Boston 2024

stellarfun said:
Bay State Congressmen become NIMBY's.
http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_politics/2015/01/pols_oppose_24_olympics_venue_sites
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Lynch will be a NIMBY until the moment that the Food Mart people sell (he assumes eminent domain, but it isn't certain). Then, he'll be an enthusiastic supporter. That's fine - he's a representative and he has to represent his constituency, of which the Food Mart is a part.

The velodrome idea is dumb as currently laid out, but I'm not sure where Capuano is coming from here. It's planned to go on undevelopable and inaccessible land and will open the riverfront up to the public - it's a net good, even if no one ever cycles in it again. Honestly, they might have better luck designing the velodrome to be permanent. Take out all the seats (or reconfigure them) and take out the track, and you could convert it into a civic center or small concert venue adjacent to Wynn. Heck, maybe Wynn will buy it from them. It's just a shell once you take out the cycling surface.

stellarfun said:
The Globe, apparently skeptical that Boston can stay within budget, wants the Federal government to pick up a lion's share of the overall cost.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/...or-olympics/H6jWZEcTpVHG7DoMew14vJ/story.html
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If the Feds picked up additional costs in 1996 and 2002, then it's a reasonable suggestion that they do so this time. That said, good luck getting a Republican Congress to fund a prestige project in Boston. Dallas? Sure! They'd pay for the whole thing. Not Boston.
 
Equilibria, the NB Food Market people aren't going to sell until/unless the IOC actually selects Boston, so the IOC would potentially see a U.S. bid with the site for the Olympic stadium up in the air, which will not score well.

Seems to me, two choices: spend big money now and buy the NB Food Market site before the IOC reviews the bids, or find another stadium site. If Boston is rejected, then Widett could be returned to Food Market, and the Boston committee need not spend money to build a new facility for NB Food Market.

Mass DER states some contamination of Widett is likely, but they don't know much. I would think if contamination is found, contaminated soil may need to be excavated and disposed off-site. Given the water table, that may not be cheap.

http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/Portals/25/docs/DEIR/appendix/14-Appendix14.pdf
 
stellarfun said:
Equilibria, the NB Food Market people aren't going to sell until/unless the IOC actually selects Boston, so the IOC would potentially see a U.S. bid with the site for the Olympic stadium up in the air, which will not score well.
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You don't know that. They say they won't, but the right package of Bob Kraft money and State land for relocation might change their minds. If not, eminent domain has been a possibility there for many years. As F-Line was never shy in reminding us, the State and City have tried booting the Food Mart from this site before, and I suspect the trying again starts right now. Worst case, someone else gets the Olympics in 2017 - both Kraft (for the Revolution) and the MBTA (for a layover yard) would love to have that land.
 
Equilibria said:
The velodrome idea is dumb as currently laid out, but I'm not sure where Capuano is coming from here. It's planned to go on undevelopable and inaccessible land and will open the riverfront up to the public - it's a net good, even if no one ever cycles in it again. Honestly, they might have better luck designing the velodrome to be permanent. Take out all the seats (or reconfigure them) and take out the track, and you could convert it into a civic center or small concert venue adjacent to Wynn. Heck, maybe Wynn will buy it from them. It's just a shell once you take out the cycling surface.
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I believe it is currently a waterfront public park with a riverfront walk (underused and underdeveloped at least until there are more people living and working in the Assembly Row), but he's probably thinking that a big one-off velodrome stadium that will have no medium term or short term benefit to the immediate area will just block the views and reduce the desirability of the ongoing development across the tracks including the new Partners Health Care Office complex (a view blocking velodrome stadium and construction site could affect future phases of that project).

Even a bare bones waterfront public park seems like a better alternative than 5 years of a construction site with two weeks of games in the middle and an uncertain plan for what happens afterwards.
 
Given that Somerville has Big Plans for the whole Assembly area, I understand them getting touchy about Boston 2024 assuming the Velodrome would be parked around there. Capuano has probably talked to Curtatone and is playing some hardball.
 
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Why would it take 5 years to build a cycle track 'stadium'? 2 years tops. Groundbreaking to occupied.
 
SeamusMcFly said:
Why would it take 5 years to build a cycle track 'stadium'? 2 years tops. Groundbreaking to occupied.
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He is counting 2.5 before and 2.5 of demolition/redo after, but 1.5 and 1 are prob better estimates.

Still, the state owned "waterfront park" parcels along the river (mix of MBTA and DCR, I think) are all literally on the wrong side of the tracks from Assembly. Frankly, Curtatone should focus on better access over or under the 5-track Orange/Haverhill ROW (and Chelsea/Rockport line on the Sullivan Sq side) as part of the deal (and maybe a bridge across the Earhart Dam) since until he gets that the parks are not really walkable (you have to bike or drive). Until he gets that. These parks will remain grossly underused.

Heck the Olympics and Paralympics would probably draw more users to the spot than they'd get in 3 years as currently laid out. a net usage win.
 
rinserepeat said:
add in some time for purchasing of property, design, permitting, and public review process.
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All that, though, happens before groundbreaking. The concern wasn't how long it'd take to build a Velodrome, the objection was how long the "parkland" would be unusable if there was a Velodrome being built.

You'd still be able to call it a "park" right up until the fences go up at groundbreaking.

Really, though, it ain't a park. It is an inaccessible grassy nothing owned by either the DCR or MBTA (Somerville tax records show a mix)
 
I'd be happy with a process that was:
1) build velodrome
2) build pedestrian connection to velodrome
3) revert velodrome to park that now comes with pedestrian connections
 
There is nothing in the bid about removing/demolishing the velodrome. It is intended to be permanent and turned over to a private operator.
 
Semass said:
There is nothing in the bid about removing/demolishing the velodrome. It is intended to be permanent and turned over to a private operator.
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And I think it'd be a fine "riverfront" venue--and situated on the border between Charlestown and Somerville it is near the heart of one of the most active cycling communities in the USA (as measured by % who commute by bike). A velodrome would not be left orphan if left behind.
 
Arlington said:
And I think it'd be a fine "riverfront" venue--and situated on the border between Charlestown and Somerville it is near the heart of one of the most active cycling communities in the USA (as measured by % who commute by bike). A velodrome would not be left orphan if left behind.
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Convert the Velodrome into a permanent version of Riverbend Park in Cambridge -- good weather they can use paths along the Mystic perhaps across it -- bad weather they just go round and round like Roller Derby

I'd throw in some Wifi / Bluetooth auto cameras with Apple-Pay for creative selfies and Voila!! -- you could pay for the Velodrome and Park in a couple of years :)
 
Re: eminent domain. Apparently (using eminent domain lawyers websites as a reference), under Massachusetts law, you, as a property owner, are entitled to a jury trial in Superior Court if you wish to contest the amount offered. I did look up the time frame for a recent utility right of way eminent domain proceeding from start to finish, and it took about two years.
 
According to the Boston 2024 committee, eminent domain will not be used (they don't have the power for it, nor would they want to use it.)
The committee answered a question at the CAG meeting reguarding eminent domain at the 49:03 mark https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LteJRXmY40Y
 
Arlington said:
All that, though, happens before groundbreaking. The concern wasn't how long it'd take to build a Velodrome, the objection was how long the "parkland" would be unusable if there was a Velodrome being built.

You'd still be able to call it a "park" right up until the fences go up at groundbreaking.

Really, though, it ain't a park. It is an inaccessible grassy nothing owned by either the DCR or MBTA (Somerville tax records show a mix)
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I see a soccer field and a walking path in the aerial pictures. Also, it seems to have some road/walking connection to the assembly row area. To declare it a dead park before it has had even one full Summer with the new local residents is short sighted and predatory. Thinly veiled attempt to kill a park in order to turn it into a develop able parcel at the new T station. Very little to do with an Olympic bid.

And actually my concern was more for how it affects the desirability of the Assembly Row and the Partners Health development on the other side of the tracks. A nicely maintained waterfront park would be an amenity. A velodrome is just a waste of space.
 
http://theconversation.com/boston-2024-city-eyes-many-challenges-and-opportunities-in-bid-to-host-summer-games-36395

Editor’s Note: Last month the United States Olympics Committee picked Boston to lead the US bid to host the Summer Games in 2024. Mayor Martin Walsh recently began a series of community meetings intended to answer questions citizens have about the city’s bid and what hosting would mean for them. We asked two civil engineers and two architects at Wentworth Institute of Technology to assess the opportunities created and challenges posed if the International Olympics Committee were to choose Boston when it makes its selection in 2017.
 
According to the Wikipedia page for the bid, they want to hold the canoe and kayak events all the way out in Deerfield and Westfield. It seems weird to host an event 2 hours away from Boston in places with virtually no transit access, does anyone have more info on that?
 
cbrett said:
According to the Wikipedia page for the bid, they want to hold the canoe and kayak events all the way out in Deerfield and Westfield. It seems weird to host an event 2 hours away from Boston in places with virtually no transit access, does anyone have more info on that?
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OK, no real info, but here is some speculation:

1) This is part of the spread the wealth plan to build broader support for the bid in the Commonwealth.

2) Canoe and kayak are not exactly huge spectator draws, so crowd access is not really an issue.
 
JeffDowntown said:
OK, no real info, but here is some speculation:

1) This is part of the spread the wealth plan to build broader support for the bid in the Commonwealth.

2) Canoe and kayak are not exactly huge spectator draws, so crowd access is not really an issue.
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Any thoughts on other potential sites? Walden Pond in Lynn seems plausible to me, if they can make the appropriate arrangements with the Reservation and the NRHP. It is also closer and possibly more accessible.
 
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