The only saving grace of the travesty known as the Big Dig — in
fact, one of the reasons why it possible to get locals to agree to it
— is that
mass transit and other non-vehicular enhancements were supposed to flow
from the project. Yet as Cambridge Bike Committee wrote in a letter to
the Globe, these enhancements are now in danger of withering away,
leaving us with nothing but a big hole in the ground:
The proposed skate park in the North Point area
under the Zakim Bridge is a
reminder of the value our region can gain from the enhancements
promised as part of Big Dig agreements. But access to the skate park,
as well as public use of the entire North Point riverside, is in
jeopardy.
Big Dig enhancements are also supposed to create
multiuse paths over an inlet bridge going over the cove across from the
Science Museum and on a swing bridge across the Charles alongside the
existing railroad drawbridge. However, Big Dig managers are now trying
to divert money already promised for these projects to cover their
management and other costs.Four major systems — the paths along
the Charles, the routes coming from the Rose Kennedy Greenway and
Charlestown, and the planned community path through Somerville from the
Minuteman Trail — converge in the North Point area. Without the
promised connections, the whole system will be a dysfunctional reminder
of lost opportunity.It is essential that the major structural
linkages such as these two bridges be prioritized for construction
while funding is available or the opportunity may be forever lost.– Steven E. Miller
Color me cynical, but it seems to me now that the car-drivers got
what they wanted, public interest in completing an already over-bloated
project will just die. It makes me wonder whether there was ever a
good-faith intent to deliver on these enhancements, and just how
politically convenient it is that the enhancements come after the Dig itself ends, and public attention has waned.
Lesson for transit / bike / pedestrian advocates: without
enforceable mechanisms of accountability, we will always get screwed.
Road enhancements should be made both legally and chronologically dependent on executing real non-vehicular enhancements.
