City councilors: Silver Line tunnel under the Common is a stupid idea
On Switchback, Bill picks up on something in that recently released proposal for improving Boston Common: That city councilors Mike Ross, Bill Linehan and Sal LaMattina really wish the MBTA would stop with all this nonsense about putting a Silver Line tunnel under the park. They write:
The Silverline project will rip up the entire stretch of the Common along Charles Street for up to 10 years, for the staging area for heavy equipment. It will snarl traffic as they close a lane for the construction of a new tunnel, and it will make an entire stretch of the Common nearly unusable during that time. All of this will be done for the purpose of putting in bus transit that is unnecessary, when tunnels already exist for light rail, and when it is nearly universally agreed that the bus system as set up does not work, and is not nearly as effective or efficient as light rail.
The Silverline Project is a mistake. The plans in place will disturb sacred grounds, such as the historic graveyard. Unused light rail tunnels already exist below ground, and the MBTA, with its multimillion dollar deficit, should be looking at ways it can build a system around what is there, and ensuring that we have opportunities to become a greener, more efficient city while not tearing up our precious parks system during the construction.
Ed. note: The T has a multi-billion dollar deficit.
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Wow
It is nice to hear what we all know is true published by a government officials(albeit relatively powerless ones)
If they have unused light
If they have unused light rail tunnels it would make sense to use those, why are we putting buses underground?
Because the federal government
provides funding for bus projects, not light rail.
Wrong, wrong, wrong!!!!
One of the reasons this project has been nicknamed the "Silver Lie" is because, from Day One, MBTA management has perpetuated the myth that the federal government does not fund light rail projects.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Federal funding for light rail is alive and well.
Hey
That is the "reason" I didn't say it was true.
Because one mile of light
Because one mile of light rail tunnel can not substitute for a 10 mile bus system. Go ahead, try and put rail in washington street or the harbor tunnel.
Why would it be hard to put rail on Washington Street?
There are plenty of parallel streets that car traffic can be diverted to - Albany, Harrison, Shawmut.
That's a good question, ShadyMilkMan.
Especially given the problems they've had on the Big Dig, with leakage and a piece of ceiling that collapsed and killed a JP woman.
Who do I complain to?
On the off chance that someone is listening, who, other than the mayor, do these decisions come down to?
Menino can be emailed here.
The Magic Bus
The Silver Line is an insult to the inner city that just wont go away. When are they going to drop the gimmick and admit its just another damn bus route. How it was supposed to make up for the old Orange Line is beyond me, other than some shiny stations out by the Seaport its a joke.
Real transit for a real city
If this burg were a real city, we would have real transit planners working on real transit projects. The T's bright bulbs apparently have the capacity for only one major urban transit project every 20 years. Heaven and earth are being moved to extend the Green Line to Medford along existing rail rights of way, which will be the only big project since 1988, not counting the restoration of the 160-year-old Old Colony commuter rail service which they all but destroyed in 1959.
The T should be pushing only for the best system, not for wasting scarce funds on nonsense like the Silver "Line." They could use existing tunnels to extend the Green Line down Tremont and rise to the surface along Washington Street -- and from there via Dudley Square and Blue Hill Avenue all the way to Mattapan.
Serve the Airport? You bet -- take the Blue Line; it's fast and direct. Serve the new seaport district? Use existing tunnel space between Arlington and Boylston for a downramp to take Green Line trains down Essex Street to South Station and then via the Silver Line tunnels to the "World" Trade Center with an easy bus transfer to the Airport.
And speaking of airports, why isn't Massport pushing to develop Worcester Regional as a second area airport? They'd only have to run a spur track a couple of miles off the Worcester commuter rail line and have direct service to the terminal.