East Boston: Pedestrian bridge and hotel

CDubs

CDubs

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After living in East Boston for three years (just recently moved to Central Square, Cambridge), it struck me that the neighborhood, and all of the Boston area, could be well served by a foot/bicycle bridge spanning the harbor from, say, Long Wharf to the development adjacent to Piers Park. This idea comes from my personal preference for riding a bike or walking, rather than relying on the T every day or driving a car (which I do not have), and if you live in Eastie, you need to be prepared to do a lot of the latter two if you plan on spending any time on "the mainland". Aside from the fact that this sort of project is probably prohibitively expensive in these times, I don't know how logistically feasible it would be. Is there something about this waterway that would make construction of a bridge like this impossible? I can't help but think how fantastic it would be if rather than only having tunnels and non-pedestrian bridges leading to Eastie, we instead created a less car-dependent neighborhood, and made it more accessible to the rest of Boston.

In addition, the passport photo place in Maverick Square should be relocated and torn down, replaced with a moderate sized Maverick Hotel - it would be a good addition to the renovations going on in the Square, and tourists arriving by airplane could stay at a more modest, boutique-y hotel in Eastie, and not be completely cut off from the local community.

I'd be interested in hearing any thoughts on this!
 
CDubs said:
Is there something about this waterway that would make construction of a bridge like this impossible?
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This goes back to "the war years" as my folks say. The fear that a bridge between East Boston and Downtown could be taken down by conventional bombing (by the Kaiser's Zeppelins or Hitler's "Amerika Bomber" and block the inner harbor. Remember, once upon a time, Boston was a Navy town, with part of the Atlantic Fleet tied up in Charlestown. That's part of why the Tobin Bridge is where it is. The Navy split when I was in diapers, but the concern persists, mainly because of the fear that a blocked inner harbor channel would prevent tankers from entering the the Mystic River (LNG) and the Chelsea Creek (JP4 for Logan, gasoline, home heating oil). And now, of course, there's the fear of terrorism, achieving the same goals.

CDubs said:
In addition, the passport photo place in Maverick Square should be relocated and torn down, replaced with a moderate sized Maverick Hotel - it would be a good addition to the renovations going on in the Square, and tourists arriving by airplane could stay at a more modest, boutique-y hotel in Eastie, and not be completely cut off from the local community.
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I find your idea intriguing. In your three years in East Boston, how involved we're you in community meetings and the like?

Have you been to Maverick lately? The T's "improvement" project on the station is an unmitigated outrage that has put a shocking burden on area business. The T failed to do its due diligence in the way of geotechnical study of Maverick Station prior to excavation, and so, the project is over a year behind. A disgrace.
 


One could dream of Gotham traversing the harbor, or would that be a NIMBY nightmare?
 
Yeah, that all makes sense. I figured that Boston was either totally enthralled with tunnels at the time, or it was a safety issue - thanks for clearing it up, and I can now put my dream to rest...

Beton Brut said:
I find your idea intriguing. In your three years in East Boston, how involved we're you in community meetings and the like?

Have you been to Maverick lately? The T's "improvement" project on the station is an unmitigated outrage that has put a shocking burden on area business. The T failed to do its due diligence in the way of geotechnical study of Maverick Station prior to excavation, and so, the project is over a year behind. A disgrace.
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I wasn't at all involved in community meetings, though I kept up with what was going on (and still do - I love that the old welfare building in Maverick will probably be converted into a marketplace style retail establishment). I thought for sure the passport place would be on its way out, but a few months ago saw someone giving the exterior a new coat of paint. Still, one of my friends thinks whoever owns that lot is waiting for Maverick Square to be finished, and will then have the lot developed once the space is more valuable. So you think the hotel idea could have legs? Although I no longer live in Eastie, I'd love to air this idea with people who'd take it into consideration. Do you know of any upcoming planning meetings?

It really is unbelievable the pace at which Maverick Station renovation is going. It hardly seems like any work is being done. I was last there a little more than a month ago. How they can't be thorough with the planning of something like this is, like you say, a disgrace.
 
As a "lifer" in East Boston, the only thing you get for your tax dollars is all the free streetlight you can use.

Our elected officials run for office unopposed. They get into politics because they're too dumb for organized crime.

The East Boston Land Use Council is wholly ineffectual (I mean, look at what does get built, look at what doesn't) and the person who runs this organization is a loon (of the tinfoil-hat wearing variety).

I do attend neighborhood council meetings in the Heights, where I live. I also attend neighborhood-wide meetings held by the BRA, the T, and Massport. I tell my neighbors, get a mitt and get in the game, or prepare to lose. We need more players on the field -- this is true of any urban neighborhood, in any city in America.
 
With the Navy no longer a presence in Boston Harbor, such a bridge might make more sense today. The only issue I see with LNG tankers is that it might need to be a drawbridge if the tankers can't fit under it.

But the price tag would sink this project.
 
How about turning one of the lanes of the Sumner or Callahan into a multi-use path?
 
I don't know if it would be a healthy place to walk or bicycle. How well are the tunnels ventilated?
 
The ramps for this bridge would have to start in the back bay.
 
You would not need ramps. Stairs and an elevator at each end.
 
A bit more roundabout route that would be feasible and that would connect East Boston with Charlestown is this: a light-rail and pedestrian-only drawbridge on the Chelsea Avenue alignment between Chelsea and Charlestown. It would provide surface bicycle and pedestrain access as well as a route for a light rail line from downtown Boston to Chelsea via the Charlestown shipyard area. The light rail line could then extend across the existing bridge into East Boston. The cost of the new drawbridge between Chelsea and Charlestown would be reasonable.

There would be a good number of openings in the drawbridge, but perhaps these could be minimized during rush hour traffic.
 
Calatrava's gondola to and from Governors Island:

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It's beautiful. I wonder what the FAA would think...
 
Charlie_mta said:
A bit more roundabout route that would be feasible and that would connect East Boston with Charlestown is this: a light-rail and pedestrian-only drawbridge on the Chelsea Avenue alignment between Chelsea and Charlestown.
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A drawbridge was there before the Tobin was built. I don't understand why they removed it then.
 
Some info here, Ron. By their nature, drawbridges are costly to maintain. High, fixed bridges are better -- more expensive to build, bu lower cost of ownership (maintenance, replacement of moving parts, staffing, etc). Tobin was planned in the 30's but they had to wait until after WWII to get it built.
 
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