I believe it peaked at around 800,000 or 850,000 I dont remember.
The Big Dig
Started by
Guest_donaltopablo_*
, Aug 10 2003 05:46 PM
110 replies to this topic
#42
tocoto
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Hamlet
Posted 04 February 2004 - 08:16 PM
Yes, at one time there were that many. But demographics were different with larger families and fewer single person households. People and families lived in smaller, denser quarters. An increase to that level may happen someday, but not through luxury housing. It would have to be a significant amount of family housing, or at least moderately priced condos. None of that is happening now. Maybe in the future.
#43
Allan
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Posted 04 February 2004 - 09:34 PM
Boston would have to add a lot more larger buildings if it was ever to reach its peak population again. It seems like most of the new condos and apartments built in all cities today are luxury units. These are larger than the average condo, and thus require more space. Development patterns, as well as household patterns are very different than they were even 20 years ago. People require more space (the average home size continues to get larger and larger). Also, the average family keeps getting smaller and smaller.
Also, any single family homes built in the city today take up much wider lots. For instance Detroit lots used to be 30 feet wide. However, as the vacant houses get torn down, much wider lots are being created to accomodate the larger homes of today. I find it unlikely that Boston or any other northern city will reach its previous peak population anytime soon.
Also, any single family homes built in the city today take up much wider lots. For instance Detroit lots used to be 30 feet wide. However, as the vacant houses get torn down, much wider lots are being created to accomodate the larger homes of today. I find it unlikely that Boston or any other northern city will reach its previous peak population anytime soon.
#44
M. Brown
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Burg
Posted 04 February 2004 - 09:37 PM
I wish. What about Baltimore? or DC? I believe that DC's mayor's goal was to increase DC by 100,000. Baltimore seems to be on the right track, but ive never been there so I really wouldnt know.
#45
Allan
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Posted 04 February 2004 - 09:58 PM
D.C. is still loosing people. It is experiencing the same situation that many cities across the US are facing: family move out while immigrants & single people move in. It's rate of decline has probably slowed, however.
I can't really say about Baltimore. I was there for a brief time a few years ago. It seems that they are building more residential units, but I'm sure that families are still moving out of the city. Also, the new uits are mostly luxury units. Maybe someone else can add something about Baltimore....
I can't really say about Baltimore. I was there for a brief time a few years ago. It seems that they are building more residential units, but I'm sure that families are still moving out of the city. Also, the new uits are mostly luxury units. Maybe someone else can add something about Baltimore....
#46
M. Brown
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Burg
Posted 05 February 2004 - 05:20 AM
What about NYC. I hasnt even reached its peak yet.
#47
Scott
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Burg
Posted 05 February 2004 - 05:42 AM
That'a a good point NYC has I higher population than it ever has because they are not afraid to build tall and ugly.
Is this thread about the effects of the Big Dig or population growth?
Is this thread about the effects of the Big Dig or population growth?
#48
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Hamlet
Posted 05 February 2004 - 08:06 AM
NYC has actually gone up and down staying in the 7-8M range for decades. It has much larger city borders than boston, and that could help keep its pop up. Of course philly and balt also have larger city limits than boston and both have lost a lot of residents, and I believe both are still going down, as is detroit for that matter. Boston has been stable in the high 500's for 2 or 3 decades with slight increases at the last to census.
#49
bigbuilding
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Posted 05 February 2004 - 03:06 PM
I think Boston will see an increase in population. There are alot of condos that recently went up and many many more being developed. It would be interesting to get an exact number.
More importantly I think once the Big Dig is finished along with the Convention Center, and Logan upgrades Boston may become a one of the top cities in the world. Hopefully a couple large companies will move there HQ to Boston which will atract more people to Boston.
More importantly I think once the Big Dig is finished along with the Convention Center, and Logan upgrades Boston may become a one of the top cities in the world. Hopefully a couple large companies will move there HQ to Boston which will atract more people to Boston.
#50
tocoto
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Hamlet
Posted 05 February 2004 - 04:59 PM
Boston's prominence has increased in the last 30 years, but not that much. It has been a wealthy city known for research, higher education, and financial services for well over 100 years. It is already a world city and has some elements that are absolutely first class including Harvard, MIT, the MFA, symphony, archticure...
Companies move their HQ to boston with fair frequency. HQ also move away.
The number of condos going up is beyond counting but check out the boston redevelopment authority website to get a feeling. I think there are between 300 abnd 400 projects UC, approved, or under review ranging from a 4 family to a 700' office buildings. You can sort the list by project type.
Companies move their HQ to boston with fair frequency. HQ also move away.
The number of condos going up is beyond counting but check out the boston redevelopment authority website to get a feeling. I think there are between 300 abnd 400 projects UC, approved, or under review ranging from a 4 family to a 700' office buildings. You can sort the list by project type.
#51
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Posted 06 February 2004 - 07:42 PM
The impact the Big Dig is having on DT Boston extends to other neighborhoods like East Boston, Charlestown, Southie and Chinatown/ Leather District. The so-called Third Harbor Tunnel has created a whole new way to get to a major section of the city without having to drive thru the Central Artery. This has made East Boston real estate suddenly a very hot comodity after years of lagging behind other neighborhoods.
The biggest change in Charlestown was the depression of the ramps to the Tobin Bridge at the beginning of the project and the relocation of the elevated orange line a decade before. These projects have helped Charlestown transform from an Irish ghetto to an upscale livable neighborhood. The city also hopes to lure bio-tech industies to parcels along Rutherford Ave and the Navy Yard.
In South Boston the connection of Teddy's Tunnel to the Pike and the airport 5 minutes away has given new life to Bostons cruise industry. Yet, development of giant tracks of land along the waterfront has been slow because of the economy so developers are moving forward with residential projects over commercial.
Chinatown and the Leather District will see new parks andlandscaping from the Big Dig but will also see development of the former Wang Headquarters next to South Station where multiple buildings over 500-700` seem possible.
All made possible by the Big Dig...
The biggest change in Charlestown was the depression of the ramps to the Tobin Bridge at the beginning of the project and the relocation of the elevated orange line a decade before. These projects have helped Charlestown transform from an Irish ghetto to an upscale livable neighborhood. The city also hopes to lure bio-tech industies to parcels along Rutherford Ave and the Navy Yard.
In South Boston the connection of Teddy's Tunnel to the Pike and the airport 5 minutes away has given new life to Bostons cruise industry. Yet, development of giant tracks of land along the waterfront has been slow because of the economy so developers are moving forward with residential projects over commercial.
Chinatown and the Leather District will see new parks andlandscaping from the Big Dig but will also see development of the former Wang Headquarters next to South Station where multiple buildings over 500-700` seem possible.
All made possible by the Big Dig...
#52
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Posted 06 February 2004 - 10:51 PM
It's great to see that the Big Dig is having such positive impacts on the city, not just downtown, but in other areas of the city as well.
#53
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Posted 10 February 2004 - 04:16 PM
I think Boston's population is increasing according to the last census and will continue to increase slightly. As everyone said, most of the condos are luxury condos so it won't be torrent of people coming in. Demographics show that older baby boomers and empty nesters will start moving back to the city to enjoy its amenities. It's already playing out in Boston where high end condos are being snapped up before they are being built.
#54
Cotuit
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Posted 29 February 2004 - 05:46 PM
Dig's next squeeze may be tightest yet
Detour to shift I-93 lane onto Chinatown street
By Anthony Flint, Globe Staff, 2/27/2004
Just as motorists started getting used to the new southbound Big Dig, project officials are planning what could be the most aggravating detour in its history: a detour at the Dewey Square tunnel, which is being renovated.
The change could bring thousands of cars off Interstate 93 and onto Surface Road through Chinatown, a prospect that city officials worry will overwhelm the area.
Starting at the end of March or the beginning of April, southbound I-93 traffic will be split, with two lanes squeezed right into the west side of the Dewey Square tunnel. They will then be able to continue on I-93 south or veer off to Interstate 90 west, as they can now.
Drivers will also have the option of taking a single, left-hand lane, which will bring them to Exit 22 and onto Surface Road through Chinatown and then rejoin I-93 south at Kneeland Street. Project managers say that is a relief valve for through traffic.
"Everything the project has done in terms of detours has been like pulling wisdom teeth; it hurts, but we've managed it," said Matthew J. Amorello, chairman of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, which oversees the $14.6 billion Big Dig. "This may be more like a root canal."
Amorello called it the "last inconvenience" in the over-budget, behind-schedule project.
In about 10 months, when the Dewey Square tunnel is renovated and linked to the new Big Dig tunnel, the project will be almost entirely done, and drivers will have the run of five lanes through the one-third-mile stretch.
The reason for the temporary detour is that the Dewey Square tunnel, built in 1959 after officials decided to bury the Central Artery through Chinatown, is being readied for reuse. The tunnel has to be gutted and brought up to modern highway standards, which call for gentler curves and a slight, racetrack-like banking in the roadway to accommodate higher speeds.
Traffic must move through the tunnel while it is being worked on, said project director Michael Lewis. So the solution was to work on one side of the old tunnel, which had a total of six lanes, and then the other, he said. It is an $86 million job, and the contractor is Modern Continental.
Southbound I-93 traffic now is being routed in three lanes through the east side of the Dewey Square tunnel, the side formerly used for northbound traffic. Northbound drivers are using the new I-93 tunnel under Atlantic Street that opened in March.
Now that the west side of the Dewey Square tunnel has been completely refurbished, traffic is being moved there, so that the east side can be worked on.
Big Dig officials are worried that big backups will result from southbound traffic squeezing into two lanes, jams that may stretch all the way to the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge, the Tobin Bridge onramps, and the lower deck of I-93.
That is why they planned "a relief valve," said Big Dig traffic manager Charles Sterling, giving drivers the option of taking the surface route through Chinatown. But they will have to decide early which way to go in the new southbound I-93 tunnel, because a Jersey barrier will extend about 700 feet before the split.
Those electing to take the surface detour will head up the existing Exit 22 offramp, travel south on Surface Road, and cross Kneeland Street to rejoin I-93 south. They can also reach the Mass. Pike (I-90) west and Albany Street, which gives them another chance to get on I-93 south via an onramp near Traveler Street.
There will be three traffic lights, but they will be synchronized so they are green at the same time, allowing traffic to pulse through, Big Dig officials said. If they hit a red light, drivers will have to wait 50 seconds at most, officials said.
James Gillooly, the city's liaison to the Big Dig project, said that he doesn't want drivers heading southbound on I-93 to use the surface detour.
"People will be better served staying in the tunnel," he said. "You will have to be a little more patient, but you will get through."
The Surface Road is primarily for local traffic or for people downtown or in the Financial District to get to I-93 south at Kneeland Street, he said.
Chinatown will have to put up with several more months of heavy use of Surface Road, Gillooly acknowledged, but the payoff will come when the project is finished and the street is made narrower, allowing for more sidewalks and park space.
In addition to increased difficulty for pedestrians trying to cross a road being used as an interstate detour, the intersection of Surface Road and Kneeland Street is another potential gridlock spot and source of confusion. The entrance ramp to I-93 will only be for drivers using the Surface Road detour; no one on Kneeland Street will be able to use it.
That means drivers on Kneeland must ignore the signs for I-93 south and instead use the entrance ramp for I-90 west and then bear left onto Albany Street and use the Traveler Street onramp to I-93 south.
Trying to devise the Dewey Square tunnel rehabilitation has been giving Big Dig project managers fits for years. One earlier plan that was abandoned called for a viaduct to be built through Chinatown along Albany Street, which would have emptied the old tunnel completely, so it could be refurbished.
When the Dewey Square tunnel is finished, sometime around February 2005, the Big Dig will be close to completion.
There will be four lanes on the Zakim Bridge and five lanes in the three-quarter-mile southbound tunnel. At Dewey Square, those headed to westbound I-90 will use a two-lane collector on the west side of the refurbished tunnel, though they still will have the option to continue south on I-93. Those headed south of the city on I-93 can use three lanes on the east side of the renovated tunnel. Project officials say the net effect will be a wide-open artery from the Zakim Bridge to the Southeast Expressway.
From The Boston Globe
Detour to shift I-93 lane onto Chinatown street
By Anthony Flint, Globe Staff, 2/27/2004
Just as motorists started getting used to the new southbound Big Dig, project officials are planning what could be the most aggravating detour in its history: a detour at the Dewey Square tunnel, which is being renovated.
The change could bring thousands of cars off Interstate 93 and onto Surface Road through Chinatown, a prospect that city officials worry will overwhelm the area.
Starting at the end of March or the beginning of April, southbound I-93 traffic will be split, with two lanes squeezed right into the west side of the Dewey Square tunnel. They will then be able to continue on I-93 south or veer off to Interstate 90 west, as they can now.
Drivers will also have the option of taking a single, left-hand lane, which will bring them to Exit 22 and onto Surface Road through Chinatown and then rejoin I-93 south at Kneeland Street. Project managers say that is a relief valve for through traffic.
"Everything the project has done in terms of detours has been like pulling wisdom teeth; it hurts, but we've managed it," said Matthew J. Amorello, chairman of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, which oversees the $14.6 billion Big Dig. "This may be more like a root canal."
Amorello called it the "last inconvenience" in the over-budget, behind-schedule project.
In about 10 months, when the Dewey Square tunnel is renovated and linked to the new Big Dig tunnel, the project will be almost entirely done, and drivers will have the run of five lanes through the one-third-mile stretch.
The reason for the temporary detour is that the Dewey Square tunnel, built in 1959 after officials decided to bury the Central Artery through Chinatown, is being readied for reuse. The tunnel has to be gutted and brought up to modern highway standards, which call for gentler curves and a slight, racetrack-like banking in the roadway to accommodate higher speeds.
Traffic must move through the tunnel while it is being worked on, said project director Michael Lewis. So the solution was to work on one side of the old tunnel, which had a total of six lanes, and then the other, he said. It is an $86 million job, and the contractor is Modern Continental.
Southbound I-93 traffic now is being routed in three lanes through the east side of the Dewey Square tunnel, the side formerly used for northbound traffic. Northbound drivers are using the new I-93 tunnel under Atlantic Street that opened in March.
Now that the west side of the Dewey Square tunnel has been completely refurbished, traffic is being moved there, so that the east side can be worked on.
Big Dig officials are worried that big backups will result from southbound traffic squeezing into two lanes, jams that may stretch all the way to the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge, the Tobin Bridge onramps, and the lower deck of I-93.
That is why they planned "a relief valve," said Big Dig traffic manager Charles Sterling, giving drivers the option of taking the surface route through Chinatown. But they will have to decide early which way to go in the new southbound I-93 tunnel, because a Jersey barrier will extend about 700 feet before the split.
Those electing to take the surface detour will head up the existing Exit 22 offramp, travel south on Surface Road, and cross Kneeland Street to rejoin I-93 south. They can also reach the Mass. Pike (I-90) west and Albany Street, which gives them another chance to get on I-93 south via an onramp near Traveler Street.
There will be three traffic lights, but they will be synchronized so they are green at the same time, allowing traffic to pulse through, Big Dig officials said. If they hit a red light, drivers will have to wait 50 seconds at most, officials said.
James Gillooly, the city's liaison to the Big Dig project, said that he doesn't want drivers heading southbound on I-93 to use the surface detour.
"People will be better served staying in the tunnel," he said. "You will have to be a little more patient, but you will get through."
The Surface Road is primarily for local traffic or for people downtown or in the Financial District to get to I-93 south at Kneeland Street, he said.
Chinatown will have to put up with several more months of heavy use of Surface Road, Gillooly acknowledged, but the payoff will come when the project is finished and the street is made narrower, allowing for more sidewalks and park space.
In addition to increased difficulty for pedestrians trying to cross a road being used as an interstate detour, the intersection of Surface Road and Kneeland Street is another potential gridlock spot and source of confusion. The entrance ramp to I-93 will only be for drivers using the Surface Road detour; no one on Kneeland Street will be able to use it.
That means drivers on Kneeland must ignore the signs for I-93 south and instead use the entrance ramp for I-90 west and then bear left onto Albany Street and use the Traveler Street onramp to I-93 south.
Trying to devise the Dewey Square tunnel rehabilitation has been giving Big Dig project managers fits for years. One earlier plan that was abandoned called for a viaduct to be built through Chinatown along Albany Street, which would have emptied the old tunnel completely, so it could be refurbished.
When the Dewey Square tunnel is finished, sometime around February 2005, the Big Dig will be close to completion.
There will be four lanes on the Zakim Bridge and five lanes in the three-quarter-mile southbound tunnel. At Dewey Square, those headed to westbound I-90 will use a two-lane collector on the west side of the refurbished tunnel, though they still will have the option to continue south on I-93. Those headed south of the city on I-93 can use three lanes on the east side of the renovated tunnel. Project officials say the net effect will be a wide-open artery from the Zakim Bridge to the Southeast Expressway.
From The Boston Globe
#55
M. Brown
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Burg
Posted 29 February 2004 - 09:19 PM
I hate that green rusty ole thang. I agree they should build an observation tower. Build another Bunker Hill Monument style tower in the Kennedy Greenway. At least 1000 ft tall. That would be awesome. Make it of stainless steel and Concrete. I wanna draw it out on paper and post it on here. Imma try and do that. I can see it now.
#57
Scott
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Burg
Posted 01 March 2004 - 10:26 AM
Fresh Big Dig destruction pic!!!
#58
Neo
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Posted 01 March 2004 - 11:34 AM
Coming along quite nicely in demolition!
#59
M. Brown
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Burg
Posted 11 March 2004 - 03:19 PM
Just Imagine what the rose kennedy green way is gonna be like
#60
Allan
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Posted 11 March 2004 - 07:38 PM
YAY!!! That hideous green monster will be gone forever very soon 
. This project is changing Boston for the better & opening up an entire world of possibilities. I wish other cities would place their freeways in tunnels; unfortunately that is cost prohibitive.
. This project is changing Boston for the better & opening up an entire world of possibilities. I wish other cities would place their freeways in tunnels; unfortunately that is cost prohibitive.
