The Transportation Committee
The highways that are built to sustain our sprawling suburbs add to
our pollution and energy problems, and increase our dependence on an
auto-centric way of life which is unhealthy, anti-social, and
unsustainable. The Big Dig has drained fiscal support away from
maintaining the deteriorating highways that we already have and from
expanding our public transit infrastructure, beyond a few
ill-conceived projects like the "Silver Line" bus and the "Urban Ring"
busway. Join the Chapter Transportation Committee us to help the
Sierra Club encourage public transit and pedestrian- and
bicycle-friendly neighborhoods.
Contact John Kyper - see
contacts page for more.
Current/New Transportation Issues
The following are transportation-related issues and projects that the
Chapter has addressed during the past several years:
Green Line extension from Lechmere to Somerville and Medford:
This project was a mitigation commitment for the Big Dig and is strongly
supported by the residents of these two cities, who now have inferior
public transportation options despite playing host numerous major
highways and commuter rail lines traversing their communities.
Red Line-Blue Line Connector: Another Artery mitigation
agreement, this project would extend the Blue Line from Bowdoin Square
to a new terminus at Charles, allowing a direct transfer between the two
rapid transit lines with currently no direct connection.
Pittsfield Airport Expansion: In conjunction with concerned
citizens from the Pittsfield area, the chapter questions the need for
expansion of the airport and its runways. We believe the airport has a
detrimental effect on the environment and quality of life. Our goal
should be to find transportation alternatives and solutions to the
current pollution, noise, and potential environmental damage and find a
way for the airport to serve its mission without additional impact.
North South Rail Link:: This
project would connect South Station and North Station with an
underground rail tunnel, which would extend the Northeast Corridor
through Boston and allow for continuous rail service to Northern New
England and Canada.
 Washington
Street/Silver Line: We support the promised rail replacement
service for the abandoned Orange Line elevated to Roxbury, and also for
improved public transportation along the extension of this corridor
through North Dorchester to Mattapan Square.Click on the map to
enlarge it.
Past Projects:
Arborway Streetcar Restoration: In December 1985 the MBTA
“temporarily” replaced service on the “E” branch of the Green Line to
Jamaica Plain, with the #39 bus between Copley Square and Forest Hills.
Despite a longstanding promise to restore streetcar service along the
entire line, it subsequently reopened the line only as far as the Heath
Street Loop on South Huntington Avenue. The Chapter strongly supported
Jamaica Plain residents who wanted restored service along the entire
length of the line. Eventually, the hostility of Mayor Menino pressured
the MBTA to abandon its promise, and the issue is now in court.
The Urban Ring: While touted as
circumferential transit service around Boston’s urban core and serving
close-in communities like Cambridge, Roxbury and the Fenway, this
project would actually entail half a dozen overlapping bus lines
traversing city streets, and along a number of new reserved roadways and
through a mile-long tunnel underneath the Longwood Medical Area. The
Chapter opposed the proposal, citing both its cost (the tunnel would
comprise $1.8B of its estimated $2.5B price tag) and the likelihood that
the system would not work well if it works at all (rail transit would be
far more cost-effective). In early 2010 the state’s Department of
Transportation suspended planning on the project and took it off its
20-year plan, citing its high price. It remains to be seen whether it is
really dead, or just dormant. Click here for
more.
Mass Money,
Mass Roads, Mass Transportation
Studies clearly demonstrate that new roads are not the solution to
traffic congestion. Yet in 2000, Massachusetts' capital spending on
roads was $2.4 billion – seven times what the commonwealth spent on
public transportation. The Massachusetts Sierra Club has released Mass
Money, Mass Roads, Mass Transportation, a report detailing the
inequities between road spending vs. public transportation, and we offer
some solutions to solve our transportation woes.
[download]
Joint Study
Highlighting Benefits of Completing the Northeast Rail System  The
Sierra Club, working with other groups, released a joint report titled
An integrated regional Rail Network for New England. The study
finds that connecting North and South Stations - the only one-mile gap
in the northeast rail corridor - will result in significant
environmental and economic benefits for the entire Northeast. The report
highlights the significance of completing the North South Rail link, and
includes a significant new financial analysis of the costs of the
project.
Click here to read the report.
Sprawl:
 Poorly
planned development threatens our environment, our health, and our
quality of life. In communities across Massachusetts "sprawl" -
scattered development that increases traffic, saps local resources and
destroys open space - is taking a serious toll. Many of the effects of
sprawl can be traced to poorly planned transportation infrastructure,
including highway and airport expansion. The Massachusetts Sierra Club
is working throughout the state to find solutions to our transportation
and sprawl problems. We are working to promote rail - the most
environmentally sound form of transportation - over continued highway
and airport expansion. |
