“Is MassDOT ready to admit that Allston needs more trains and fewer lanes?” CRWA Featured in Streetsblog Mass
For years, we at CRWA have voiced our concerns regarding the proposed Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) reconfiguration of Interstate 90 (i.e. I-90 or Mass Pike), Soldiers Field Road and the Framingham/Worcester railroad line along the Charles River waterfront in Allston – known as the Allston Multimodal (I-90) Project. While we are excited about the potential of this project to provide a new commuter rail stop, a wider, safer bike and pedestrian path, more parkland, and more housing in underutilized land, the current plan has a major flaw: it would expand the roadway between Boston University and the Charles River, requiring the bike/pedestrian path to be built *IN* the river.
We are thankful to Christian MilNeil for including CRWA and our renderings in his article, “The Path Forward for Allston’s Highway Megaproject Is Getting Narrower", quoting CRWA’s Executive Director Emily Norton, “If MassDOT wants to build 8 lanes here, then what we’re actually talking about is a highway expansion project. Because it’s been 6 lanes for over 5 years now. It would be 6 lanes through the decade-plus of construction (of the Allston Multimodal Project)," says Norton. "Can you tell me anywhere else in the state where you’re planning a highway expansion next to a new commuter rail stop?”
