Sep 26, 2007 11:43 pm US/Eastern
Urban Ring Could Drastically Change Boston Commute
by Joe Shortsleeve
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
Boston is seriously thinking about a major addition to its mass transit system called
the Urban Ring, which could radically transform how commuters get around the city.
Everyday close to a million people use the T to get in and out of Boston.
But a system that would make some trips in and out of the city easier is now on the drawing board.
The urban ring is a proposed major new transit service, and it would operate essentially in a circular pattern. It's a 17-mile loop that would link six cities and towns and allow commuters to skirt downtown Boston. Under the plan, a trip from Medford to Kendall Square would be much easier.
"The commute is much shorter and there would be a direct path of travel to Kendall Square," said Wendy Fox of the Transportation Department.
Fox said gridlock hinders growth in areas where the economy is expanding.
"There is a lot of expansion planned at BU, and Harvard, and MIT, and the Longwood Medical Area," she said.
The urban ring would be most similar to the current silver line -- with state of the art busses, dedicated lanes and possibly even some tunnels.
Chloe Safir, of Somerville, has to go through Boston every day to get to work in Brookline.
"It makes it so I spend a lot of time on the T, and less time actually doing work, which is frustrating," she said.
Right now, there are three final plans being evaluated, and cost estimates range from $700 million to $2.5 billion depending on whether they decide to actually dig a tunnel under the Longwood medical area.
Over the coming months the next step will be to settle on one of those three final proposals.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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