I know this is a somewhat unpopular within the transpo space, but I am actively opposed to any at grade solution that requires additional fill of the Charles.
Well then someone needs to stuff Tim Murray back into the gym locker he escaped from in high school. Guy was still writing op-eds about it within the past few weeks. In lieu of providing a link or of actually having to read the whole thing, I'll just paraphrase what I imagine it said: "Connect our life sciences workers in Kendall Square directly with the WooSox games, and fully unlock the potential of the state's economy."
Yes, it's manmade, but I don't consider that an excuse to continue to further encroach in the modern era. Sure, we're never going to have a tidal estuary here again, but we should work with what we've got. We're long past being ok with filling in wetlands to create Back Bay (or at all generally), or damming rivers. While I don't think the Charles River dam is going anywhere, times have changed, and we should bloody well preserve what we've got. It may not be the same ecology as the historical tidal marsh, but it is an ecology all the same, and one that is thriving, and only recently relatively clean and safe. I would be immensely disappointed to see any of that be given over to concrete and highways.This stance, by itself, is somewhat hypocritical given that the Charles River Basin is pretty much entirely man made. But if we are only talking about a small section a dozen feet wide I don't see why some kind of viaduct above the rivers edge wouldn't work.
Well then someone needs to stuff Tim Murray back into the gym locker he escaped from in high school.......
Even if it's feasible to build an operable railroad radius at this location, a N-S connector route along this alignment would bypass all three major rail stations: North, South and (the proposed) West. Also, the NE Corridor line coming up through the South End would not be able to bang a left turn at the Back Bay Station to get to the Grand Junction RR.
Not thinking of primarily using it for an Amtrak NEC train just passing through Boston. It could be used for all or some connecting Amtrak Downeaster service from South Station to the north (Maine Red Sox fans rejoice). Commuter trains from the south into South Station could then reverse and go to North Station and then north or directly north on any northside line. Obviously a North Station to South Station shuttle could be run via the Grand Junction stopping at Kendall. This just offers some operational flexibility until the NS Link happens. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity.
The real once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is offering that same north-south connection with a transit mode that can actually service the neighborhoods the Grand Junction runs through, and is flexible enough to not require a zillion at-grade crossings that have to be negotiated at five miles an hour.
You're absolutely right that our region needs North-South connectivity. That's why we need to bite the bullet and build NSRL.
Doesn’t the all surface approach force the T build a maintenance facility on the south side? Is this a case where the highway project needs to price that facility in?
Yes! The Commonwealth takes a strip of crappy land and helps BU get something awesome. Win-win.The at-grade option for the throat would be so much better if someone could convince BU to build an air-rights park over the Pike and Storrow Drive between Agannis Way and Buick Street. The park could connect seamlessly from the Charles River to the Comm Ave Level of the existing dormitories, and it could provide a quadrangle for the BU West Campus which does not currently exist and is desperately needed given the density of students in the area. While I understand that the at-grade throat option may reduce maintenance costs over the long run, it is aesthetically and urbanistically a mess. We will be getting our own version of the I-94 Dan Ryan expressway in Chicago if the design does not accommodate the possibility of covering it in the future with green space.
This sounds good in theory. Is it possible in practice, given the elevations involved? (I don't know, but I would be concerned about the height clearances required for the rail allowing for electrification, and the need for the Grand Junction alignment to cross both roadways.) Also what happens at the river's edge -- you go from roadway height clearance above Storrow to river grade in a very short distance.The at-grade option for the throat would be so much better if someone could convince BU to build an air-rights park over the Pike and Storrow Drive between Agannis Way and Buick Street. The park could connect seamlessly from the Charles River to the Comm Ave Level of the existing dormitories, and it could provide a quadrangle for the BU West Campus which does not currently exist and is desperately needed given the density of students in the area. While I understand that the at-grade throat option may reduce maintenance costs over the long run, it is aesthetically and urbanistically a mess. We will be getting our own version of the I-94 Dan Ryan expressway in Chicago if the design does not accommodate the possibility of covering it in the future with green space.
Yeah, but the difference is that the parking lot behind Agannis is at grade, so they won't be able to step down to that level until after it bridges the Pike/Storrow. And then the problem becomes that it's 30 feet above grade and only about 12-15 feet of space to drop down to the water. I think a plaza above the Pike could work, but I don't think it could integrate well with the river path itself.I think that there is approximately a 28' to 30' grade change between the plaza that faces Comm Ave and the parking lot below it shown in the attached photo, and the grade continues to drop between there and the river, so I expect that there would be enough clearance. There are many examples of constructed ground which are similar in concept to this idea; a few examples are the Penn's Landing Project over I-95 in Philadelphia, the Brooklyn bridge Park at the BQE, or the Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle.
The at-grade option for the throat would be so much better if someone could convince BU to build an air-rights park over the Pike and Storrow Drive between Agannis Way and Buick Street. The park could connect seamlessly from the Charles River to the Comm Ave Level of the existing dormitories, and it could provide a quadrangle for the BU West Campus which does not currently exist and is desperately needed given the density of students in the area. While I understand that the at-grade throat option may reduce maintenance costs over the long run, it is aesthetically and urbanistically a mess. We will be getting our own version of the I-94 Dan Ryan expressway in Chicago if the design does not accommodate the possibility of covering it in the future with green space.