2. Massive Tree Destruction, Terrible past record, previous post on the Mass Transit Needs / Plans.
3. Lesser importance to Harvard but very destructive to the Charles River.
1. Boston Area Where the Green Line Spur should go and which Harvard and the Cambridge Machine are trying to overload.
This report assumes basic knowledge. Supporting materials are in the latter part of the report. The photos in this section were all taken on April 18, 2014.
My most recent communication on this matter, my letter to MassDOT, goes into preliminary detail on the responsible Green Line spur to Harvard’s future Medical School location which the Cambridge Machine and Harvard are trying to kill by overloading a key part of the area where MassDOT is rebuilding the Massachusetts Turnpike (I90), at http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2014/04/to-massdot-harvard-is-trying-to-kill.html.
I will probably supplement this letter with a letter to MassDOT which parallels this report.
The key is that the area can only hold so much. Therefor the Cambridge Machine is fighting openly and otherwise to overload the area and prevent a responsible Green Line streetcar access while pushing for a horribly expensive Red Line deep bore tunnel for access which would be “made necessary” because a responsible Green Line spur would be prevented because of the overloading of the area covered by the following phots.
The area of the Massachusetts Turnpike under attack by Harvard and the Cambridge machine is shown on Boston University’s map of the area. This is the area which should be used by a Green Line streetcar spur providing transportation to the Harvard Medical School. Broader scale satellite photos are included at the end of this report is the summary provided there.
[0651]
Railroad uses are not shown by Boston University on their map. The BU Bridge is to the right. The Massachusetts Turnpike is the lower of the two brown areas. Immediately below, for the most part, the Massachusetts Turnpike is the route that would work for the Green Line (street car) spur to support the new Harvard Medical School.
In the middle of this photo, on the right of Buick Street, building numbered 12, is the only building which could possibly be impacted by Green Line construction, and given the ability to rearrange the Massachusetts Turnpike, this is unlikely. The area possibly impacted is one story high and looks like it is used for parking.
The oval building on the next corner is Boston University’s Agannis Arena. Construction of a stop behind Agannis Arena on the new Green Line spur could be of great value to Boston University.
The grey area at the top of the map is the railroad yards / Mass. Pike area that MassDOT is rearranging in this project.
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This photo is taken from the BU Bridge. The grey area on the far side of the grass is the Massachusetts Turnpike. Vertically in the middle, horizontally on the left, are the supports for Commonwealth Avenue running over the Massachusetts Turnpike. The support beams go from very thick over the Massachusetts Turnpike to less than half the height as you progress from left to right. The smaller supports are over the railroad.
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The large buildings straight ahead are residence halls behind Agannis Arena. They approach the Massachusetts Turnpike but are separated from it by a road which is the extension of Buick Street. The photo was taken through a woven fence which blocks part of the photo, probably along with my finger.
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This is Commonwealth Avenue above the railroad. The plates above the railroad start with the two parallel lines running from the bottom left corner and up almost to the parking meter.
To the left is the Cadillac Olds building, now owned by Boston University, and very visible in the left of photo 0644, above.
[0648]
This is the reserved streetcar area in the middle of Commonwealth Avenue. The plate edge which was barely visible in the previous photo is extremely clear here. The plate edge which constitutes the far end of the railroad is the lighter brown area which crosses the streetcar area and then Commonwealth Avenue beyond the car on the right.
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This is the portion of the streetcar area closer to the BU Bridge.
Switches to run the Green Line spur off the main line would need to be inserted near the point of the camera or slightly behind the point of the camera. The tracks would need to cross the highway at an angle to the cars and go over the side of the Commonwealth Avenue bridge to the right.
Behind the camera at the intersection with the BU Bridge is a signalized intersection which is being reorganized as part of another highway proposal. Those signals will need to be coordinated with streetcar use.
The sort of switch needed is primitive railroading. Maybe a mile straight ahead is Packard’s Corner. The streetcar tracks we are looking at are designated as the B line. The letter B comes from the fact that there was a similar switch at Packard’s corner by which the B line went left and the A line went straight ahead.
Not at all complicated.
In fact, building a Green Line spur to support Harvard’s new Medical School would fit in the Green Line nomenclature as a new A line.
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This is the railroad going under the preceding views of Commonwealth Avenue. Note the smaller supports over the railroad and the larger supports above the Massachusetts Turnpike. You can see cars moving from the below street route of the Mass. Pike on the other side of Commonwealth Avenue to the raised section which is slated for destruction.
The black structure to the right is a wall abutting parking for the College of Fine Arts, building 15 in the BU map above.
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The structure on the left is the College of Fine Arts. The structure on the right is the Massachusetts Turnpike. The railroad tracks are to the right of the concrete wall. The support, if it were not likely to be torn down, could hold the Green Line spur. The brick building is the residence halls behind Agannis Arena which I mentioned above.
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Closer view of the support.
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Following supports behind the College of Fine Arts. Notice the amount of room available for a Green Line spur on air rights.
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Here is the one spot where a Green Line Spur on air rights might possibly have to go over a BU building under the current Mass.Pike configuration (building numbered 12 on the BU map). This is a one story structure abutting very large buildings. Perhaps air rights could be achieved. Perhaps the Mass. Pike could be moved. Perhaps this small portion of the structure would have to be demolished and relocated.
[0663]
Photo from the top of building 12.
Note the support for the Mass. Pike straight ahead and the railroad below. It is entirely possible the Green Line spur could be constructed without impacting this building.
This support was seen from the opposite side in prior photos. To the right is the segment of the College of Fine Arts shown in those photos. Above it is the main building.
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The railroad tracks, supports and Mass. Pike to the left of the prior photo.
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Another view swinging further left. The Charles River is in the background. The BU Bridge can be seen to the right.
The tracks visible under the far end of the Mass. Pike structure are the tracks which go over the Grand Junction railroad bridge.
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Swinging around further to the left, here is the extension of Buick Street between the residence halls and the Mass. Pike. The main level of the residence halls is very close to the height of the Mass. Pike. Building on air rights above this road would create an ideal location for a Green Line stop servicing the western part of the BU campus including these residence halls and Agannis Arena.
[0658]
Current use. The train to Worcester from Boston.
[0665]
Looking up Buick Street next to the location of the previous photos.
The two or three story brick structure in the distance is on the far side of Commonwealth Avenue. The building to the immediate right is the residence hall structure.
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The opposite view on Buick Street. The Mass. Pike is the raised structure at the end of the street.
Please note from the BU Map above and from the satellite photos below that this is the end of the tight area. After this, you are in Harvard’s property / the railroad / Mass. Pike area which is the main part of the MassDOT consideration.
2. Massive Tree Destruction, Terrible past record, previous post on the Mass Transit Needs / Plans.
This is the latest in a series responding to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) public meeting on April 10, 2014, concerning rebuilding of the Massachusetts Turnpike near the Charles River.
I anticipate I will be sending a very similar report to MassDOT.
The meeting was stacked, as usual, by the Cambridge Machine. The Cambridge Machine has a long record of calling people out on matters without telling the victims full details of how the Cambridge Machine is using them.
The Cambridge Machine so far has achieved acres of government destruction of the irreplaceable Alewife Reservation while lying it was defending it. Total destruction is likely. The Cambridge Machine is fighting for the continuation of and expansion of outrageous destruction on the Cambridge side of the Charles River including heartless animal abuse. Bond authorization for destruction of hundreds of trees between the BU and Longfellow Bridges is in Governor Patrick’s house bill H3332 under the euphemism, historical parkways. Whether Governor Patrick has been meaningfully informed is not certain.
I have posted the plans for the H3332 destruction of hundreds of trees between the BU and Longfellow Bridges at http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2014/04/tree-destruction-plans-charles-river.html. I have posted my objections to a Cambridge Machine activist praising a fake neighborhood association. My post includes a key aspect of her record. It is posted at http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2014/04/massdot-meeting-concerning-charles.html.
3. Lesser importance to Harvard but very destructive to the Charles River.
One of the many con games being pulled is that of a bicycle highway. One bicycle highway would destroy those hundreds of trees on Memorial Drive, but that is to allow Memorial Drive to handle an off ramp from the Mass. Pike to Cambridge.
The tree destruction included in House Bill H3332, Historical Parkways section, is posted at http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2014/04/tree-destruction-plans-charles-river.html.
My photos showing planned destruction from an off ramp over the Charles River to Cambridge are posted at: http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2014/02/photos-harvards-targeted-off-ramp.html and http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-reality-of-harvard-universitys.html.
Here are three key photos.
One, taken from above the Grand Junction Railroad Bridge shows a green traffic sign in the background.
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Look straight ahead of the track and slightly to the right. The sign is a green sliver.
The others show the area being torn down by MassDOT with that traffic sign very visible.
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The traffic sign is straight ahead. Note the pull over road to the right.
Here is the pull over road with the Grand Junction railroad bridge in the background.
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There are two large trees to the right of the pullover. To the right of the trees is the green Grand Junction railroad bridge.
The highway you see in all of these photos is slated to be torn down according to the April 10 meeting. These photos were taken in February 2014 and previously published on this blog.
Here is the relevant part of a satellite photo submitted in a 2006 environmental report by the local public transit authority.
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The area of the Massachusetts Turnpike being torn down is the wide greyish area in the middle, bottom of the photo, separated by a darker grey area from the Charles River. The BU Bridge runs up and down to the right. The Grand Junction railroad bridge is below it. The ghetto to which the Charles River White Geese have been heartlessly confined and are suffering further abuse is in the upper part of the photo directly above the Charles River and between the BU Bridge and the Grand Junction railroad.
At the very bottom of this photo is Commonwealth Avenue. The photos in the main part of this report are of this part of Commonwealth Avenue and of the areas below the Massachusetts Turnpike to the left of Commonwealth Avenue in the photo. The buildings next to the Massachusetts Turnpike are shown in much closer view in those photos.
In the upper left part of the photo is main part of the area being rearranged by the MassDOT rearrangement of the Massachusetts Turnpike, the future Harvard Medical School, among other uses by Harvard / its friends.
