Source: BPDA

A turf battle is pitting Massport and its support of industrial tenants in the Seaport District against the city of Boston’s plans for traffic-busting transit upgrades including a possible dedicated bus lane on Summer Street.

In an open letter issued Wednesday, BPDA Director Brian Golden took the port authority to task for emailing Seaport District businesses and urging them to submit comments against the bus lane even though the MBTA has agreed to let it be shared by trucks.

“Massport needs to be holistic and help create real solutions that serve the needs of the entire South Boston Seaport community and all users and all modes,” Golden wrote.

The BPDA is leading a strategic transit plan study that attempts to address traffic congestion generated as an outgrowth of the decade-long building boom in the waterfront district.

A draft report released this summer offered 22 suggested upgrades, including new MBTA bus routes and private shuttle services. One option includes a bi-directional, center-median bus lane running from South Station to Drydock Avenue.

In an email to Seaport businesses, Massport Port Director Mike Meyran said the bus lane could reduce freight capacity on routes including Summer Street by 50 percent, WGBH News reported.

Massport owns approximately 330 acres in the Seaport District including portions of the Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park, which retains remnants of the neighborhood’s industrial economy including ship repair facilities, seafood processing plants and the Conley Container Terminal.

At the same time, it has solicited non-industrial developments including hotels, office buildings and multifamily housing in recent years, tapping into neighborhood-wide building boom that followed the Central Artery Tunnel project and its improved road access from Interstate 93 and the Massachusetts Turnpike. More than 7.4 million square feet of non-port related development has been built on Massport parcels since the early 1990s, according to a letter by Golden and Chris Osgood, Boston’s chief of streets, transportation and sanitation.

Preserving trucking routes amid the neighborhood’s rapid transformation prompted Massport to build a new haul road from the Conley Terminal to Summer Street in 2017. The project accompanied a $35 million expansion of the freight terminal.

In a statement Thursday, Massport spokesman Jennifer Mehigan said the agency “will continue to work with all stakeholders to meet the transportation needs of all parties in the district.”

 

Golden, Massport Spar on Seaport Bus Lane

by Steve Adams time to read: 2 min
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