At last week’s community meeting held at the Tynan School, Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn informed residents that he is opposed to the Edison Project (776 Summer St). Flynn conveyed that his opposition stems from concerns he’s heard from residents about safety impacts to transportation, the potential impact on the MBTA, the size of the project and its density, and environmental concerns. As a result, Flynn called for Independent Traffic and Impact Access, Environmental, and Utility studies.
“Elected officials are working closely with city, state and federal transportation agencies to implement traffic-calming policies to make our roads safer for all. I fail to see how adding 1,344 residential units, thousands of residents and hundreds of hotel rooms in City Point will help us to alleviate this crisis in our community,” said Flynn. “Last year, the data indicated 1,588 units would generate 20,370 vehicle trips on an average weekday. Their recent proposal stated that 1,344 units and significant commercial space, which is said to bring more traffic than residential units, are going to bring a much lower number of vehicles per day. I think an independent assessment is warranted, as tens of thousands of more vehicles per day will only contribute to this public safety issue, as well as traffic congestion.”
Flynn noted the MBTA’s challenges in meeting the demand of increased ridership, citing the line that forms at L & Broadway for the #7 bus every weekday morning. In addition, Flynn called for an Independent Environmental Assessment and Independent Utility study as well.
“I share concerns of those that want this site cleaned up. We have some of the highest rates of Scleroderma and Lupus in the country,” said Flynn. “We owe it to the people of South Boston to have an Independent Environmental Study. We also need the Boston Public Health Commission to weigh in on the health impacts for our neighborhood. Moreover, just last month, we had people on oxygen tanks in city point without power for days. We need to look at this from a utility perspective and whether our infrastructure could withstand development at this level.”
For more information, please contact Councilor Flynn’s office at 617-635-3203 & Ed.Flynn@Boston.Gov.
