Earlier this month the Massachusetts Department of Transportation took the concerns of Boston residents into consideration and created new design concepts for what could sit atop the Central Artery ramp parcels jutting through the Rose Kennedy Greenway.

In October, the transportation department held a meeting to decide how best to cover up the on and off ramps to the Central Artery running below the Greenway, which have been uncovered since the Big Dig. Now, MassDOT and its constituent partners like designer Utile, Inc. come up with a solution they think will reflects the wants and needs of everyone.

It’s not a hefty arch in memorial of those who lost their lives in the Great Molasses Flood of 1919. Instead, the areas in question – Parcel 6, directly in front of Government Center Garage and the Haymarket MBTA station; 12, in front of the Dock Square Garage; and 18, in front of International Place – could offer elevated pathways for pedestrians to enjoy a fresh perspective of the surrounding cityscape with an innovative feel, similar to New York City’s High Line.

Surrounding each new pathway would be freshly planted flora and a fence that could be filled out by trees, hedges or public art installations like woodwork or mural painting.

As you’ll see in the concepts below, the amount of work varies from parcel to parcel. But the end results could give Boston another innovative edge while providing a public service, all thanks to one peculiar stipulation.

“In general terms, we’re delighted that the consensus of the public meetings are that [the ramp parcels] should be open space,” Jesse Brackenbury, executive director of the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, told BostInno. “Among ways to cover the ramp, this, as opposed to a building, is something we’re pleased about.”

But Brackenbury knows there’s still plenty of work to be done and even more ways to improve it along the way.

Brackenbury formerly worked for the New York Parks Department, and though he wasn’t directly involved in the development of the High Line, he witnessed what it took to bring the idea into fruition —as well as the before and after. The new ramp parcel coverings in Boston could be similarly transformative, and create a range of new possibilities, he said.

The High Line is an abandoned elevated rail that was repurposed into a nearly 1.5-mile public park that now attracts some 5 million tourists annually.

“Covering the ramps and providing a connection would be a huge step forward, but to me that is sort of the bare minimum,” Brackenbury said. “What’s exciting is, how do we create great public spaces and not just a sidewalk that goes up and down?”

A public comment period for the ramp parcel covers is now open and will come to a close in February. The design team will consider the additional public input and work to refine the concepts for a public meeting to be announced later this spring.

Design Concepts courtesy of MassDOT & Utile, Inc.:

Parcel 6

 

Parcel 12

 

Parcel 18