While Boston’s economic engine is chugging along at a record pace, some in our city are being left behind. One big reason is a lack of equity and connectivity in our public transit system.
The South Boston Waterfront, also known as the Seaport, is booming with billions in new development, towering new skyscrapers, world-class restaurants, hotels and nightlife, and an influx of high-tech and innovation businesses. But the neighborhood is difficult to access — virtually impossible for some in the city — and traffic is an increasingly urgent issue that needs smart solutions.
We have an opportunity to address these traffic problems while better connecting our city by extending the Fairmount commuter rail line to the South Boston Waterfront. As part of an agreement to mitigate air pollution from the Big Dig, the state committed, in 2005, to make significant improvements to the Fairmount line. Much of the physical rail system needed to connect the waterfront to the Fairmount line is already in place via Track 61, an out-of-service rail line that runs from the Newmarket section of Boston into the waterfront.
Adding the needed connections, grade crossings and roadway improvements would be a significant effort, but would have an enormous return on investment in terms of reduced traffic and better access to the city’s fastest-growing neighborhood and business district, while also providing connections to better paying jobs for all of Boston’s residents.
The cost, which would be just a fraction of other rail extension projects already in the works, could be funded through public-private partnerships, similar to the recently completed MBTA station at the New Balance world headquarters in Brighton. New businesses moving into the waterfront would welcome better access and a seamless connection to the MBTA from southern points for their employees — without having to change trains at South Station as commuters now have to do.
Utilizing Track 61 was first proposed in 2013 under Gov. Deval Patrick and was part of the comprehensive 2015 South Boston Waterfront Sustainable Transportation Plan that was spearheaded by MassDOT and several other state agencies.
Following a yearlong study, the plan included a recommendation to extend the MBTA Red Line into the neighborhood. The study forecasts that rush hour vehicle trips to the Seaport will increase by more than 20,000 by 2035 to nearly 60,000. We call on the MBTA to adopt this plan and partner with private developers in the neighborhood to come up with an affordable financing model.
With the population in the South Boston Waterfront expected to double to more than 20,000 by 2035, the plan would also create a Red Line link to the Back Bay, which would be a significant improvement for residents, commuters and tourists.
Anyone who has driven to or from the waterfront at rush hour is intimately familiar with the gridlock that plagues the neighborhood. Direct rail access would relieve some of that congestion by removing South Station shuttles from the streets while also reducing car and bus traffic. The extension would also give Dorchester and South Boston commuters direct Red Line access to the waterfront.
Most importantly, connecting the South Boston Waterfront to under-served neighborhoods in Uphams Corner, Fields Corner, Mattapan, Hyde Park and Readville would give residents in those areas an opportunity to share in the economic gains currently happening in the neighborhood.
Boston is an incredible city, but studies have shown it also has the highest wealth gap of any major city in the U.S.
Better transit connectivity can only help close that gap, and the Fairmount and Red line extensions to the waterfront are the next logical, affordable steps. Making this long-discussed vision a reality would go a long way toward linking neighborhoods and ensuring that all Bostonians share in the cultural and economic successes of our city.
Nick Collins is state representative for the Fourth Suffolk District and Linda Dorcena Forry is state senator for the First Suffolk District.
