Rick Dimino
The Greater Boston region will experience a significant increase in population and labor force before 2030, which is a positive sign for our economy and way of life. To prepare for additional commuters, we must improve capacity at the transportation hubs that serve as key access points to Boston and the urban core.
Improvements will begin this year at North Station and Back Bay Station, but the renovation to South Station is lagging behind, even though that facility has the greatest need and a significant opportunity for benefits to the public with a mobility shed that extends well beyond Boston. Transit in and out of South Station includes lines to Western and Southern Massachusetts, the Northeast corridor, and potentially improvements to Washington, D.C., the New Bedford community and future diesel mobile units. Expansion of South Station is long overdue and must become a greater priority for transportation leaders in 2017.
South Station is the second busiest transportation center in New England, behind only Logan Airport. Over 100,000 riders use South Station each day for train service on Amtrak, the commuter rail, the Red Line and connections to the Silver Line.
When it opened in 1899, there were 28 train tracks. Today, there are only 13, causing congestion and operational challenges for the MBTA commuter rail system. Train platforms and waiting areas are both undersized and outdated to meet the needs of today’s passengers. The proposed expansion project would create seven new tracks, four new platforms and improved track alignment. Without these capital improvements, it will be increasingly difficult to provide reliable train service for the projected ridership growth expected in the next decade and beyond.
The project is justifiable simply on the merits of improvement for the commuter rail – yet the South Station Expansion is also related to new development. There will be air rights above the existing train tracks, plus the redevelopment of the land eventually vacated by the post office. This project brings benefits to the surrounding area for pedestrians, cyclists, drivers and bus users, as well as environmental and public realm upgrades. South Station Expansion is not a commuter rail modernization with supplemental economic development benefits. This is a neighborhood transformation project in downtown Boston that also delivers the crucial improvements to rail service.
One of the next steps is the acquisition of the current U.S. Postal Service facility located between Dorchester Avenue and the rail bed of South Station. When the commonwealth purchases this property, it can reopen the street and complete the last remaining gap in a continuous waterfront walk- and bikeway in this part of downtown Boston. MassDOT has been negotiating with the Postal Service for years over the value of this property, but all parties should make a goal to finalize this agreement in 2017. Then there should be an immediate opening of Dorchester Avenue to the public for pedestrian, bicycle and Harborwalk access.
Another goal should be the creation of a detailed budget to finance the project through the construction phase. Right now, MassDOT has identified funding only for the initial study and some preliminary design work. Massachusetts environmental agencies advanced the project through the environmental review phase in August, making a finance plan now more urgent. Without a detailed budget for the construction, this project won’t happen for years, potentially even decades. This is troubling when you consider the future demand for public transit, against the cattle herd conditions on platforms and waiting areas that riders are facing today.
In addition to its significant regional benefits, the South Station project also has key job access and traffic relief. The South Boston Waterfront area is less than a half mile away. This area will continue to see significant growth with another 17 million square feet of development planned over the next 10 to 15 years, resulting in thousands of additional jobs for Massachusetts residents. An expanded South Station hub will connect multiple areas throughout the state to these jobs, creating economic opportunity and reliving the related serious traffic congestion if these workers are commuting by vehicle trips.
Certainly, there are some important questions on the finance plan, locations for train layover space, as well as the future development of the Widett Circle area. Hopefully MassDOT can resolve these issues before next summer. Also, some have argued that instead of South Station Expansion, the state should concentrate on the North-South Rail Link. Fortunately, MassDOT is starting a new examination of the Rail Link, but essentially these are two separate projects that would potentially proceed on very different timelines. South Station Expansion, particularly the benefits from access to Dorchester Avenue, additional train tracks and platform accessibility improvements should happen immediately. This work would not preclude a future Rail Link project, if that passes its own assessment and review.
This next year should be a time for action on South Station Expansion. It is a critical component in the multimodal transportation network of Massachusetts and the viability of the Northeast Corridor. This has been studied and the results are clear: The entire Greater Boston region will be better served when this project is completed, so let’s work to make this a reality as soon as possible.
Rick Dimino is president and CEO of A Better City.
