On Brookline

BIG DIG REDUX?
By: Archie Mazmanian

Brookline residents who commute by car via the Commonwealth Avenue/BU Bridge area (including University Road) to access downtown Boston (Storrow Drive), Cambridge and the Massachusetts Turnpike Extension (BU Bridge, Memorial Drive) are well aware of its traffic conditions, usually at level of service “F”, beyond which gridlock, or close to it.

The Executive Office of Transportation (“EOT”) is scheduled to present by Power Point to our Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, March 27th, 5:30 PM, an update on the Urban Ring Phase 2 project (“Project”), which will seriously impact the Commonwealth Avenue/BU Bridge area. It is not clear whether cable will adequately pick up the Power Point color slides.

While there may be problems at several points along the Project’s proposed route, I shall focus upon how the route will cross the Charles River and impact the Commonwealth Avenue/BU Bridge area. EOT recognizes that this crossing is a major problem to be resolved. Consideration has been given to: tunneling under the Charles River to access the route as it passes through Brookline (Mountfort Street), Park Drive and the Longwood Medical Area (“LMA”), perhaps with continued tunneling; widening the BU Bridge; building a “dedicated” bridge for the Project either downstream or upstream of the BU Bridge; utilizing the Grand Junction Rail line that runs obliquely under the BU Bridge, over Storrow Drive, to rail yards in Allston.

The Project will utilize Bus Rapid Transit (“BRT”), a system that includes 60-foot long articulating buses. BRT can work well if the buses are provided dedicated busways with a minimum of mixed traffic; the system would permit these buses to override traffic signals to better control trip time. Unfortunately it will be difficult for the Project to provide sufficient dedicated busways for BRT surface routes. The LMA is seeking extensive tunneling to service its portion of the BRT route. (I assume that most visitors to this Blog are well aware of traffic and parking issues in the LMA.) But tunnels are expensive. An EOT representative stated recently that the approximately one-mile tunnel portion of the Silver Line had a cost of about $1 billion.

(By the way, the Silver Line utilizes these 60-foot articulating buses. While the tunnel portion works well, the surface portions primarily on Washington Street (Roxbury, South End, Boston) have mostly mixed traffic, thus providing less than rapid transit for its riders. A drive on Washington Street should demonstrate the problems with BRT in mixed traffic.)

Thus, a major problem for the Project in the Commonwealth Avenue/BU Bridge area and the LME portions of the BRT route is how to avoid or deal with mixed traffic. Unfortunately, the surface routes were not laid out in grid form with sufficient widths to provide dedicated busways. Much of the surface routes consist of narrow, winding streets bearing heavy traffic and parking issues that are not limited to commuting hours.

These problems also impact Brookline residents who commute to work via the “B”, “C” and “D” Green Lines. These radial lines are presently close to capacity and over time will have even more problems accommodating the anticipated increase in ridership. In fact, one of the key goals of the Project is to lessen ridership on the radial lines (Green, Red, Orange, Blue Lines) with the BRT routes, so that certain riders who presently take a radial line into the hub and then take another radial line out to their destinations, may do so directly via a BRT route, thereby saving such riders time. But to save such riders time, it is necessary that BRT trips be frequent and on schedule; with mixed traffic this may be a problem, in which case such riders may revert to radial lines.

This Project is long range. It will require extensive funding. But Federal funding has become limited and very competitive. Contrast this with the very generous funding of the Big Dig.

Consider construction issues and the impact upon traffic. While mitigation procedures would be utilized, just imagine the inconvenience to motorists in the Commonwealth Avenue/BU Bridge area. A representative of the Project at a recent presentation referenced a “portal” on the Boston/Brookline side of the BU Bridge. I asked how this “portal” would be defined as my dictionary search had not been helpful. The answer was “a transition from surface to underground” such as at St. Mary’s and Beacon Streets for the “C” line and at Blandford and Commonwealth Avenue for the “B” line. No details were provided regarding the location of such a portal. Those familiar with the area are aware that the Massachusetts Turnpike Extension and rail lines run obliquely under Commonwealth Avenue at the BU Bridge.

So where might this portal be located? Mounfort and Essex Streets (in Brookline) do not compare in width to either Beacon Street or Commonwealth Avenue at their portals. Would the BRT route be tunneled under Mountfort Street, to Park Drive, to the LMA and beyond? That might rival the Big Dig. And how might current vehicular traffic be impacted by such a portal?

There is much more to say about the Project but space is limited. While the 60-foot buses are articulating, the Project has not been well articulated to the public. This is why citizen participation is important. Brookline residents must take an interest in the Project to understand how they may be impacted by it. Other communities, in particular Cambridge, have voiced concerns with the Project as it impacts them.

So, I urge you to go to the BOS meeting on March 27th for the EOT Power Point presentation; or watch on cable. I don’t think questions or comments from the public will be permitted, as less than 30 minutes have been allotted. But those interested or concerned may attend an EOT public meeting scheduled for Monday, April 9th, 6:30 PM (which I plan to attend), at the Boston Arts Academy in the Fenway, at which the public may comment.

By the way, I am very much in favor of the Urban Ring’s Phase 3, which would involve light or heavy rail with distinct exchange connections at radial lines, with no mixed traffic. I have repeatedly urged skipping Phase 2 and going directly to Phase 3.

To get more information on the Project, visit its website at: www.theurbanring.com

Stay tuned, as I may provide comments on this post with additional information. And participate.