The state’s Executive Office of Transportation (EOT) recently initiated the public process for a proposed project that would link the MBTA’s Red and Blue Lines - the only two lines that don’t currently intersect within the subway system - via a 1,500-foot connector beneath Cambridge Street.
According to EOT spokesman Colin Durant, the project would extend the Blue Line from the Government Center Station to make a connection with Charles/MGH Station on the Red Line. The Blue Line, the shortest line in the system, now runs from a distance of a little more than seven miles from Bowdoin Station in downtown Boston to Wonderland Station in Revere.
The project would allow Blue Line passengers to more efficiently connect to downtown and to the major medical facilities in the Cambridge Street area, including Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Durant said. Passengers from the northwest metropolitan area of Greater Boston would have direct access to the Blue Line without making multiple transfers.
Durant said other potential benefits of the connector include: “increasing transit ridership, especially by providing hospital workers and visitors with a direct Blue Line connection; improving mobility and regional access, especially for residents of East Boston, the North Shore, Cambridge and suburbs to the northwest of Boston; reducing congestion in downtown transfer stations; creating a second airport connection for passengers from the northwest metropolitan Boston area; and improving the layover area for Blue Line cars at the west end of the Blue Line by creating new storage and crossovers for rail vehicles.”
The current phase of the project includes preparation of a Draft Environmental Impact Report and conceptual engineering. In light of other ongoing and anticipated projects in the area, EOT will be coordinating with nearly a dozen other efforts, including the reconstruction of the Longfellow Bridge and the Storrow Drive tunnel. The EOT is legally required to complete all environmental reviews and final design for the connector by December 31, 2011.
According to the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), the commonwealth agreed to prepare a final design for the connector as part of a November 2006 settlement with the environmental advocacy organization. In March 2005, the CLF filed a lawsuit against the commonwealth in which it claimed that the state was behind schedule on numerous transit projects that were intended to offset the traffic and environmental impacts of the Big Dig.
Among the advocated for the connector is Partners Healthcare System, Inc., which was founded by MGH and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
John Messervey, director of Capital and Facility Planning for Partners said, "The MGH has banked on the extension of the Blue Line since it was announced in 1991, and that commitment has influenced our decisions about how to develop the main campus as well as where to locate our community health centers. Two important reasons for locating the Yawkey Center for Outpatient Care next to the Charles/MGH station and for relocating the Revere Health Care Center next to the Revere Beach station were to improve accessibility to primary and specialty care for our patients from communities north of the city and to encourage the increased use of transit by our employees. So we are strong supporters of the Blue Line extension and would like to see it accomplished with a minimum of disruption to adjacent businesses and residents."
State Rep. Marty Walz, meanwhile, believes the potential impact of the project on the community must be carefully examined and urged the community to participate in the public process.
“If the Red Line-Blue Line Connector is built, public transportation for West End and Beacon Hill residents will be enhanced, but we must ask if the benefit is worth the disruption to the community, particularly now that the Cambridge Street reconstruction is finally complete,” Walz told the Times. “The stakes are high, so I urge people to actively participate in the planning and evaluation process that is now underway.”
Beacon Hill Business Association Executive Director Ellen Rooney, who was one of the few in attendance at the first meeting of the EOT-sponsored Red Line/Blue Line Connector Working Group on March 24, said the consequences of the project for Cambridge Street businesses should also be taken into account.
“The Business Association is concerned about the impact on Cambridge Street businesses, and the thought of another potential disruption to that street worries us,” Rooney said.
The second meeting of the Red Line/Blue Line Connector Working Group is scheduled for May, although the date and location have yet to be released. The group will continue to meet through the end of next year, with time allotted for public comments, before it drafts its recommendation for the project.

The Gibson House Museum held its annual benefit on March 22 at the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel. The benefit kicked off the 150th anniversary year of the construction of the Gibson House, and honored Richard Wendorf, director and librarian of the Boston Athenaeum, for his contributions to Boston's cultural life. Pictured, left to right, are Richard Wendorf of the Boston Athenaeum, Gibson House Museum Board President Lecia Harbison of Lime Street, and Gibson House Museum Executive Director Charles Swift.

While the real estate market has taken a heavy hit in recent months, the forecast for condo sales on Beacon Hill is far from dismal.
“I’m very busy as I always am,” said Pauline Donnelly, a realtor for Coldwell Banker’s Charles Street office. “The biggest challenge is not the prices falling, but the lack of inventory.”
According to the MLS Property Information Network, the median price of a condo is up to $562,000 in the first quarter of 2009, compared with $410,000 during the same time last year. The average price of a condo in the neighborhood, meanwhile, has dropped slightly to $592,000 this year, as opposed to $611,000 in the first quarter of 2008.
While the number of sales has dropped to 18 properties in the first quarter of 2009 - from 31 during the same time last year - Donnelly attributes this in part to the perception that now is not a good time to sell.
“The reality is it’s actually a good time because of the lack of inventory,” she said. “There are actually a lot of buyers out there, and they’re frustrated because there’s nothing to buy.”
But even in the best market, Donnelly points out that Beacon Hill will always have a limited number of available properties. “[The neighborhood] is not expanding, and they’re not building anything new on Beacon Hill,” she said.
As for why Beacon Hill remains so desirable, Donnelly cites its central location in the city and easy access to the highway and public transportation as only the beginning of the neighborhood’s assets.
“It’s a very special and unique neighborhood with a great sense of community,” Donnelly said. “People aren’t just buying property, they’re buying a lifestyle.”
Pauline Donnelly of Coldwell Banker can be reached at 617-216-1609 or via e-mail at pauline.donnelly@nemoves.com.

Olga Mershakova of DeLuca's Market puts out fresh spring flowers.

Don Giovanni at the Shubert

“All the world is a stage,” and the Boston Lyric Opera Company proved that on Sunday as the trial of Don Giovanni was held at the Joseph Moakley Courthouse. Presiding over the case was none other than Beacon Hill resident, former judge and current insurance commissioner, Nonnie Burnes. Other Hillers at the event included Lise and Myles Striar, Rick Burnes and Suki and Miguel de Braganca. The staged courtroom play included singing and a history of Don Giovanni in context of the 18th century. This production was part of the spring opera overture. The court recessed before the verdict was reached. According to judge’s instruction, the court proceedings won’t resume until the production starts on April 24. Judge Burnes also encouraged all jurors to discuss this production among each other and their friends. “You can deliver the verdict at the production,” she said.

Great police work
Special thanks go to Captain Bernie O’Rourke and his staff for the quick arrest of the suspects in the second robbery on Pinckney Street in less than five weeks. O’Rourke noted that District A-1 receives the most calls of any district in the city. As a result, he has access to resources that other area stations may not be able to obtain. In recent weeks, O’Rourke has increased foot patrols in the neighborhood that has paid off.


Esplanade gets repairs
Jogging along the Esplanade, or in my case probably shuffling, on early Sunday morning, the work that the Department of Conservation and Recreation from the wading pool across from MGH to almost Fairfield is a welcome site. According to spokesperson Wendy Fox, the project will be completed by the end of June. The project entails replacing or repairing the existing fencing and repairing the curbing in sections like the lagoon between Exeter and Fairfield. Cost of the project is $3.6 million.

What about the children?

The recent comment in the Boston Globe by the head of the Boston Teachers Union that said we don’t want Teach for America to help in the schools is self- serving and forgets the core reason what their job is - educate the youth.
Teach for America is a group of students from some prestigious colleges who are inspired to share their energy and knowledge with public school children. The first group of 20 is expected to arrive in Boston this fall. However, the Teachers Union has rejected their help. Teach for America trained teachers are expected to fill full-time teaching positions.
According to the school department, Teach for America teachers will receive competitive salaries. Current full-time schoolteachers who may be laid off will be given the first opportunity at a position offered to Teach for America workers if they have proper state certification to teach in certain disciplines.
Even with the predicted layoffs so severe, the Teach for America’s teachers can fill an important gap.
The reality is there is a budget crisis in the City of Boston. This crisis is not manufactured by Mayor Menino. President Obama is printing trillions of dollars to jumpstart us out of this deepening recession. Governor Deval Patrick and House Speaker Robert DeLeo are warning about billions of dollars lost in revenue and the looming possibility of severe cuts in core state services. Even the Boston Globe may be forced to go out of business as a result of the severe business downturn. We understand that no one likes to get paid less for the same work that’s done by someone else. We understand that if there isn’t sufficient transparency in the city budget process, then there is reason for doubt. We have mentioned in previous editorials that either a gentlemen’s agreement or an understanding in writing could be reached that could answer the concerns of the Teachers Union about the severity of the economic crisis in Boston in the coming months. But make no mistake, there is an economic crisis. To flatly refuse experienced help at this time is wrong. To put in a non-certified teacher is wrong.
Twenty college educated mentors from Teach For America is not the difference in keeping hundreds of teachers employed in today’s budget crisis. However, if 20 students may be the difference in the education process of at least one student, then what is the issue for the Teachers Union?