At the October 23, 2017 meeting of the Cambridge City Council, the Cambridge City Council consented to moving further toward destruction on the Charles River in the habitat of free animals including the Charles River White Geese based on a zoning proposal for Kendall Square.
Kendall Square is at least half a mile from the proposed area of destruction, and the Cambridge Development Department had informed the Cambridge City Council that the effort was UNLIKELY to involve properties away from Kendall Square.
UNLIKELY, business as usual.
Here is our response, which will has been included in the City Council package for October 30.
RE: Action of October 23, 2017 on Kendall Square with Secret impact on the Charles River.
1. Introduction. Yet more secrecy from the voters.
2. The MIT commitment at Memorial Drive.
3. Passenger Rail on the Grand Junction sneaked in.
4. The reality, the Inner Belt with dishonesty.
5. Destruction of Animal Habitat.
6. Reality and the Bike Highway.
7. Some trees being destroyed, and various types of Fraud versus reality.
8. Red Line Planning.
9. Summary.
Gentlemen / Ladies:
1. Introduction. Yet more secrecy from the voters.
I have reviewed the action presented to the City Council at its October 23, 2017 meeting, including a document not presented to the City Council but which is on the Development Department’s site and was referenced in the MIT Letter of Committment and in the Development Department letter of September 19, 2017, presented to the City Council on September 25, 2017. This clearly gave the impression that the zoning discussions would only concern the Volpe site.
The MIT commitment, apparently accepted by the City Council’s approval of the zoning draft clearly goes beyond the Volpe property.
As is distressingly common in touchy matters, destructive stuff is kept secret.
2. The MIT commitment at Memorial Drive.
The MIT commitment for the Grand Junction includes all MIT properties abutting the Grand Junction, which includes the former Polaroid / Ford Plant building on Memorial Drive west of and abutting the Grand Junction. Thus the development provided would include development between that building and the Grand Junction.
Here is MIT’s map of the area in question presented in its earlier report which was not kept secret.
The offer made by MIT and apparently accepted by the City Council includes major construction by MIT in that portion of the Grand Junction (blue and reddish lines) which is marked in red. This major construction was kept secret by the City Council and the Development Department from people concerned with the Charles River and with this neighborhood.
Very clearly kept secret from all except those working on the Volpe project.
Of interest in this commitment is a report which has apparently NEVER BEEN PROVIDED TO THE CITY COUNCIL. The report AGAIN clearly claims to be concerned with Kendall Square, but it includes recommendations destructive to the Charles River and antagonistic to the established position of the City Council. Cited in the Commitment Letter is a “Final Report” of the “Kendall Square Mobility Task Force” dated August 2017.
3. Passenger Rail on the Grand Junction sneaked in.
I note on page 2-6, a recommendation of yet another Grand Junction demand study, with the comment that the last study is outdated. The City Council, on August 1, 2011, opposed Commuter Rail on the Grand Junction. As I recall, this was associated with the study at that time which resulted in MassDOT rejection of Commuter Rail on the Grand Junction because it would make no sense except to Kendall / MIT.
SIX YEARS LATER, this study is being called “obsolete.” Oh, come on now.
This is similar to the defeat of the Inner Belt 45 years ago in association with a PUBLIC attempt to build it. Now it is being moved half a block westward to the Grand Junction and is being sold as a bike path. And this deal with MIT furthers this secret maneuver.
4. The reality, the Inner Belt with dishonesty.
A big difference between the defeat of the version in the 60's and now, is that now things are being handled as secretly as possible.
The MBTA 2003 study showed that the Grand Junction Railroad Bridge can be widened by cantilevering to add one lane, and that the additional lane south of the current Bridge could be combined with the southern of the two existing lanes to create an off ramp from the Mass. Pike to go up the Grand Junction.
The supposed publicly beneficial improvements promised by MIT just north of Memorial Drive (the reddish marked area) would benefit MIT by being part of this private off ramp to MIT from the Mass. Pike, with ramps to Memorial Drive. Those ramps are key reasons why the City Council is destroying 56 trees on Memorial Drive (order 1, April 24, 2017).
Here are driveways which are being rearranged at Magazine Beach as part of the massive destruction of excellent trees supported by self proclaimed “environmentalists” on the Cambridge City Council.
We have given you a tree by tree analysis in our June 4, 2017 report expanded on in subsequent reports.
The key part is the widening of the Grand Junction Bridge over the Charles River. Here is a photo of the Boston end. The green sign straight ahead is over the Mass. Pike. The situation can be clearly observed on the MIT plan at the top of page 2, above.
In 2003, the MBTA proved that a ramp can be constructed off the bridge by cantilevering to the east (left) and using the west (left) side of the existing bridge. In the photo, this would require moving the track to the right into the currently unused side.
The sales pitch would create a cantilevered bridge for bikes and two railroad lanes. How long would that last? The sudden addition of the former Ford Plant to Kendall discussions show exactly the level of honesty present.
5. Destruction of Animal Habitat
And here is the DCR’s destruction plan for the thick woods east of the Grand Junction and south of Memorial Drive. This is taken from the plans for the January 2016 destruction with the unanimous consent by silence of nine members of the Cambridge City Council. Following, left and right, are recent corresponding photos.
One area being visibly destroyed is the area to the east of the Grand Junction, the Wild Area, which shows only one tree “not being destroyed.” Destruction in the area to the west of the Grand Junction is kept more vague, although MIT has shown construction there, and the nonsensical 2006 report also shows destruction there.
The Department of Conservation and Recreation / Friends of the DCR have made of much of a mess of the left area [middle photo] as they had the nerve to, destroyed ground vegetation, splattering of crushed rock. The right area [third photo here; I am repeating language in letter with correction for this medium in brackets as necessary], the Wild Area, was totally devoided of ground vegetation with sniffs of disdain, and replaced, as at the Goose Meadow with dirt.
Existing gross irresponsibility of the DCR and its friends is not a reason to further destroy. A responsible city government would get rid of the DCR.
Massive future destruction of both areas is the sort of thing that the “planners” consider normal.
Rabbits have returned to the goose meadow. The Charles River White Geese are not the only victims of irresponsible government behavior. They are just the most visible.
Here is a recent photo of wild turkeys roaming the streets of Cambridge in the winter. They have been displaced by the reprehensible destruction done in 2016 by the DCR and Cambridge
Our world is being destroyed, piece by piece by irresponsible human beings. Cambridge has seen members of its City Council proclaim themselves environmental saints on the steps of the City Hall on April 24, 2017and step inside to vote for environmental destruction. Our proof of fraud my letter of June 6, 2017 with regard to “dead or dying” used in the motion, showed that “dead or dying” was based on a massive expansion of fraudulent word games from the DCR pitch which equated beyond the peak of beauty with “decline,” and, suddenly, “dead or dying” became “reality” in spite of “dead or dying” not even having any basis in the fraud in the source material.
Here are the MIT plans (item 4) for further destruction in the Goose Meadow. The J plan in the 2006 CDD plan was outrageous, but this would make it worse.
Here is the MIT plan for under Memorial Drive. This would be widened to handle the Inner Belt, in accordance with discussions in 2003.
At that time, the MBTA only supported widening to handle one track plus two off ramp lanes.
And here are photos of heartless and deliberate starvation attacks on the Charles River White Geese in place already.
The Starvation Wall viewed from Boston.
I have recently provided great detail on the outrages inflicted in the 2000's by this bizarre introduced starvation wall and the layers of introduced vegetation to prevent feeding through the tiny opening left.
Here is the blocking of the entrance to the Goose Meadow to keep the Charles River White Geese from feeding under Memorial Drive on the tiny amount of food there.
The stones introduced at the Hyatt prevent access to that food.
And here is Cambridge bragging of its heartless animal abuse in a propaganda show in the City Hall Annex.
Nonsense is being distributed, comparable to the supposed Kendall Square limitations of zoning discussions, that the Grand Junction Bridge is being widened for some sort of bike highway.
Thinking that the expansion will be some sort of bike highway is comparable to believing that the Volpe Center discussions were only concerned with the Volpe Center.
And so much of those lovely faces “fighting for” a bike highway sure do look like MIT. And the key “protective group: which claims to be concerned about responsible highways sure has looked like it has or originally had its office on the MIT campus.
Let’s not talk nonsense.
6. Reality and the Bike Highway.
To the right [below] is a responsible connection from the Grand Junction to Vassar Street at its bend.
Here is another graphic from this MIT package showing where the bike path will be moved to when MIT gets it new Inner Belt lined up.
The pen and ink type marking at the Vassar Street bend in the below MIT graphic shows the area of the photo above.
The brown markings on the MIT graphic toward the upper right, reflect the existing crossing from Ft. Washington. In what would appear to be yet another stalking horse, MIT proposed this connection by way of Amesbury Street for the bike path. Tsk, tsk, that looks like the plan after MIT puts things in a row to instal its beloved Inner Belt connecting MIT to a private exit off the Mass. Pike.
7. Some trees being destroyed, and various types of Fraud versus reality.
Above I gave you the driveways being rearranged as part of Order 1 of April 24, 2017. Here are 7 trees across from the MicroCenter parking lot which the Cambridge City Council wants destroyed.
The DCR fraud admits that all seven of the City Council doomed trees are excellent. Order 1 took skillful fraud from the DCR and turned the skillful fraud into flat out fraud, “dead or dying.
And these DCR admitted excellent trees are smaller than SO MANY much larger, truly massive trees the City Council wants destroyed on Magazine Beach..
I say “smaller” in reality because the City Council wants much larger, more excellent trees destroyed. And order 1 of April 24, 2017, called these trees “dead or dying.”
The DCR says these ADMITTTEDLY EXCELLENT trees are being destroyed to move the parking lot from the rear to fit the moving of the parking lot’s driveway to speed up traffic on Memorial Drive coming from the Mass. Pike over the Inner Belt being set up, among other frauds, as a bike highway.
And a bunch of City Councilors led a rally for themselves on City Hall steps calling them environmental saints before they went inside and voted for this outrage.
8. Red Line Planning.
The Final Report of the essentially secret committee on Kendall Square Mobility included great concern for Red Line planning. Attached hereto is a plan I provided to the MassDOT committee on the Mass. Pike / Harvard Medical School rearrangement. This idea certainly work a lot better if allowed for in the Mass. Pike work. It suggests a major movement of traffic off the Park Street - Harvard portion of the Red Line, clearly the most heavily traveled portion. This idea would create a Green Line A spur running from the Commonwealth Avenue / BU Bridge Intersection to Harvard Square through the Mass. Pike / Harvard Medical School area.
This alternate route would be highly attractive to passengers from the Back Bay, including Commuter Rail passengers who could transfer to the Green Line at the Kenmore / Yawkey superstation in the Kenmore Crossing alternative of the Urban Ring subway proposal. I realize that, last time my notes indicate, in 2012, the Development Department was still claiming that this alternative does not exist, but the legislature did spend a lot of money rebuilding Yawkey Station in place, rather than moving it as would be required by the alternative which the Development Department repeatedly stated did not exist starting with its adoption as an alternative by the MBTA in 1991.
And, once again, here are the MBTA plans for the responsible crossing of the Charles River as an alternate Urban Ring Charles River crossing. This Kenmore Crossing alternative is now the much more likely alternative to the BU Bridge crossing which the Development Department called the ONLY anticipated subway crossing, at minimum from 1991 to 2012.
That claim is equivalent to saying the Volpe Center discussions only referred to Kendall Square.
The previous City Manager, in his comments on the South Station expansion, reasserted Cambridge’s interest in the Urban Ring subway, although that City Manager, once again POSSIBLY was only told about the Development Department favored and highly irresponsible crossing.
9. Summary.
Development Department documents misled the City Council AND THE PUBLIC, to be much kinder than the actions deserve. The Development Department gave the usual misinformation on what was going on in the Kendall Square discussions, and related, but secret matters.
And, as I recall, the same people are claiming that the construction south of Memorial Drive will be meaningful bike paths.
Sincerely,
Robert J. La Trémouille,
Individually, and as Chair,
Friends of the White Geese
Enclosure: Proposal for Green Line A connector from BU Bridge / Commonwealth Avenue to Mass. Pike. exit to Cambridge / Allston / Harvard Medical School to Harvard Square. A proposal to move Red Line traffic currently traveling Park to Harvard to this route.
[Separate Page, legal, landscape, in letter]
