Transit Advocates Call for Red-Blue Connector
When do you think all subway lines on the MBTA will be connected? That’s the eternal question that has plagued Boston for more than a century, since The Boston Globe first…
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When do you think all subway lines on the MBTA will be connected?
That's the eternal question that has plagued Boston for more than a century, since The Boston Globe first proposed connecting the MBTA's Red and Blue lines.
Today, the Red and Blue lines remain the only two subway lines on the T that do not connect. Riders have to make two transfers, via the Green or Orange lines, to travel between them. Not only are these transfers inconvenient, but they also increase passenger congestion and reduce capacity at Park Street and Government Center.
Writing for the Commonwealth Beacon, Will Palmer, Elias Fen, and James Aloisi said that now is the time to take action. They noted that many of the region's primary job centers and destinations, such as the Longwood Medical Area, Back Bay, and Downtown Boston, can be accessed from every corner of the rapid transit network via a single transfer. Thus, employers in the area could attract talent if excellent transit service were in place.
In addition to supporting current needs for reliable transportation for employers, Palmer, Fen, and Aloisi believe that the Red-Blue Connector is an investment in the future.
"A total of 10,000 new units of housing are planned for Suffolk Downs, at the East Boston-Revere border: Red-Blue allows Cambridge employers to compete for those workers," they wrote in the Commonwealth Beacon. "Suffolk Downs also plans to have office space for 25,000 jobs. Red-Blue makes those jobs more readily accessible by transit to residents along the entirety of the Red Line corridor, from the South Shore, Dorchester, and South Boston, to Cambridge, Somerville, Arlington, Belmont, and other communities west of Boston."
A Red-Blue Connector would also help reduce traffic to Boston Logan International Airport, the authors said, while increasing capacity across the MBTA's network.
"A well-designed, value-engineered Red-Blue Connector would cost no more than $1 billion through completion. Its significant benefits in comparison — access to key destinations, economic growth, and reductions in emissions — make Red-Blue a low-risk, high-value proposition," they added.
