USPS Expansion Mtg TONIGHT, 5:30 PM

Community Meeting on South Station and USPS Redevelopment/Expansion
5:30 PM
Made in Fort Point, 12 Farnsworth Street. 

All are welcome.  Co-hosted by FPAC and FPNA. With Kate Fichter of MassDOT presenting/leading the discussion.

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South Station Expansion Project

Massachusetts Department of Transportation

Informational Briefing – March 2012

Background

Boston South Station is the premier passenger rail hub in New England, serving rail passengers from the Northeast Corridor and beyond and connecting them to local and intercity destinations. It is one of the most significant architectural structures in the City of Boston, and one of its most important transportation assets. It is also important neighbor to the Chinatown, Fort Point, South Boston, and Seaport communities. South Station offers commuters and travelers not only Amtrak and MBTA Commuter Rail service, but also intercity bus, MBTA rapid transit, and MBTA bus rapid transit services. At present, however, South Station operates above its design capacity for efficient train operations and orderly passenger queueing. A recent award of $32.5 million¹ in High-Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail funding from the Federal Railroad Administration will make it possible for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Port Authority and the City of Boston, to pursue the foundational planning and environmental review necessary to ultimately expand South Station and its affiliated railyard capacity. The federal funding will be matched by $10.5 million in Commonwealth of Massachusetts monies. The effort commenced upon completion of the FRA grant-award process, at the beginning of September 2011.

Project Objectives

• To perform an Alternatives Analysis to determine how best to expand Boston South Station and create a new layover facility in order to improve existing rail service – local, regional, and intercity – in and out of Boston. The expansion of South Station will include improvements to tracks, platforms, interlockings, passenger facilities, and other attendant infrastructure.

• To plan and design an enhanced environment at and around South Station through improved streetscape and pedestrian, bicycle, local transit, and vehicular facilities, including the re-opening of Dorchester Avenue for public use.

• To consider opportunities for joint public/private development over an expanded South Station.

• To plan for the relocation of an existing U.S. Postal Service General Mail Facility in order to create an appropriate adjacent site onto which to expand Boston South Station.

Project Outcomes

• To improve current performance and enable growth in high-speed and other intercity passenger rail service throughout the Northeast, particularly between Boston, New York, and Washington, DC.

• To support a more attractive and higher-frequency MBTA Commuter Rail service, with associated benefits such as increased statewide transportation access, environmental sustainability, improved personal mobility.

• To leverage transportation investments at South Station to generate sustainable economic development and improved quality of life.

• To improve the public environmental around South Station.