When I woke up this morning and read the Globe article about how the state scrapped plans for the 28X/Mattapan Silver Line, I was both happy and curious. That proposed extension of the Silver Line never really made sense to me. I've taken the existing route between Dudley Square and Downtown many times and have always found it slow, crowded, and uncomfortable. Current Silver Line service is sporadic. It's not unusual to wait at
Dudley Station for over 15 minutes for a bus to depart...if it's even
at the berth. Given that the extension would be about twice as long as the current route, it was surprising to see the state try to sell this project as an improvement to the bus service that already exists.
Anyway, I was curious to see what the reader comments to the article would be. Unsurprisingly, many of them are by people who don't live in the affected neighborhoods or use the Silver Line. They label area residents as "whiners" and suggest that the Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan lost out on something beneficial. Puh-leeze. Planning to spend $147 million dollars for a new, slow bus line was ridiculous. Even as an express route with a dedicated lane, the bus would've still had to deal with Blue Hill Avenue's heavy traffic and the general lack of courtesy that most drivers show to each other. The state's idea also seemed like another temporary solution to an issue needing long-term planning and coordination: how to improve transportation to an area of Boston lacking rapid rail transportation.
Looking at the past 25 years in Boston transit, there's been an unfortunate pattern of disinvesting in routes in the urban core while investing heavily in outer areas. As Washington Street lost the Orange Line and South Huntington/Centre Streets lost the E-line (to be replaced by bus service), North Cambridge gained the Red Line extension, the new Orange Line was moved to the Southwest Corridor, and the commuter rail expanded in multiple directions. In the meantime, the Somerville Green Line extension, the Indigo/Fairmount Line, the Lynn extension on the Blue Line, and the Urban Ring have been dangled in front of area residents without significant progress being achieved. Is it any wonder that residents in dense urban areas are expressing their outrage and annoyance and demanding better ideas? Besides having poor transit options, as new residents move into urban areas they're bringing more cars to compensate for the lack of adequate public transportation and adding to congestion. The feeling I sense from a lot of people (although by no means the all) is that enough is enough.
We need something better regionally. As a Roxbury resident, I'm glad to know that organizations like the Washington Street Corridor Coalition have been working for years to advocate for improved service and coordinated planning. In addition to improved transit through Dudley Square, I also hope that Somerville, Dorchester, and Lynn are included in a regional transit update that brings more of the densest parts of Metro Boston better rapid transit options. The Silver Line was a nice try, but it's time to move forward and start thinking about how to build a more comprehensive rail network with some vision.
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Posted by: Kristine | Monday, November 30, 2009 at 01:14 PM
There have been dozens of plans but lack of consistent political will. I think it will take another hike in gas prices to get more action on the Urban Ring and returning of rapid transit to neighborhoods that were cut out. Believe it or not, the activists who got the Orange Line moved thought they were doing a good thing at the time and didn't see how they would disenfranchise what had been a bustling business area - Dudley.
Posted by: Can-Can | Wednesday, December 02, 2009 at 10:04 PM
Nicely written opening post. If the MBTA believes express buses are needed from Mattapan, then they can jolly well run express buses from Mattapan. There is no rational reason for digging up the medium for a bus.
In any event they are just converting up 'free' Federal capital dollars into rolling stock that will still need operating dollars to run the buses. And, these are not provided by the Fed stimulus money.
Can-Can, I thought it was the MBTA that was behind the uprooting of the El from Washington Street to the Southwest Corridor, bring the alignment closer to JP. This was to increase the ridership, so they could justify to UMTA the spending of Federal dollars on the relocated line.
I did not know community activists 'got the line moved.'
Posted by: Jonas Prang | Thursday, December 03, 2009 at 04:01 PM