rough friction and pressure of the trains passing by. I like to also create better routes appropriate for walking and jogging as well bicycling that could be exclusively for these activities and that could perhaps run only within the boundaries of the town. I like to make these walking trails to be exclusively for the town of Winchester. Perhaps create a route running from Wedgmere Station all the way up to Winchester Hospital. Also I want to fix the grounds and lawn of Shannon Park as well elevate the ground level especially creating a much higher slope along the beds of the lake that are in contact with the park. I like to plant more trees and redesign the park adding more recreational features for people of all age to be able to use it, including a playground for people with dogs.

Strategies for Achieving the Goal:
In pursuing my goals, I like to talk about the strategies that I will use to achieve these goals. To start, in the beds of the Aberjona River, I like to secure the beds by raising the slopes and create a smoother surface in the channels. On slopes greater than 20 percent I will use netting and straw mulch to hold the soil and prevent loss of grass seed. Straw mulch will provide erosion control, moisture conservation, and prevent soil crusting. I will plant more native plants and grass to the slope areas to help with the hydrology. I like to expand the banks of the river in parts that is necessary to keep the surrounding activity with an appropriate distance from the shore and avoid any disturbance it could cause to the stream.
By providing more space at the banks of the river will allow me to be more flexible when designing trails adjacent to the river. I will design larger sidewalks that can support pedestrian circulation coming from both ways. I like to also beautify these sidewalks with planting materials and add more landscape site furniture. Also, for the infrastructure issue I like to say that, a road is a linear passageway, usually for motor vehicles, and a railroad is a surface linear passageway with tracks for train traffic. Their construction can limit access to shorelines, impair the visual qualities of water-oriented vistas, expose soils to erosion and retard the runoff of flood waters. As that been said, in relation to the rail roads I like to create a detour route for the rail tracks or move the river course if possible away from each other. If not achieved, I will intend to design tall concrete walls built adjacent to the existing rail tracks that are near the river, so that the walls could absorb the most shock impact from the rail roads and trains passing by and avoiding the most amount of shock as possible getting near the beds.

Conclusion/Original concept and Vision:
As a conclusion and vision for my design, I believe that approaching the problem with a natural technique system can better protect the nature and function of the stream by avoiding as much disturbance as possible to the site. My intentions are to create a better looking and safer banks along the river with beautiful vegetation and to accommodate recreational areas for pedestrians. I believe that by using my techniques will provide a healthier environment for both nature and users.

Summarizing the Problem - Infrastructure and Open Space

Problems:

1) Lack of public parking space

2) Lack of appropriate bicycle routes and walking trails

3) Poor road condition on existing walking trails

4) Not enough public open space areas for recreational activities

5) Need for beautifying Parks and open spaces areas.

6) More shading required on Parks for visitors and game viewers

7) Need for more plants and trees in open space areas

8) Poor condition of the river beds and banks as well irregularity in the shape of the river channels.

9) Train tracks are too close to the river

10) Erosion caused by condition of slopes and irregular discharge of water.

Questions and Goals

Questions:


1) How far can we extend land space around the river margins?

2) What would be the best grading plan solution to prevent land erosion as new construction around the river take place?

3) Can rising street level in certain areas be one way to prevent future flooding?


Goals:


1) Connect the parks and open spaces in Winchester through a walk path and bicycle path the could run adjacent to the river basin.

2) Create a bike route and a pedestrian circulation path for recreational use that could perhaps run from Mystic Lake all the to Winchester Hospital.

3) Expand land space and wide up existing side walks in the margins of the Aberjona river to a size reasonable to support multiple pedestrian circulation.

4) Improve quality of land at Shannon Park area and reshape the land giving a better distribution of space usage.

Infrastructure Analysis of Aberjona River Basins

The town of Winchester offers two routes for bus commute. Route 350 (the indicated blue line in the graph above) that runs on Cambridge Street from Alewife (South) to North Burlington (Northwest) cutting through the city. Then there is Route 134 (the indicated green line in the graph above) that runs on Main Street from Wellington (South) to North Woburn (North). There is also a Commuter Rail that often makes stops at two locations in town. One is Wedgemere Station and the other is the Winchester Center Station near the town center.

The yellow lines in the graph above indicate the major routes that connect drivers through as well in and out of the town.

Pedestrian circulation its found to be very concentrated at the town center region. With many business, schools and other shops in the area, the town offer students and visitors to walk and drive in regularly. Also with the Commuter Rail station been so near the town center, during rush hours pedestrian circulation as well vehicular can be very intense. Considering the transportation routes in the town, I drew in the graph above a indicated purple dash line that approximately represent the areas of most high pedestrian circulation volume in compared to the rest of the town. The yellow dash lines indicate the residential areas that offers less pedestrial circulation.

Parking Lots are limited in the area of the Aberjona River Basin. Often you can see parking space along the side on the streets near schools, parks and businesses but there isn't a lot of parking lot area provided for the commuter rail and other areas of the site. In the graph above I intended to show in yellow highlight only the areas where it did provided a parking lot space. These observations were made during my analysis while walking the site.