1. Day 389 at the Destroyed Nesting Area.
(a) Conditions.
(b) Actual visibility.
(c) More games from Cambridge.
2. URBAN RING PHASE 2 ON LIFE SUPPORT?
a. Archie.
(1) Introduction.
(2) Board Comments.
(3) Archie’s comments.
(4) Balance of Meeting.
(5) Summary.
b. Bob.
(1) General.
(2) Urban Ring.
(a) Orange Line Spur to Longwood Medical Area.
(b) Green Line Spur to Harvard Allston.
Bob La Trémouille reports with a major contribution from Archie Mazmanian.
1. Day 389 at the Destroyed Nesting Area.
(a) Conditions.
Tuesday afternoon I did a visibility for the first time since the needlessly destructive work on the BU Bridge commenced.
I was immediately greeted by a State Police officer who was under the impression that I needed a permit to leaflet. I disabused her of that impression.
She next informed me that the location we have been using for 388 visibilities was illegal. That is also questionable based on the fencing, but it is very clear that there are no longer any pedestrians able to walk next to the goose meadow on the eastern side of the BU Bridge. Since pedestrians are the target of the fliers, I moved sign, leaflets and visibility to the western, Boston side.
Before moving, I observed the nature of the construction site, formerly the nesting area of the Charles River White Geese. It was quite clear that the vast destruction for parking that belongs under Memorial Drive was unnecessary.
The geese were crowded into the not yet destroyed southeastern corner.
(b) Actual visibility.
I did say hello to quite a few people and got good responses from drivers.
Actual contact is down because the rush hour is now after dark, and the rush hour is the ideal time.
(c) More games from Cambridge.
Tuesday evening, Cambridge conducted one of its usual con games. They are bragging of “healthy” playgrounds. I leafleted concerned their poisoned playground at Magazine Beach, and the reality of massive environmental destruction throughout Cambridge.
Electronic copies of the flier may be obtained by emailing me at boblat@yahoo.com.
December 12 is Cambridge’s next con game: They, yet another time, are going to save the world just as long as their destruction of Cambridge is kept secret.
2. URBAN RING PHASE 2 ON LIFE SUPPORT?
Ed: I have inserted sectioning in Archie’s report.
a. Archie.
(1) Introduction.
The Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting Tuesday evening (12/1/09) was well attended not only by its members but also the public. More importantly, Jeff Mullan, Secretary and CEO of the recently established MassDOT, was present. Mr. Mullan admitted to being by training and experience a highway man (in the good sense, of course) and that he needs to and will listen carefully concerning the Urban Ring, which he referred to as a regional transit project (about which more will be said later in this commentary).
(2) Board Comments.
After a brief presentation by Mr. Mullan, the discussion by CAC members was opened. However, the Chair had to prod members to speak. So a member from Somerville offered comments that included the concept of going directly to Phase 3’s light/heavy rail. The large room was very quiet and attentive. (Both Bob and I have from time to time expressed this view in varying ways.) Then other CAC members offered comments and questions that made clear the need for MassDOT and CAC to continue on with the Urban Ring.
It was pointed out by several institutional CAC members, especially from the Longwood Medical Area (LMA) and MIT, that development projects underway and planned in the Urban Ring corridor have assumed that Phase 2 would come about, as such projects would require and rely upon good public transit to provide economic growth for the Urban Ring corridor expected to result from such projects. (Notably, the voice of Harvard was not heard during this discussion.)
The public discussion and question period began ahead of schedule. Bob expressed his longtime view of a rail system that he may wish to add to this post.
(3) Archie’s comments.
My comments started with the word “Dithering” as descriptive of the Urban Ring over these many, many years. (This came to mind as Pres. Obama was scheduled later that evening to respond with his Afghanistan/Pakistan strategy that he had been reviewing for only a few, short months that Dick Cheney referred to as “dithering.”) I repeated my suggestion over the years that Phase 2 be skipped and go directly to Phase 3’s light/heavy rail, as suggested earlier by a CAC member; that there should be rethinking of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) technology for Phase 2 as it has not proven to be successful with the Silver Line except in its fully dedicated tunnel portion to Logan Airport; that Phase 2 as currently proposed fails to provide sufficient dedicated busways for the BRT 60-foot articulated buses. I also pointed out that the LMA cannot be properly serviced by Phase 2 with surface routes, that tunneling is required. I briefly raised concern with the Charles River crossing, especially if the BU Bridge is part of the route, pointing out that the current work on the BU Bridge will result in a permanent reduction from four (4) to three (3) lanes for motor vehicles.
(4) Balance of Meeting.
Other public comments stressed the long-term importance of public transit planning for the area and its economy. Stephanie Pollack of Partners was especially effective in this regard. And Mr. Mullan listened very attentively to what she said. Ms Pollack also pointed out that while the December 15, 2009 response of MassDOT to EOEEA is important regarding its intentions for the Urban Ring, it must be kept in mind that by March 31, 2010, MassDOT is to submit a detailed Notice of Project Change (NPC) to continue the MEPA process. Ms Pollack reminded all of the requirements of the consent order on environmental matters that the Urban Ring was a response to in order to reduce carbon emissions.
Ms Pollack also pointed out that the Urban Ring is not just a regional transit project because of its importance to the economy of the entire State. Hopefully Mr. Mullan will change his regional view of the Urban Ring.
(5) Summary.
So perhaps for now the Urban Ring is on life support. Mr. Mullan and his staff should be very busily engaged between now and December 15th with its required statement of intent regarding the Urban Ring. Following the upcoming holiday season respite, MassDOT and the CAC will have only a few months to come up with its NPC. Members of the public will also have to pay attention at upcoming CAC meetings to be in a position to submit comments on the NPC during its public comment period. Public transit is important to the region and the entire State economically and otherwise. Failure to address this surely will result in capacity problems for the radial lines in and out of the core in Boston. This is not the time for a “DO NOT RESUSCITATE” order. But it must be done right, without dithering.
b. Bob.
(1) General.
I was pleased with Mr. Mullan’s approach to the meeting and to the group.
I was not at all pleased to see the individual sitting to his right. This gentleman is a former Cambridge City Councilor who resigned in the last year or so to take his current job.
He ran as an environmentalist and proceeded to be part of Cambridge environmentally very destructive government.
He occupied a seat which has been “Harvard’s seat” for over a generation. Under the oddities of Cambridge’s election law, he was temporarily replaced by a non-Harvard person. The person who will now fill the seat is a grad student at MIT and Harvard. Interestingly, he publicly associated himself primarily with MIT.
(2) Urban Ring.
I supported the Notice of Project Change which has now been abandoned to the extent it emphasized buses in the northern part of the Urban Ring area while backing down on buses in the rest of the area. Buses can possibly make sense in the northern area. In the southern area (including most of Cambridge) it is a silly substitute for rail.
I gave two examples:
(a) Orange Line Spur to Longwood Medical Area.
The Longwood Medical Area consists of worldwide renown hospitals, notably Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital. BWH was referred to as Partners by Archie, above. This is a holding company which constitutes its partnership with Mass. General Hospital and others.
These hospitals have been pushing a very expensive buried busway which would have one real stop, at Longwood and Louis Pasteur, a point convenient to all three hospitals. At one end, the tunnel would go ALMOST to Ruggels Station on the Orange Line, and on the other end, ALMOST to Kenmore Station on the Green Line. It does go to Yawkey Station on the Commuter Rail.
I pointed out that I suggested the Kenmore Crossing for Heavy Rail as part of the rail proposal, the real proposal. I proposed it in 1986. It was adopted as an alternative by the MBTA in 1992.
I said that the LMA tunnel has been forced into the bus nonsense. It is silly for buses. Connected to Ruggles Station on one end and Kenmore / Yawkey Station on the other, it makes excellent sense as an Orange Line spur.
This construction would be a phase 1 of a new rail subway line linking all the subway lines and offering an alternative to going downtown.
Its phase 1 construction from Ruggles to LMA to Kenmore would provide excellent rapid transit service for LMA and Kenmore with excellent Green Line and Commuter Rail connections. In particular, it might give commuter rail people a very real alternate route.
The Kenmore Station, built under this initial phase, is the jewel of the Heavy Rail Kenmore Crossing with its connections to three Green Line branches, and to the Framingham/Worcester commuter rail.
(b) Green Line Spur to Harvard Allston.
I supported a route Harvard proposed a couple of years ago for connection of its new Allston campus to the rest of Boston while substituting an economic approach for Harvard’s very expensive approach.
Harvard proposed a Red Line spur coming out of Harvard Station to their Harvard Allston campus and then running by a very expensive “deep bore” construction under the Beacon Rail yards to the BU / Mountfort area, which is perhaps .2 mile southeast of the BU Bridge.
The proposal would require rebuilding of Harvard Station.
I said that the route makes sense. The method is way too expensive.
I proposed a Green Line spur coming off the Commonwealth Avenue Green Line branch at the BU Bridge, being constructed on air rights over the Commuter Rail, south of the Mass. Pike, going over the Beacon Yards and, after Cambridge Street, dropping down and proceeding cut and cover on the route Harvard proposed in the B School / Harvard Stadium area.
In sharp contrast to the Harvard proposal, connection to Harvard Station would be by a tunnel which still exists to Harvard Station and is unused. It runs from the Brattle Square busway entrance to the wall between Harvard’s Kennedy School and the Charles Hotel.
