Endorsing Requests for Action or Further Study for the I-90 Allston Interchange Project in Boston

1 RESPONSE TO DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT OF I-90 ALLSTON INTERCHANGE PROJECT IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS BY HENRIETTA DAVIS, CAMBRIDGE COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVE TO I-90 TASK FORCE January 24, 2018 1. TRANSIT/MULTI-MODAL PLANNING Problem: Transit plans in DEIR for I-90 are inadequate; implementation of West Station is delayed until 2040. Requests for Action or Further Study:  Begin transit planning now.  Plan West Station as a future public transportation hub for access (transit, pedestrian, bicycles) to Kendall Square and North Station, as well as to the Longwood Medical Area (in addition to serving as a commuter rail station).  Take short-term action to develop and implement bus routes.  Construct initial parts of West Station, at least as a temporary station for buses, as part of the I-90 project.  Rebuild the Grand Junction railroad bridge over Soldiers Field Road as part of I-90 project to accommodate two transit tracks in the future and remove an obstacle in the Paul Dudley White path. Include this rebuilding in all “throat” options. Comment: It is unacceptable to defer transit planning and implementation. It has long been part of Cambridge’s public transportation objectives to develop plans for transit, pedestrian, and bicycle access for Kendall Square and beyond to North Station and the Longwood Medical Area. It essential that these plans focused on West Station move forward as part of the I-90 project, and not wait until detailed plans for the development of the project area are created. Public infrastructure should create the context for development, not wait to react to it. 2. ACCESS TO/FROM SOLDIERS FIELD ROAD Problem: The DEIR proposes to eliminate the important direct exit from Soldiers Field Road to Cambridge by removing the entire 2-lane exit ramp. Requests for Action or Further Study:  Retain a narrower exit ramp from Soldiers Field Road as a single-lane with right-turn- only for cars heading to Cambridge via River Street Bridge.  Design the single-lane exit ramp to be as narrow as possible to create space for improved pedestrian/bicycle pathway leading to River Street Bridge. Comment: We support the DEIR plan for an underpass of Soldiers Field Road at new Cambridge Street in Allston for SFR moves to and from Allston, Brookline and the Turnpike. Eliminating the right-turn exit toward Cambridge, however, creates an unacceptable and longer route through the new Allston street grid with 4-6 signalized intersections. That grid must also handle all traffic to/from the Turnpike as well as traffic generated by future Harvard development. Separating out Cambridge traffic onto its own exit ramp from SFR will reduce the load on the new street grid. 3. ACCESS TO/FROM MASS TURNPIKE Problem: There is no analysis of travel times connecting Cambridge to/from the Turnpike in DEIR. Current street grid proposed in DEIR is likely to create unacceptable time delays.

2 Requests for Action or Further Study:  Demonstrate and design reasonable travel times between Cambridge and Turnpike (to/from Turnpike both East and West).  Design appropriate signalization, possible reserved lanes, and other traffic management strategies for Cambridge access and egress in new street grid.  Require that “East Drive” and “Stadium Way” be built and added to the grid of new streets to provide more direct access to/from the Turnpike and Western Avenue.  Undertake detailed traffic and design study of the Cambridge roadways most impacted by the I-90 project, including River Street Bridge, Western Avenue, Memorial Drive, and adjacent neighborhood streets.  Study details of such traffic analysis and management plans in collaboration with transportation departments of Cambridge, Boston, Brookline, and the two universities directly involved – Harvard and BU. Comment: Under the current plan, all cars and trucks entering and exiting the Turnpike are expected to use the new, signalized street grid in Allston. The new street grid would serve the Mass Turnpike, Soldiers Field Road, new Harvard development, and Allston/Brookline traffic – as well as Cambridge. This is an essential area for Cambridge auto travel toward the west to Route 128 and east to downtown Boston, South Boston, and Logan Airport. Drivers going to and from the West may choose, instead, to use Nonantum Road/Soldiers Field Road, and the Newton Corner access points. Expected travel times to and from Cambridge have not been studied. As for Cambridge roads, the DEIR analysis of additional traffic on Western Avenue and Memorial Drive is inadequate. What there is shows unacceptable loads on residential streets. Additional traffic would overload such already highly congested roadways. Impact on truck traffic routing is not addressed. The Mass Avenue Bridge, Main Street/Longfellow Bridge, Memorial Drive, and other routes will become more attractive alternatives to the Mass Pike to avoid the project area entirely. 4. NOISE Problem: DEIR provides inadequate analysis of noise impacts on Cambridge residents and park users, and fails to develop acceptable mitigation plans. Requests for Action or Further Study:  Reduce current Turnpike noise levels at the source of the noise.  Conduct additional study and analysis to adequately to understand impacts on Cambridge.  Require a detailed action plan to mitigate noise impacts.  Include modern 21st Century noise walls on the Turnpike (including visually transparent ones) that are increasingly added to highways around the world. Comment: The DEIR proposes no effective design elements to reduce current harmful noise levels from the steady Turnpike roar now heard in the Cambridgeport and Riverside neighborhoods and at Magazine Beach park. From their homes, residents complain of noise disturbances, particularly in third floor bedrooms. These residential disturbances are not adequately covered by DEIR studies. Magazine Beach, which is a large urban park of 17-acres, is a gem of a public space, but its value is greatly diminished by noise. Noise is magnified by reflecting off the flat surface of the river and the tall BU buildings. The DEIR uses standardized, nation-wide formulas to conclude that

3 noise walls and other design elements to lower noise levels in the neighborhood and in the park are not “cost effective.” The focus of plans should be on effectiveness; official formulas do not account for the site-specific circumstances. 5. THE “THROAT” Problem: The DEIR fails adequately to analyze comparative impacts on Cambridge of the three options for the “Throat,” and fails to present a comprehensive alternative that reduces those impacts. Requests for Action or Further Study:  Create a fourth throat option for the Turnpike, revised from the current three, that meets the following criteria: o Reduction of current noise levels. o A visually inoffensive and possibly even attractive structure. o Reconstruction of the Grand Junction Bridge over Soldiers Field Road to prepare for potential use of the Grand Junction route for future transit and pedestrian/bicycle pathway. o Positive impact on the Paul Dudley White path, green space, and river edge. Comment: The categories of impacts on Cambridge are noise, visual appearance from our side of the river, reconstruction of Grand Junction Railroad over Soldiers Field Road, and pathways and greenspace along the river edge. These issues were not adequately addressed in the DEIR. Also needed is analysis of use of the vacant “barrel” under one direction of the Turnpike in the HV-3 option for relocation of east bound direction of Soldiers Field Road, thereby providing more space for pathways and parkland. 6. TURNPIKE WIDTH Problem: HV3, MassDOT’s currently preferred viaduct option, unnecessarily increases the width of the Turnpike viaduct by about 60 feet more than currently exists. This result is a significant reduction in already limited space for pathways and parklands at the edge of the Charles River. Requests for Action or Further Study:  Minimize Turnpike width to protect and increase space for pedestrian/bike pathways and maximize parkland by the river.  Revise HV3 option to have narrower shoulders or use HV4, an option described in the DEIR that does have narrower shoulders but was rejected.  Rebuild the Turnpike with travel lanes no wider than those now existing. Comments: HV3 adds wider travel lanes and wider shoulders equating to almost a full travel lane in each direction over what now exists in the Turnpike both east (toward Prudential Tunnel) and west (toward Newton Corner) of the reconstruction area. HV3 would widen the curb-to-curb width of the Turnpike pavement from existing 96 feet to 120 feet, and increase overall width of the viaduct structure by about 60 feet. We question the “safety” justification for increased width in the limited project area, since the rest of the Turnpike from Route 128 to downtown Boston has a consistently narrower design, with occasional pull-out areas for breakdowns. Increasing the viaduct width unnecessarily occupies valuable space that should be used for enhanced pathways, green space, and river edge. 7. ENHANCE PARKLAND AND PAUL DUDLEY WHITE PATHWAYS

4 Problem: The DEIR acknowledges that statutes require that proposed transportation facilities that would use public parklands must be developed to “enhance” those parklands, as well as mitigate negative impacts. The DEIR focuses on minimizing negatives, but fails to deal sufficiently with creating positives in this area of the Charles River, with its parklands, river edge, and Paul Dudley White pathways. Requests for Action or Further Study: Actions described above:  Develop effective strategies and design features to improve noise levels at Magazine Beach  Minimize the width of Turnpike to maximize parkland and enhance the Paul Dudley White Path and river edge.  Maximize the potential area for pathways and parkland in designing the single-lane right- turn exit ramp from Soldiers Field Road to River Street Bridge.  Rebuild the Grand Junction bridge over Soldiers Field Road to remove a current obstacle in the Paul Dudley White path. Additional actions:  Add design of an underpass for pedestrians and cyclists under both the River Street and Western Avenue Bridges on the Boston side of the Charles River to plans for reconstruction of those bridges in the future.  Study whether the relocation of Soldiers Field Road in the area of new “Cambridge Street South” can be moved further from the river.  Include as a feature of the all at-grade throat option (ABC) two pedestrian/bicycle bridges from the BU/Commonwealth Avenue area to the Paul Dudley White path, as described in the submission of A Better City to MassDOT in July 2017. Comments: The Charles River basin is a world-class environmental resource profoundly affected by the proposed highway project. Pedestrians, cyclists, and joggers treasure this resource, both as parkland and as non-auto transportation corridor. Cambridge residents and many others extensively use the river-front pathways for commuting and recreation, with the pathways increasingly used as bikeways. This huge highway project should enhance these parklands and non-auto transportation uses now and for the future. 8. CONSTRUCTION MITIGATION/PROJECT IMPACT COMPENSATION Problem: Cambridge will experience years of aggravation and disruption while this project is constructed. Our quality of life will suffer. Traffic shifts and increased congestion will affect all alternative routes and all modes of transportation. Pathway and roadway closings, as well as years of construction noise impact, need to be addressed at this stage of the I-90 project. Requests for Action or Further Study:  Develop a specific action plan now to mitigate construction impacts.  Detail a bus and transit plan to address years of disruption.  Plan roadway traffic management for the routes noted below when auto traffic will seek other routes during construction periods.  Address impacts of construction diversions on Memorial Drive and neighborhood streets.  Describe specific steps to reduce the impact of construction noise on Cambridgeport, Riverside, and Magazine Beach Park.  Improve the pedestrian/bicycle pathways on the Cambridge side of the river to accommodate heavier use during construction. Comments: When Soldiers Field Road and the Turnpike are closed for periods, there will be unavoidable traffic impacts on Memorial Drive, River Street, Western Avenue, Mass Avenue, the many bridges across the Charles, and many neighborhood streets. Central, Kendall, and Harvard

5 Squares will be impacted. Closing of Paul Dudley White pathways will result in more walkers, bikers, and joggers using paths on the Cambridge side of the river. Transit, bus, shuttles, trucks and other transportation modes will also face congestion. We will have years of hassle.