The obvious alternative to more totally wasteful environmental destruction in the Longfellow Bridge project.
1. Report.
2. Links.
3. Contacts, Miscellaneous.
1. Report.
Sent to the Governor and his project manager [contact information below] on late in the afternoon of July 7, 2013 concerning the Longfellow Bridge project over the Charles River, Cambridge, MA 02139.
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The obvious alternative to more totally wasteful environmental destruction in the Longfellow Bridge project.
All you need to do is to connect to the sewer system, either DCR or Cambridge to take the drainage off the bridge.
I have been reading (and publishing) your lovely excuses for the destruction of the excellent grove of trees on the on ramp from Memorial Drive to Longfellow Bridge heading to Boston.
You seem to consider this engineer’s play thing you are creating to be some sort of item of irreplaceable value.
It is not. All the tear jerking does not change this very simple fact.
All you need to do is to connect to the sewer system, either DCR or Cambridge to take the drainage off the bridge.
In the meantime, you have moved one tree and announced impending destruction of the rest of this excellent grove on Monday, July 8, 2013, to be followed by some sort of after the fact public meeting on July 10, 2013, your first public meeting on the Longfellow Bridge project in Cambridge, where your totally unnecessary destruction is taking place.
Irresponsible, inexcuseable.
2. Links.
A few links:
Discussion with the key manager: http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/07/more-details-on-protection-provided-by.html.
Our most recent destruction report, with photo and links to prior destruction: http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/kendall-longfellow-cambridge-ma-usa.html.
An earlier accumulation of photos: http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/longfellow-kendall-destruction.html.
Destruction of the grove on top of the red line: http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/first-kendall-square-destruction.html.
3. Contacts, Miscellaneous.
If you feel like doing something meaningful, please do the following as rapidly as possible. Destruction resumes Monday, July 8.
Massachusetts Governor’s Office email form: http://www.mass.gov/governor/constituentservices/contact/.
State environmental people, DES Hotline: ESF.Hotline@state.ma.us.
MassDOT Accelerated Bridges Program: 857-368-8904 or Stephanie.Boundy@state.ma.us
All Massachusetts Legislators’ emails: http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/emails-for-all-massachusetts.html.
Cambridge, MA, USA city councilors: Council@cambridgema.gov.
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For people listening to Boston Sierra Club endorsements of environmentally destructive members of the Cambridge City Council, you should be aware that
(1) using the world’s definition of “environmentalism,” there are no environmentally responsible members of the Cambridge City Council, and
(2) there are Cambridge Machine activists very visible and apparently very active in the Boston Sierra Club.
If you are talking to a person associated with the Boston Sierra Club, do a credibility check. Ask if they are familiar with the “Urban Ring” rapid transit proposal. This is a subway proposal designed to link the existing subway spokes. I have been working on it since 1985. Cambridge raised the project in a comment to an environmental Impact Statement in the last month or so.
If the Boston Sierra Club “expert” answers “yes,” that he / she is familiar with the Urban Ring rapid transit proposal, ask how many rail options there are. If the answer is “one,” you are getting the flat out lie put out by the City of Cambridge.
Cambridge’s flat out lie is that, of the TWO rail options, the only one that exists is the environmentally destructive streetcar option which the City of Cambridge supports. This option would be highly destructive to the environment near the Destroyed Nesting Area of the Charles River White Geese.
The reality is that THE STATE LEGISLATURE HAS SUBSIDIZED THE OTHER OPTION, the responsible Orange Line / heavy rail option, the Kenmore crossing. The state legislature has subsidized the expansion of Yawkey Station as part of the massive Fenway Park area project which has gotten recent press.
Cambridge’s nonsensical proposal would move Yawkey Station three blocks. The Cambridge proposal would not work without moving Yawkey Station. The Kenmore Crossing uses the now subsidized and being expanded Yawkey Station as part of a brilliant megastation.
You should immediately respond to such nonsense from a Sierra Club “expert” by having nothing more to do with this person. Whether the person is stupid or venal is irrelevant, the person has no credibility and is not worthy of your time.
It is frequently difficult to pin these irresponsible people down in general. The deviant behavior in my test is extreme. They are pious in their demands that, if you are politically correct and pro environment, you have to rubber stamp them. Please do not waste your time arguing about destruction they can wiggle around.
Turn your back on them and walk away fast.
