Assembly Sq <-> Casino Footbridge

The renders provided so far give a REALLY incomplete view... especially of the landing on the other side.
First, I do not want to see any state funds going to this if it drops in first on the casino primarily. It's fleecing the taxpayer twice.
Second, the existing design appears to have hikers and bikers crossing back over the rail to get to the trail. Not cool, not smart.
Third. If the casino only ponied up for direct access to the Gateway Center they would be closer to their actual prey customer base of regular people instead of acting out an opulent charade. It's a mid-rent clip joint. Period.
Fourth. Their plan now clockblocks future expansion.

That said, and acting as though I'm NOT trying to obfuscate the public to gain consensus, I found a wider angled counter-approach from the esteemed public-focused Fototfudge Engineering;). Strangely, factored in for 'Futuring'.
Enjoy.
SmarterBridge.jpg
 
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I was going to say that at first glance the main users of the current design will be Encore customers and employees. Maybe someday the shopping center will be redeveloped.
 
No canopy, windbreak only on one side, and no overhead lighting. Useless in snow and uncomfortable in rain, outright dangerous when it's windy, and scary at night. Well, it'll be nice on a calm summer day.
 
jklo said:
I was going to say that at first glance the main users of the current design will be Encore customers and employees. Maybe someday the shopping center will be redeveloped.
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So clearly none of you have actually taken the trail...

The Encore side ALREADY goes under the rail bridge to the gateway center, and a new bridge would connect to the existing path. There is the under-construction path connecting the Northern Strand on the West side of the alignment along gateway property.

The primary users? Everett residents getting to jobs at either Assembly or the Orange, or jobs in Everett that may be at Encore (heaven forbid!)

Really unsure what all the hate for this is. It's a pedestrian bridge making Everett a nicer place to live, that both Somerville and Everett want, and connects LOTs of different communities.
 
Vagabond said:
So clearly none of you have actually taken the trail...

The Encore side ALREADY goes under the rail bridge to the gateway center, and a new bridge would connect to the existing path. There is the under-construction path connecting the Northern Strand on the West side of the alignment along gateway property.

The primary users? Everett residents getting to jobs at either Assembly or the Orange, or jobs in Everett that may be at Encore (heaven forbid!)

Really unsure what all the hate for this is. It's a pedestrian bridge making Everett a nicer place to live, that both Somerville and Everett want, and connects LOTs of different communities.
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Please dont confuse opposition for "hate". It is a waste of money. Everett residents can get to either Wellington or Sullican right now
 
Tallguy said:
Please dont confuse opposition for "hate". It is a waste of money. Everett residents can get to either Wellington or Sullican right now
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This bridge single handedly connects the Northern Strand trail (Everett/Malden/Revere/Saugus/Lynn) to the Orange Line, Somerville, Boston (via the new trail on the MBTA property). It also links the Northern Strand to the existing Mystic River path system and thus the Minuteman. It's a big regional link for non-motorized transport and not in the slightest a waste of money.
 
Vagabond said:
Really unsure what all the hate for this is. It's a pedestrian bridge making Everett a nicer place to live, that both Somerville and Everett want, and connects LOTs of different communities.
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Speaking only for myself, it's not hate, nor is it opposition to the existence of a bridge. I'm opposed to a bridge that, based on the renderings, appears to complicate (if not destroy) the prospects for ever building an (LRT) Urban Ring. We should not be compromising provisions for future transit expansion, especially not where there are other options on alignments alone to accomplish the goals of this project that don't interfere with the ROW. By all means, I want Everett and Somerville to get the bridge they want, just not in this specific form if the cost is unnecessarily threatening a major transit expansion prospect.
 
Vagabond said:
So clearly none of you have actually taken the trail...

The Encore side ALREADY goes under the rail bridge to the gateway center, and a new bridge would connect to the existing path. There is the under-construction path connecting the Northern Strand on the West side of the alignment along gateway property.

The primary users? Everett residents getting to jobs at either Assembly or the Orange, or jobs in Everett that may be at Encore (heaven forbid!)

Really unsure what all the hate for this is. It's a pedestrian bridge making Everett a nicer place to live, that both Somerville and Everett want, and connects LOTs of different communities.
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Better watch the ad-hoc jabs there, Vagabond. Somebody might think you're hard-hatted shiny suit sycophant angling for a photo op with one of Wynn's cash extracting toadies.
More to the point, I think it is you who has not been on the trail. I was on the NST last weekend from Revere to the end. I saw a lot of high fences, parking lots and the addict's campground under Tileston Street. From there it was a short roll to where it abruptly ends, at the forced error West/Wellington Street 'Intersection' with the trail. I have also walked as much of the area as was legally permitted ...and then some.

I have also tried to approach the NST from the casino side and I can tell you that if they build that idiotic abbatoir ramp where these idiots want to build it, it will get in the way of at least two smart projects that will definitely need to use the ROW (read F-Line's stuff above). As for friendly to pedestrians and bikes, I offer this view of the only access to the property from the event space at the future Marriott Hotel. Encore.
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All that glitters is not gold.

As for the Everett users, I think you are mistaken. Other than maybe 15 blocks of residential on the way to Malden, the remaining Everetticians will be taking a bus at best. The Encore is on the tobacco-filled chimp lip of Everett. (Seriously, the town line is shaped like a chimpanzee's noggin'. Not making it up. Google it.).
 
chmeeee said:
This bridge single handedly connects the Northern Strand trail (Everett/Malden/Revere/Saugus/Lynn) to the Orange Line, Somerville, Boston (via the new trail on the MBTA property). It also links the Northern Strand to the existing Mystic River path system and thus the Minuteman. It's a big regional link for non-motorized transport and not in the slightest a waste of money.
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Nearly a mile to Sweetser Circle where significant pop density starts. $50 mil would nearly build a GLX bridge to Needham over 128, which is the major expense of said project, or a bridge to W Medford for GLX, or 1/5 of the cost of R/B connector. .
All better uses of transit dollars that doesn't preclude future useful transit. The Mystic wind tunnel will freeze anyone foolhardy enough to try half the year.
 
Tallguy said:
The Mystic wind tunnel will freeze anyone foolhardy enough to try half the year.
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I had the same thought. I'd have no problem with Encore paying for a bridge that'd make a nice little walk and provide some better transit access in the warmer months if they wanted to pay for it (as long as it didn't encroach potential transit ROWs) but a bridge that exposed is going to be a windswept ghost town every winter.
 
BeyondRevenue said:
Better watch the ad-hoc jabs there, Vagabond. Somebody might think you're hard-hatted shiny suit sycophant angling for a photo op with one of Wynn's cash extracting toadies.
More to the point, I think it is you who has not been on the trail. I was on the NST last weekend from Revere to the end. I saw a lot of high fences, parking lots and the addict's campground under Tileston Street. From there it was a short roll to where it abruptly ends, at the forced error West/Wellington Street 'Intersection' with the trail. I have also walked as much of the area as was legally permitted ...and then some.

I have also tried to approach the NST from the casino side and I can tell you that if they build that idiotic abbatoir ramp where these idiots want to build it, it will get in the way of at least two smart projects that will definitely need to use the ROW (read F-Line's stuff above). As for friendly to pedestrians and bikes, I offer this view of the only access to the property from the event space at the future Marriott Hotel. Encore.
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Really weird that you'd lie about something so easy to disprove... And I must be shill because I agree with literally every town along the NS, the neighboring towns, the MA governor, the MYWRA and every other stakeholder?

Also - what's up with all the fearmongering about addict's campground and the "poors." Go check out the Minuteman in the winter and tell me people don't bike all year. Your precious ROW isn't even touched - relax a little bit.

"According to Streetsblog.org, an analysis completed in 2018 estimated that the new bridge would attract over 2,000 users every weekday, and even more on the weekends. "

Photo October 22 https://mass.streetsblog.org/2021/10/22/eyes-on-the-trails-more-mystic-river-greenways-in-the-works/
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"

Three improvement initiatives that have been in the planning stages for the past several years will begin construction this year. They include the installation of lighting and security systems, new trail connections and intersection improvements, and a 3/4 mile extension of the trail from West Street to the Mystic River Harborwalk.

The installation of lighting and security cameras and call boxes is anticipated to begin this spring and is funded through the City’s capital budget. Lighting will be installed from the Malden line at approximately Wyllis Ave and extend for the full length of the trail in Everett.

A ¾ mile extension of the Northern Strand Trail from West Street to the Mystic River Harborwalk with construction anticipated to begin in summer of this year. This has been a hard won project that involved negotiations with SITE Centers, owners of the Gateway shopping center, the MBTA, and DCR. The anticipated $3 Million cost of the project will be split approximately 50/50 between SITE Centers and the City of Everett. The City of Everett will be funding its portion through existing Capital Improvement funds and has also applied for a community mitigation grant from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to offset some of those funds."

 
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Tallguy said:
Nearly a mile to Sweetser Circle where significant pop density starts. $50 mil would nearly build a GLX bridge to Needham over 128, which is the major expense of said project, or a bridge to W Medford for GLX, or 1/5 of the cost of R/B connector.
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Good. Build that too.

Tallguy said:
The Mystic wind tunnel will freeze anyone foolhardy enough to try half the year.
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Today I learned that people don't walk to transit in the winter in Boston. Wear a jacket and a hat. Ride the T.

Also, winter is not 1/2 the year.
 
Love the trail. Hate that bridge. Love Everett’s planning and development projects. Hate the shady cash and influence of the casino industry.

I feel like we’re talking past each other. I’m suggesting that we can do a short term bridge over the dam connecting the trail to Assembly while planning what we need for that crossing. We need…
1. A new dam. The AED is not ready for rising sea levels and will likely be overwhelmed in the next few years.
2. A bridge for 2 adaptable lanes of the urban ring
3. A bridge for 2 commuter rail lines
4. A bridge for the Northern Strand Trail
…Which I was on last Saturday at about 2PM… until the pavement ended. Would you like me to post my helmet cam video, slick?

Strange… Vagabond, you do seem awful passionate about the casino. A little tooo passionate. Are you… in trouble? Is someone threatening you? Reach out, man. We’re here for you.
If the Encore wants to endorse a larger project like what I’m explaining — without directing how the government should act — we’re cool.
 
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chmeeee said:
Today I learned that people don't walk to transit in the winter in Boston. Wear a jacket and a hat. Ride the T.

Also, winter is not 1/2 the year.
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Winter proper may not be, but a good five to six months (October-April) have a tendency to be cold, wet, or both, and neither of those things is particularly nice when it comes to walking to transit.

One of my previous commutes involved a long stretch of very windswept walking. It was unpleasant when it was simply chilly, and brutal when it started getting really cold, and the wind made it effectively impossible to use an umbrella whenever the rain was accompanied by any meaningful amount of wind. Anecdotal evidence is what it is, but that was a deeply unpleasant experience that I would have avoided at all costs if it had been feasible. The fact remains that, barring future developments, it's not just the bridge, it's the whole long walk, with the bridge as only the most exposed point, that is barely if at all sheltered from any of the elements. That's fine on a nice day, but will be a turn-off to potential users in the winter. That doesn't mean we shouldn't build it (after all, it's still useful, especially in the warmer months) but it does mean that a touch less dismissiveness towards actual known human behavior and how it impacts project considerations wouldn't go amiss.
 
chmeeee said:
Good. Build that too.



Today I learned that people don't walk to transit in the winter in Boston. Wear a jacket and a hat. Ride the T.

Also, winter is not 1/2 the year.
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With what magical pot of money? And your response is "Cowboy up"? Really? I am SO convinced now!
 
Brattle Loop said:
Speaking only for myself, it's not hate, nor is it opposition to the existence of a bridge. I'm opposed to a bridge that, based on the renderings, appears to complicate (if not destroy) the prospects for ever building an (LRT) Urban Ring. We should not be compromising provisions for future transit expansion, especially not where there are other options on alignments alone to accomplish the goals of this project that don't interfere with the ROW. By all means, I want Everett and Somerville to get the bridge they want, just not in this specific form if the cost is unnecessarily threatening a major transit expansion prospect.
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Definitely a very important point, that should be strongly emphasized during the community feedback phase. But it needs to be emphasized alongside advocacy for a different alignment, because the benefits of this bridge are huge. We need to future proof for LRT, we also need to make sure this bridge, in some form, is built.
 
One thing to note here is that we've only seen promotional renderings, not engineering drawings. There will be opportunities to comment on specific alignment and design decisions over the next half-decade or so until this is built. All Baker did was theoretically commit to paying the full cost with State dollars - neither he nor MassDOT said anything decisive about the design.
 
BeyondRevenue said:
…Which I was on last Saturday at about 2PM… until the pavement ended. Would you like me to post my helmet cam video, slick?
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I can't comment on your direct personal experience, but I have literally ridden that trail many times, and the connection is there. I suspect you were on a different part of the casino grounds, and I totally believe that part is blocked off by a fence and dirt/gravel.
 
HenryAlan said:
I can't comment on your direct personal experience, but I have literally ridden that trail many times, and the connection is there. I suspect you were on a different part of the casino grounds, and I totally believe that part is blocked off by a fence and dirt/gravel.
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Sorry HenryAlan. I was directing my self-defensive bristles at Vagabond. I just want it to be clear that I don't mind the Casino attaching itself to the trail. I just don't want a single use bridge going directly to the casino... and oh yeah... if you want to continue on the bike trail you can do that.
I think if the casino were smart and thinking of the rest of the public and our needs, they'd build a small bridge popping out from the back wall near the Encore's business center in the meeting room area. Easier to go through drywall and stucco than it is to drop pilings in the Mystic. It's cheaper, straighter, smarter and warmer for those cold walkers to boot.
Here's a top down view with the Encore's connection in yellow, the NST in brown and the cheap temporary crossing in green.

Another view.jpg

I'm seriously thinking three 40 foot shipping containers cut in half top and bottom and welded together would be better for the Commonwealth in the short term. Rigid, cheap and solid wind cover for 4 feet vertically!

The problem the future Marriott Encore has with any sensible options for the rest of us: Some of the captive gamblers might escape over the wall and go to Costco for a slice and a coke instead of going to the chi-chi dining options inside the Perimeter of Control. Rubes leaving the de-casherie is bad business.
To anyone else: I can't and won't stop being snarky about casinos. I have seen all the ills that gaming brings first hand and I despise the whole idea of state sanctioned grift. I thought Massachusetts was smarter than that. I despise the something for nothing idea they sell and the underplayed flock of ruined lives they generate. I think I'm being pretty gracious in even acknowledging them at the table here.
 
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