ImpressiveEffect8212 t1_iydtjrl wrote
Reply to comment by Master_Dogs in Finally connecting Red and Blue lines by MDeehan
Out of those infra proposals, the blue line to Lynn, Green Line improvements, bus infrastructure, and pedestrian/bike infrastructure are realistic. I’d put my money on the Lynn extension for most benefit for the cost. Others like extending the Blue Line to Watertown or the red line to Lexington are never going to happen. The latter both because NIMBYs but also because of the minutemen trail in the ROW. The former because most of it is duplicated by the green line (except the former A branch being removed)
Master_Dogs t1_iydvxsh wrote
I love the Minute Man and ride it monthly if not weekly. I don't see how it existing would block a major transit expansion though. As the Wikipedia article points out, the MBTA still owns the ROW:
> The property is currently owned by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and leased to the municipalities through which it passes on an interim basis.[citation needed] The MBTA at one point planned to use this right-of-way to extend the Red Line to Arlington Center and Arlington Heights.[10]
And while NIMBYs at one point blocked the Red Line extension on racist grounds (see this article for the deets) it's not that hard to bypass NIMBYism. We simply tell them to pound sand and commit to funding the entire extension in one go. The State can do whatever it wants with the ROW it owns. It can even play hardball and start denying grants and funding to towns who refuse to play nicely with transit. Watch how quickly Arlington agrees to a Red Line extension if it finds out the millions it gets in State Grants go away.
I also don't see why the Minute Man couldn't be repaved once a Red Line extension is completed. That would serve nicely for MBTA access when needed, and temporarily pathway detours can be setup using parallel streets. Now if we were talking about using it for Commuter Rail that would be an issue, as the Minute Man has dozens of at grade crossings to deal with plus not enough ROW to handle double track trains and a pathway at grade.
The Blue Line to Watertown also isn't duplicated if it's done on the Cambridge side of the Charles using existing roadway ROWs. Motorists would be peeved at losing access temporarily to a major roadway, but there's already Storrow and i90 on the other side plus plenty of alternative routes to use. We could even loop the Blue Line back around via the Watertown/Cambridge Greenway. Or run a branch of the Red Line down that way instead.
Ksevio t1_iyesmvl wrote
I think the idea would be the Red line would go above ground where the Minute Man is now. Putting it underground would definitely allow it to go faster and have less weather issues, but would be considerably more expensive
Master_Dogs t1_iyeuh4f wrote
I'm pretty sure you'd need to tunnel significant portions of it in order to handle (or really remove) at grade crossings. Just in Arlington alone there's a half dozen or so major street crossings. It would likely be done as a cut & cover style tunneling. Expensive? Yeah. But we've spent tens of billions on highways before with significantly less capacity and this would enable us to increase density around a ten mile or so corridor.
Ksevio t1_iyewah7 wrote
It would definitely have to go under in some cases. I'd picture it sort of like the orange line where it's exposed in sections and pops under for periods
theshoegazer t1_iye4mhc wrote
I think the Lynn extension would benefit the most people. And I'm not sure how many Red Line riders would prefer to connect the Blue at MGH to reach the airport (which then requires a bus connection), when they can go up a flight of stairs in South Station and hop on the Silver Line.
link0612 t1_iye5xpg wrote
Blue Line to Lynn is not very feasible without significant state legislation changes due to environmental impacts, and would also require significant takings of private property since the right of way in Revere and Lynn has been built upon.
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