Time to move Coast Guard Station Boston?

BostonUrbEx

BostonUrbEx

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2010
Messages
4,340
Reaction score
128
Anyone else think this a colossal waste of inner harbor waterfront?

I'd say ideally move it wherever, then maybe a pedestrian and bike bridge from the end of the Hanover St Pier to Pier 4 in Charlestown Navy Yard, and develop as seen fit.

I don't know where you move this station to, though.
 
It is a break in the Harborwalk, but it's a pretty important function for a busy seaport. Where would you move it to? And how could you build such a bridge without impeding navigation?
 
Ron Newman said:
It is a break in the Harborwalk, but it's a pretty important function for a busy seaport. Where would you move it to? And how could you build such a bridge without impeding navigation?
Click to expand...

The bridge only needs to be as high as the Lechmere Viaduct. No huge ships really go through where it would be.

Move it to Fid Kennedy Ave? I don't know where. Kind of hard to find a place where it would be of significantly less value location-wise.
 
I think moving it anywhere the base would still be useful (ie, not far from the inner harbor) would be politically unworkable. You're asking someone to give up prime waterfront real estate for something that doesn't really add value (not to discount the importance of the USCG, it's just not much of a money generator for the locality). Even if you asked places like Chelsea or Everett, they'd probably tell you to take a hike.

Maybe there's a section of Logan they could use. But even then, you're relying on the Feds to decide it's worth the cost. And then you'd have to deal with Massport.
 
It may be difficult to move to either down the waterfront further or up the river because of the helicopter flight paths and the airport. I imagine you can't have an emergency helicopter go back and forth at the end of an active runway.

I think it's a cool function in its place. Luxury condos get boring to after a while. I wish there was a way to better integrate it or showcase it- maybe a museum or tours- but I know security could be an issue.
 
I'm not inclined to think moving the Coast Guard station just because its on valuable property is an inherently good idea, but...

How much of their office actually has to be on the waterfront? Clearly, they need to have access to docks at which to berth their cutters. But in the modern day, could much of their office work be done from a 'remote' location (by which I mean, just not right on the waterfront)?
 
DominusNovus said:
I'm not inclined to think moving the Coast Guard station just because its on valuable property is an inherently good idea, but...

How much of their office actually has to be on the waterfront? Clearly, they need to have access to docks at which to berth their cutters. But in the modern day, could much of their office work be done from a 'remote' location (by which I mean, just not right on the waterfront)?
Click to expand...

Probably not. Coast Guard funding is steady or slowly increasing since it came under jurisdiction of Homeland Security. So it's not a dept. in much need or at much risk of consolidation. The locational convenience is a major asset for that base. For one, the federal presence in the Harbor has increased sharply since the Harbor Islands got designated a national park. They're waterborne park rangers in a sense.
 
BostonUrbEx said:
Anyone else think this a colossal waste of inner harbor waterfront?

I'd say ideally move it wherever, then maybe a pedestrian and bike bridge from the end of the Hanover St Pier to Pier 4 in Charlestown Navy Yard, and develop as seen fit.

I don't know where you move this station to, though.
Click to expand...

Can't we just call this the "Menino to Move City Hall" thread with a sub-thread for moving the Coast Guard Base
 
It's perhaps the last piece of non-recreational working waterfront on the downtown waterfront. I tend to think that alone justifies it's existence.
I do think it's a shame that the piers seem to be largely used as parking lots, but that seems to be true of any portion of a wharf in the North End that doesn't have a building on it.
 
Parking and ships:

bostoncoastguardcenter.jpg
 
How about Long Island? There's extra underutilized space there, and it's right at the edge of the harbor.
 
but isn't long island park of the harbor islands national park?
 
BostonUrbEx said:
The bridge only needs to be as high as the Lechmere Viaduct. No huge ships really go through where it would be.

Move it to Fid Kennedy Ave? I don't know where. Kind of hard to find a place where it would be of significantly less value location-wise.
Click to expand...

F.Y.I. The Lechmere Viaduct has a drawbridge in it too. ( Street view --- > https://maps.google.com/?ll=42.3671...=wazYB6RJ59K2U022j-DD9g&cbp=12,43.05,,0,-8.35 ) Not sure if it is still functional though.

Therefore, the next criteria might be Longfellow Bridge (with the Red Line) or bearing in mind the power-plant at Kendal Square area along the Edwin H. Land Blvd. and its associated drawbridge. I'm not sure of the maximum height of deliveries to there but it might be things like turbines or the like..
 
Why not move it to the Seaport, around the drydock area.
Plenty of vacant land there.
 
If they rebuild the Liquid Natural Gas terminal on one of the far outer harbor islands, they can remove some of the threat to the city and free up the coast guard to move. Once that is done they would no longer need to be around there all the time to have armed perimeters along Charlestown and Chelsea when the large ships of LNG from Trinidad and Tobago arrive to Boston Harbor.
 
Digital_Islandboy said:
F.Y.I. The Lechmere Viaduct has a drawbridge in it too. ( Street view --- > https://maps.google.com/?ll=42.3671...=wazYB6RJ59K2U022j-DD9g&cbp=12,43.05,,0,-8.35 ) Not sure if it is still functional though.

Therefore, the next criteria might be Longfellow Bridge (with the Red Line) or bearing in mind the power-plant at Kendal Square area along the Edwin H. Land Blvd. and its associated drawbridge. I'm not sure of the maximum height of deliveries to there but it might be things like turbines or the like..
Click to expand...

Yeah, that bridge is no longer capable of budging at all. It hasn't moved in years and years. It's components and controls are all ripped out. And there's no break in the tracks or overhead wires anymore because the thing is permanently shut.
 
Therefore, the next criteria might be Longfellow Bridge (with the Red Line) or bearing in mind the power-plant at Kendal Square area along the Edwin H. Land Blvd. and its associated drawbridge. I'm not sure of the maximum height of deliveries to there but it might be things like turbines or the like..
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure that the First Street and Land Blvd (or is it still Memorial Drive there?) drawbridges over Broad Canal are no longer functional, and haven't been for decades.
 
Ron Newman said:
I'm pretty sure that the First Street and Land Blvd (or is it still Memorial Drive there?) drawbridges over Broad Canal are no longer functional, and haven't been for decades.
Click to expand...

They are currently out-of-service, but the WB draw is in operable condition after being totally rehabbed in 2000. The pair of them is currently advertised by MassDOT as in-design for rehab: http://www.mhd.state.ma.us/ProjectInfo/Main.asp?ACTION=ViewProject&PROJECT_NO=606449. I presume that means the EB draw since they never touched that one 12 years ago and WB is still in perfect condition, but have no idea if this project intends to put the draw mechanisms back in-service or just rehab the structures.
 
The CG is good where it is. There is no burning need for more high end condos on the waterfront.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top