Boston 2024

On Thursday, January 10, 2013, the MA State Senate file a Resolve to establish a commission to study the feasibility of hosting the Summer Olympics.
I feel like this would have made it to the Globe or the Herald. Or did I miss something? Either that or "filing a resolve" is just one guy filing something into the record. Sorry, I'm not 100% up on my Mass Senate parliamentary rules.
 
^ I don't know. You have a lot of college facilities, with BC, BU, and Harvard to through the low key sports in. No need to build dedicated everything. For the opening ceremonies, if they are thinking about it now, you can coordinate with things like a potential Revolution Soccer stadium. London's stadium was designed to be downsized after. A soccer stadium built with the ability to expand capacity later is not a crazy proposition.

Pick your vacant lot in nearby cities and towns to host an Olympic village, that latter becomes thousands of residences, which is just what this city needs.

You want to build high in downtown and back bay and need more hotels in the city as is. Seaport as well.

Not to mention, few people will rent cars for the two weeks. Great way to make the state and people prioritize major investments in transit. New signals for efficient and reliable service with short headways. Blue line extension in both directions- charles-lynn. Orange line extensions, both ways. Green Line Revamp. Replace the silver line with a train!

I think Boston and Massachusetts need to make a lot of these necessary investments, regardless. I think the Olympics provides a great way for people to come together and make them with a focus on timing and budget. Boston has a lot of the necessary facilities and a decent lay out for it. While it would be difficult, I don't think it is entirely out of the question.
 
An Olympics in Boston thread?

I don't have to wait 'til tomorrow then to start my drinking games!
 
For Boston or Philly to get the Oylmpics the following needs to happen Transportation wise....otherwise there will be headaches...

Boston
Electrifying and Upgrade the South Station Division for the sake of faster and higher capacity Rail , you could have some of the games in Quincy
Extend Blue Line to Lynn , which could host the Aquatics events
Extend the Blue line to Charles/MGH for Capacity upgrades
Extend the Green Line up to Somerville , put some of Soccer events and a new Soccer stadium up there maybe Boston could host the World cup or Pan America games
Build the New NEC to NYC , reduce times to 96mins....that will increase the chances of getting the games
Improve bus service along heavily used corridors

Philly
Extend the Board Street Subway to Naval Yard where the games could be held
Expand and Restore Regional Rail to Reading , Allentown , West Chester , Newtown , New Hope and Coatesville this will less the Interstate traffic problems during and after the games in general
Build the Roosevelt Boulevard Subway , this will relieve Congestion along US 1 which would be hellish if the games were hosted in Philly
Restore Trolley routes , 23 , 56 , 6 , Waterfront , 60 , 103 and a few City Branch this would reduce the strain on the most crowded bus routes which if the games were held would all but grind to a halt
Upgrade the NEC between Philly and NYC reduces travel times to 35mins which would make Phily very attractive...
 
Reasons for grave doubt:
Many amateur-grade politicians and a government with a looooong history of corruption
Greedy, greedy unions
NIMBYs coming out of the woodwork like a plague of locusts

Overly pessimistic? Sadly yes but with good cause. Exhibit A: Big Dig. Has there ever been a more mismanaged public works project in US history?
 
If someone other than Menino is in City Hall, I could see a smart, popular politician leveraging this to get some legitimate upgrades to the city's/region's infrastructure.
 
... Big Dig. Has there ever been a more mismanaged public works project in US history?

Is this anecdotal "fact," or actual truth? Panama Canal and Hoover Canal.....er Dam are two that come to mind.


Edit for mistake.
 
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As in the Boston 2020 thread. The Olympics is attractive to me for the one hope that few other things is a more driving motivation and a stronger excuse to push past NIMBYs then saying "we are hosting the Olympics and we don't have time for this unless we all want to look like fools to the entire world"

Also, taking an optimist view, we have one unique advantage that we can argue to ourselves that other cities do no have - our density level of universities. This means space to host events and theoretical entities that could possibly love all the new athletic facilities and dormitories and actually make use afterwards.


Unlike last time, the stuff we talk about here that is at the point of being pipe-dreams now have a slight glimmer of hope without taking on an Olympics to spur. Maybe Governor Patrick's idea of raising income tax in the name of transportation really mean proper funding and thus a truly function infrastructure system and new expansion for both needed roads and transit. Thus making Olympics moot besides the glamor of hosting it.

Of course, both hopes requires a lot of maybes. Like following Patrick's idea, we are assuming the money is enough and actually go that way (and I still can't figure out why can't we divert current funds if it is only 2 billion when we have other items like Masshealth are at a projected 17 billion - sounds like 2 billion is a lot of bang for the buck to me). Or the Olympics, assuming it goes as visions and the schools really would play that role.
 
For Boston or Philly to get the Oylmpics the following needs to happen Transportation wise....otherwise there will be headaches...

Boston
Electrifying and Upgrade the South Station Division for the sake of faster and higher capacity Rail , you could have some of the games in Quincy
Extend Blue Line to Lynn , which could host the Aquatics events
Extend the Blue line to Charles/MGH for Capacity upgrades
Extend the Green Line up to Somerville , put some of Soccer events and a new Soccer stadium up there maybe Boston could host the World cup or Pan America games
Build the New NEC to NYC , reduce times to 96mins....that will increase the chances of getting the games
Improve bus service along heavily used corridors

Philly
Extend the Board Street Subway to Naval Yard where the games could be held
Expand and Restore Regional Rail to Reading , Allentown , West Chester , Newtown , New Hope and Coatesville this will less the Interstate traffic problems during and after the games in general
Build the Roosevelt Boulevard Subway , this will relieve Congestion along US 1 which would be hellish if the games were hosted in Philly
Restore Trolley routes , 23 , 56 , 6 , Waterfront , 60 , 103 and a few City Branch this would reduce the strain on the most crowded bus routes which if the games were held would all but grind to a halt
Upgrade the NEC between Philly and NYC reduces travel times to 35mins which would make Phily very attractive...

What would need to be done transportation wise for New York to get the Olympics?
 
What would need to be done transportation wise for New York to get the Olympics?

New York has very little room to spare , so you would host the games in NJ which has plently of room in the brownfields surrounding the cities.... Newark has about a Sq mile of land that is undeveloped just needs a cleaning.... Since the Meadowlands are clean , you can host the water based sports along the Hackensack River and once the Passaic River is cleaned which will be finished by 2020 you can host some things there. Most of the events would be held in Newark with some held in the Meadowlands and some held in Jersey City.... A Subway Extension over to NYC is overkill....and not needed for a long time as opposed to the Regional Rail Expansions.

Transportation needs for NJ

Expand : Full Build out of the Hudson Bergen Light Rail , Northern Branch and Hackensack-Paterson Branch this would relieve the overcrowded bus network in NJ which would collapse during the games....

Hudson Bergen Light Rail
Nyack
South Nyack
Piermont
Sparkill
Northvale
Norwood
Closter
Demarest
Creeskill
Tenafly North
Tenafly Town Center
Englewood Hospital
Englewood Town Center
Englewood Route 4
Leonia
Palisades Park
Ridgefield
91st Street

Tonnelle Ave
Bergenline Ave (Underground)
Port Imperial
Lincoln Harbor
North Hoboken
9th/Congress
2nd Street
Grove & 18th Street (Elevated)
Hoboken Terminal
Pavonia-Newport
Harsimus Cove
Harborside Financial Center
Exchange Place
Essex Street
Marin Boulevard
Jersey Ave
Liberty State Park
Branch > Garfield Ave , Martin Lurther King Boulevard , West Side Ave , Bayfront (Elevated)
Canal Crossing
Richard Street
Danforth Ave
45th Street
34th Street
22nd Street
8th Street


Hudson-Bergen-Passaic- Light Rail
Hawthorne Transit Center - Connections to Main line and Proposed Northwest Link
6th Avenue
Lafayette Street
Madison Avenue
20th Avenue
Vreeland Avenue
Elmwood Park
Saddle Brook JCT
Rochelle Park
Maywood
American Legion Drive
State Street
Bogota
Ridgefield Park
Vince Lombardi Park & Ride

Tonnelle Ave
Bergenline Ave
Port Imperial
Lincoln Harbor
North Hoboken
9th/Congress
2nd Street
Grove & 18th Street (Elevated)
Hoboken Terminal


Expand : Full build out of the Newark LRT Network , Newark-Elizabeth & Newark-Paterson LRT lines , Springfield Ave BRT or LRT Subway , Newark-Rutherford Streetcar , and West Orange LRT , these lines would service various event sites like the main stadiums in and around Newark along with relieving the overcrowded bus network

Newark Light Rail
Main line
Newark Penn station (Underground)
Military Park (Underground)
Washington Street (Underground)
Warren Street (Undeground)
Norfolk Street
Orange Street
Park Ave
Bloomfield Ave
Davenport Ave
Branch Brook Park
Silver Lake
Grove Street
Wateseeing Ave - Connections to Montclair-Boonton line
Prospect Street
Glenwood Ave
Brighton Ave
Thomas Boulevard
High Street
Thomas Edison Historic Site / Lakeside Ave
Park Ave


Springfield Ave LRT
Newark Penn Station (Underground) - Newark
Military Park (Underground) - Newark
Washington Street (Underground) - Newark
South Orange Ave (underground) - Newark
18th Ave (Underground) - Irvington
Clinton Ave (Underground) - Irvington
Chancellor Ave (Underground) - Maplewood
Prospect Street (Underground) - Maplewood
Laurel Ave (Underground) - Maplewood
Vauxhall (Underground)


Passaic - Essex LRT (Paterson Link)
Paterson Great Falls National Park - Paterson
Factory Village - Paterson
Enters Tunnel
Main Street (Underground) - Paterson
Memorial Dr (Underground)- Paterson
21st Ave (Underground) - Paterson
St. Joesph's Hospital (Underground) - Paterson
Emerges from Tunnel
Pacific Street - Paterson
US 46 Park & Ridge - Clifton
Clifton Ave - Clifton
Mount Proposect Ave - Clifton
Bloomfield Ave - Clifton
Allwood Road - Clifton
Chemical Works - Nutley
Franklin Ave - Nutley
Passaic Ave - Nutley
Washington Ave - Nutley
Little Street - Belleview
Joralemon Street - Belleview
Rutgers Street - Belleview
Mill Street - Belleview
North Boardway Transit Center - Newark
Grafton Ave - Newark
Chester Ave East - Newark
4th Ave - Newark
Clark Street - Newark

Broad Street - Newark
Washington Park - Newark
Centre Street - Newark
Newark Penn Station (Underground)


Upgrade : The Northeast Corridor from Trenton to New York , providing Reliable High Speed , Regional &Intercity Services at speeds up to 220mph , Regional every 5-10mins....

Northeast Corridor
Trenton
Hamilton
Princeton JCT
Jersey Ave (Southbound only) * Northbound platform added , grade seperation to allow for trains to enter the Jersey Ave Yard without conflict
New Brunswick
Edison
Metuchen *Curves Straighten to allow for 220mph trains
Metropark
Rahway
Linden
Midtown Elizabeth *Curves Straighten to allow for 220mph trains , along with Viaduct replaced and Station turned into a Transit hub
North Elizabeth
Newark Airport Station * Expanded into a Muti-Modal Transit hub as called for in the orignal plans
Newark Penn station * Aside from Renovations underway to the Roof , Walls , Platforms, and Electronics not much is needed aside from a new wing South of Market in a Storage area under the platforms.
Secaucus JCT
New York Penn * A New Wing is needed for NJT , but this is addressed with the Gateway service


Build/Upgrade : Gateway Network , 2 New Tunnels into NYC , 3 New Bridges / Flyovers in New Jersey.....and New Station in NYC to provide faster and more reliable service.

Extend : The PATH Newark line to EWR providing a direct connection to Newark where most of the events would be held

Newark Line
World Trade Center
Exchange Place
Grove Street
Journal SQ
Harrison
Newark Penn Station
South Street
Newark JCT (NEC Airport Station)
Terminal C
Terminal A


If the games were hosted in Central Jersey around New Brunswick area , which is possible due to the numerous Rutgers Stadiums / Event halls which could hold the various games and the Raritan River which could the Aquatic events the following Transit projects would need to go through in order to keep Central Jersey from going on Melt Down....Traffic and Transit wise...

Build : New Brunswick LRT to connect the various Event sites to the Core and transit connections...

New Brunswick Light Rail
Bound Brook Train Station - Connections to the Western Jersey Network
Canal Road - South Bound Brook
Edgewood Terrace - South Bound Brook
Worlds Fair Dr - Franklin
JFK Boulevard - Franklin
Enters tunnel
Franklin Boulevard (underground) - Franklin
Hamilton Street (Underground) - New Brunswick
New Brunswick Station (Underground) - New Brunswick - Connections to the NEC
Livingston Ave (Underground) - New Brunswick
Commercial & George (Underground) - New Brunswick
Feaster Park (Underground) - New Brunswick
Howard Street (Underground) - New Brunswick
Emerges from Tunnel
US 1 Park & Ride - North Brunswick
Washington Ave - Milltown
Rydners Lane - Milltown
Main Street - East Brunswick
Willet Ave - South River
Whitehead Ave - South River
Jernee Mill Road - Sayreville
South Minnisink Ave - Sayreville
Washington Road - Sayreville
Sayreville North
Stevens Ave North - South Amboy
Main Street Amboy
South Amboy Train Station - Connections to North Jersey Coast line


Build : The MOM Network is badly needed now due to the increasing jams on Central Jerseys highway and road network and buses that are bursting at the seems.... I can't Imagine would kind of jams the Olympics would bring...

Forked River-Red Bank line - Electrified - 25 kV ,60 Hz AC
Forked River
Tom's River
Silver Ridge
Manchester / Lakehurst
Jackson
Lakewood
Howell - Glen Road
Howell - Route 33
Eatontown

Red Bank
Middletown
Hazlet
Aberdeen-Matawan
Laurence Harbor
South Amboy
Perth Amboy
Woodbridge
Avenel
Rahway
Linden
Midtown Elizabeth - Connections to Proposed Elizabeth LRT
North Elizabeth
Newark Airport
Newark Penn
Hoboken

Jamesburg Branch - Electrfied - 25 kV, 60 Hz AC
Manchester / Lakehurst
Jackson
Lakewood
Howell - Glen Road
Freehold
Freehold Boro - Throckmorton Street
Manalapan
Jamesburg
South Brunswick

New Flyovers added to allow for safe movements
Jersey Ave (Southbound only)
New Brunswick - Connections to Proposed New Brunswick LRT
Edison
Metchun
Metropark
Rahway
Linden
Midtown Elizabeth - Connections to Proposed Elizabeth LRT
North Elizabeth
Newark Airport
Newark Penn station
Secaucus JCT
New York Penn


South Amboy Branch - Electrfied - 25 kV ,60 Hz AC
Bordentown
Robbinsville
East Windsor
East Windsor-Route 133 Park & Ride
Helmetta
Spotswood
Route 18 Park & Ride
Madison Park
South Amboy West

Perth Amboy
Woodbridge
Avenel
Rahway
Linden
Midtown Elizabeth - Connections to Proposed Elizabeth LRT
North Elizabeth
Newark Airport
Newark Penn
Hoboken


Highland Branch - Electrfied - 25 kV ,60 Hz AC
Atlantic Highlands
Port Monmouth
Keansburg
Keyport

Aberdeen
Laurence Harbor
South Amboy - Connections to Proposed New Brunswick LRT
Perth Amboy
Woodbridge
Avenal
Rahway
Linden
Midtown Elizabeth - Connections to Proposed Elizabeth LRT
North Elizabeth
Newark Airport
Newark Penn Station
Secaucus JCT
Newark Penn Station


Expand : The Raritan Valley line into PA , this would relieve an already overcrowded I-78 and overloaded bus system , the roads the connect from 78 to New Brunswick are mostly small and would be severly jammed if the games were held in New Brunswick these projects were done.

Raritan Valley Line
Allentown
Bethlehem
Easton
Phillipsburg
Bloomsbury
Ludlow
Hampton
Glen Gardner

High Bridge
Annandale
Lebanon
White House
North Branch
Raritan
Somerville
Bridgewater
Bound Brook - Connections to Proposed New Brunswick LRT
Dunellen
Plainfield
Netherwood
Fanwood
Westfield
Garwood
Cranford
Roselle Park
Union
Hillside
Weehqauhic
- Newark
Newark Penn station
Hoboken (Peak Hours only)


Montclair - Boonton line
Bethlehem
Easton
Phillipsburg
Washington

Hackettstown
Mount Olive
Netcong
Lake Hopatcong
Mount Arlington
Dover
Denville
Mountain Lakes
Boonton
Towaco
Lincoln Park
Mountain View-Wayne
Wayne-Route 23
Little Falls
Montclair State University - Little Falls
Montclair Heights - Montclair
Mountain Avenue - Montclair
Upper Montclair - Montclair
Watchung Avenue - Montclair
Walnut Street - Montclair
Bay Street - Montclair
Glen Ridge
Bloomfield
Watsessing Avenue * Upgraded into a full Muti-Modal Station connecting to Newark LRT
Ampere
Newark-Broad St
Harrison
Hoboken


Build : The West Trenton which would relive the overcrowded NEC and US 1 which would most likely need all the help they could get , on bad travel days they already do...

West Trenton line
West Trenton Transit Center - Connections to SEPTA & Proposed LRT Services
I-95 Park / Ride
Pennington
Hopewell
Belle Mead
Hillsborough

Bridgewater
Bound Brook - Connections to Proposed New Brunswick LRT
Dunellen
Plainfield
Netherwood
Fanwood
Westfield
Garwood
Cranford
Roselle Park
Union
Hillside
Weeqauhic - Newark

Newark Penn station
Hoboken
 
If the IOC were to pick the United States, it would be a travesty, yes TRAVESTY, if the games were not in NYC or Chicago.
 

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