Ron Newman
Senior Member
- Joined
- May 30, 2006
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He said a draw bridge, which would not interfere with ship traffic.
...without Massport there wouldn't be any reason at all to go to East Boston --- its essentially a company town for Logan
He said a draw bridge, which would not interfere with ship traffic.
I see no reason why this couldn't be done except the cost but there would definitely be economic benefits as residents of East Boston could much more easily come downtown and going downtown generally means spending money. it would also improve the livability of East Boston because right now if you don't have a car or money for the T you can't really get down town unless you want to walk all the way to somerville and back. It is about 500 ft from downtown but extremely inaccessible.
East Boston will have its day in the sun, but I don't think it will ever justify the expense. Like if we build it, will hundreds of thousands of people be walking home to eastie from work and bars across the harbor, or will they still just hop on the one stop blue line ride?
A free 15 minute walk vs. a $2 10 minute T ride twice a day... might ease congestion on the blue line during rush hour. I'm not sure how busy the blue line gets but if it's anything like the Orange, Red or Green lines at peak hours it might be a nice alternative
I think a pedestrian/bike connection to Eastie warrants that. Similar projects have been built in many cities.
Have any been built where there was parrallel rapid transit service? It's a serious question (my knowledge of recent bike/ped bridges is limited).
I know so many people who are living in watertown, malden, etc who said they strongly considered eastie, but didn't because of the accessability. The housing stock is great, so is the food, view, and distance from downtown. But not being able to walk or bike makes it a non-starter
Its great that some of you guys are living over there and dealing with the situation as it exists now, but I don't think you have any idea how many more people want to live in eastie, but don't because of the lack of a direct pedestrian connection to downtown. I'm one of them. I know so many people who are living in watertown, malden, etc who said they strongly considered eastie, but didn't because of the accessability. The housing stock is great, so is the food, view, and distance from downtown. But not being able to walk or bike makes it a non-starter