Hey, there! Log in / Register
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
Please post more pictures of
Please post more pictures of this project for those of use who used to live near there but are now out of state. Given the sturm und drang for years before work started, there has been surprisingly few news items about it, that I could find at least.
The JP Gazette has been covering it
And that's where I've seen the "latest" estimate for completing.
As far as the sturm und drang, it's been pretty good. I mean, unless you are trying to get through the area on foot. Or by bus. But the driving doesn't seem to be that bad. Of course, I tend to only go through there on foot or by bus during the week, so it could suck for drivers, too, but at least the backups don't seem that bad.
That said, Clay has been doing a good job noticing when things become less fucked up (for example, he has a photo of the north side, but they tore up the sidewalk between the station and the courthouse in the spring then, of course, stopped doing work on it meaning pedestrians have to cross traffic twice instead of using a sidewalk, but again, this is not a project for pedestrians.) I do worry about how sad he's going to be when the final crappy project is rolled out in a few months (as the Gazette notes.)
Not sad
Sad? Far from it. I may miss the anticipation and the vigilance that defenders of the project needed in order to counter the counter-factual and see the project through all these years, but every week it inches closer to delivering 3.1 miles of new off-street bike paths, 3.1 miles of new sidewalks, 560 new trees and shrubs, 16,000 ground covers, easier access to the T platform from the north and much more rational at-grade traffic patterns for vehicles.
Though it is two years behind what might have been hoped for after the design phase (a year pre-construction for MHC to contemplate the fate of Shea Circle, a year after demolition began for the platform jet fan debacle, and... who knows how long for the upper busway canopy and in-station ADA retro-fit which were mostly outside the bounds of the main construction contract - and MBTA's responsibility rather than Highway's, if all MassDOT's) it is easy to see the rapid progress now on a walk around the area.
The north central delays at the station plaza - caused by the need to keep the old Head House for ventilation while the jet fans got sorted, preventing the east-west Arborway from taking on its final alignment - are the most frustrating part for the most people, I believe. The temporary lane loss on northbound Washington has been difficult for Rozzie denizens too. But before long now there will be two revamped and re-landscaped plazas: one at the end of Southwest Corridor Park and one across the Arborway itself at the station, and all connected for pedestrians, and bikes throughout the corridor.
ON PHOTOS: I "owe" a Year Two update of progress photos on my blog, but anyone who wants a visual trip down memory lane through the demolition, if only to remind themselves how nasty things were, is welcome to scroll through this:
http://arborwaymatters.blogspot.com/2015/07/casey-arborway-construction-...
I've been adding occasional photos to the ArborwayMatters Facebook page in the interim. https://www.facebook.com/ArborwayMatters/
Clay
not sad or not too bad
There may be 500 “new” trees but that does not account for all the trees the clear cut all around Forest Hills. There is still no overhead protection for the upper busway. That is still in planning last time I checked. Still waiting for an answer about the outcome of the lower parking lot and drop off area that they took away and haven’t touched for 9 months now. Will there be a better traffic flow and better pedestrian access when they are done. I am doubtful
Tree loss and gain
On the trees: if memory serves, about 185 trees were lost during demolition. Here is what's going in the ground before the project is complete:
http://arborwaymatters.blogspot.com/2016/09/shades-of-things-to-come-on-...
Much obliged!
Thanks for your pictures and descriptive descriptions. I moved away Spring 2014 after living in the area for 15 years. So, with the pics and the explanations, I could understand what I was looking at.
Cool! Maybe this project
Cool! Maybe this project will actually be done in my lifetime....
The project is almost done
According to MassDOT, at least. They still give completion of the major parts of the project as "fall 2017," with everything done by "spring 2018."
I can't wait until that time in the next 4 months when the upper busway will be complete and the days of "one track operation" will be behind us.
When is the traffic slated to improve?
With the clompletion slated for this fall and the fact that there are already as many lanes in use now as there will be when finished, when is the traffic slated to improve? I remember when Massdot said it would only add an extra 30 seconds or so to commuting times during their public meetings. Seeing as it still takes over ten minutes to navigate this mess, when is this supposed to actually improve this area? I really believe this project will go down as a huge mistake. One where we will feel the effects of it for years to come.
I drove
down the Arborway to go eastbound on Washington St. the other night at about 5 p.m. It was definitely faster than the old days when one had to take the ramp, turn left, then right onto New Washington then left on Washington.
I wuz there in the old days
when there was hardly any time lost when going from Arborway to the Shattuck and back. Now I think they should add a rest area ala the old HoJo's.
Traffic in that area sucked
Traffic in that area sucked before during rush hour and it'll still suck now. It is better coming off the Arborway and also heading northbound on Washington St in my experience than before. It's about the same going southbound on South St ie not good. But that's because there are thousands more vehicles in the city than even a decade ago. It's not because an old decaying bridge came down. The more people we get out of cars, the better - that's the only solution.