A great overview of all current seaport transportation issues:
Oct 16th Globe
I suggest putting a toll on the South Boston Haul Road and opening it up to all traffic. Use dynamic tolling to keep it uncongested. Use the $ from the toll to pay for Seaport Projects (#1 would be SIlver Tunnel Under D)
T-under-D: This is non-negotiable. Remember, Conley Terminal is doubling in size and getting its own Haul Road to Summer St. Any big rig whose GPS misses the turn onto Pumphouse Rd. has to go around the block on D to get back on target. Signal priority tweaked to the nines won't mitigate that much heavier trucks than ever--coming to/from out of the area with subset of drivers not accustomed to the area--are going to be crossing the Silver Line there. And crossing because of driver confusion/distraction. The collision risk is going to increase faster than any tweaking around the edges can hope to decrease it. No beating around the bush...separate the damn thing before someone gets killed.
Southie Haul general traffic: Bad idea. Southie does not need another induced demand trap. Unrestricted traffic would go too fast on this shoulder-less road, and there's nowhere to distribute it on the regular grid once it dumps into BCEC. The Seaport streets are already too goddamn wide for distribution capacity.
Besides, Massport knows it's under-capacity. It was built pre-dating the port expansion, so the Conley and Marine Terminal plans specifically address that by putting more dedicated trucking on there. If they had managed to get the Post Office moved like they were supposed to, the USPS trucks from the new location would be using it. Demand tolling isn't really a factor; if there's a surcharge it can be applied from the terminals not on the road itself.
I agree that if there are going to be a shitload of private shuttles to consolidate that they should explore the Haul Road as a collector/distributor usable by the shuttles. And much like the Eastie Haul Road is being used by Silver Line Chelsea, it should be open to public transit. It's not a coincidence that it's laid out like a spot-on ideal Urban Ring feeder into the Transitway.
Dot Ave.: Absolutely agree. Though doing it in a meaningful way is difficult without resolving the USPS move. They can explore some limited ways now that are safely signaled to slip by the trucks backing out. But, really, just get it done already on the USPS relocation.
Ferries: Agree. Although the Globe might be overestimating the utilization here at a ferry terminal a lot less centrally located than Long Wharf and Rowes Wharf. It's going to be tough to find a route here that's load-bearing for commuter purposes.
Seaport DMU: Bleh. I've written at enough length about how this is no panacea because of the likely headways. The T's got so many problems to iron out with its Indigo plan with the over-focus on vehicles above service levels and fares that it's unrealistic to pin high expectations on it. Let this plan inch along in the background, but don't over-focus. Successful execution hinges on factors outside the Seaport like the state's sincerity or increasing lackthereof at executing the real Indigo service rollout. It's not worth getting too excited about until they show commitment across-the-board.
And the other obvious ones...like, build some @#$% SL1 direct access to the Ted. And repair the @#$% Transitway pavement, and study what speed improvements (signalization?) can improve pokey speeds underground.
