Ashmont T Station

Mike Mulhern pledges MBTA support for Ashmont Station

The local leaders of the Ashmont Station Redesign Committee received a letter of support from the out-going MBTA General Manager, Mike Mulhern. 

As most of you know, Mike has been a tireless advocate for Ashmont Station, literally breathing life into the project when the best we hoped for was a new roof.  In an ironic twist of fate, we are still looking for a new roof to complete our new station design.  Last week the MBTA opened bids for the first of two construction phases for Ashmont Station.  Details remain, but the majority of the station will be built under the Phase 1 contract of about $34.6 million.  The remaining scope of work, namely the roof between the two headhouses is not yet funded or re-designed.  When will that happen? No one really knows. 

Concerned residents hope to ask the new General Manager, Dan Grabauskas to see Ashmont's design and funding problems through to the last roof panel.  In the meantime please look at the letter it shows how far we have come in the last four years...unfortunately not all the way yet. 

Download 050422Mulhern.pdf

Charity at Home

The recent decision by the Cedar Grove Civic Association to disapprove of the sale of a private residence to a group seeking to house mentally-retarded adults is shameful. That the civic association meets in a church hall is chillingly ironic. This is the third time in recent memory that the Cedar Grove Civic Association has gone up in arms, virulently opposing measures to bring changes to their neighborhood. The resulting image portrays a civic association less interested civil activism than social castigation.

Let’s put aside the issue of treating mentally retarded adults fairly. I’m sure the majority of people at the civic association meeting had no intention to stigmatize people who especially deserve a safe place to live. The hackneyed and unhelpful NIMBY reaction to the issue of a group home is clearly a sign of the neighborhood’s anger.

What are these members of Cedar Grove Civic Association so angry about? Our houses are worth more than ever before, our neighborhood is safe and yet there is real outrage that disabled people should want to live in this environment. The opponents of the house sale use fear of the unknown, fear of falling property values, fear of the mentally disabled to stoke their neighbors’ ire. I live in Dorchester because I believe there is no substitute for the diversity and strength of community here. There is an ugly element of intolerance for anything or anyone that goes beyond the norm in the civic association’s rejection of Bay Cove’s bid to purchase the Chelmsford Street House. By definition the mentally disabled are not in the norm and they deserve our respect more than our disdain.

Finally I know that this statement will antagonize the already intolerant. There will always be room for fear and loathing in our hearts, it is much harder and more worthwhile for this community if we act with kindness and love for those who are disadvantaged. I hope that Cedar Grove Civic Association will look to negotiate with Bay Cove to find a good home for our deserving neighbors.

Ashmont Bids Announced

The winning bidder for the station is Barletta Heavy Division, Inc. with a price of $34.6 million. The bids are available on-line (see the attached .pdf file of the MBTA's website).  According to previous announcements the first shovel of dirt should be turned in July.  Before we begin to dissemble this good news, let's enjoy the fact that we will have a new station!

Download ashmont_bidresponsesdetail.pdf

Savin Hill Station

The new Savin Hill station designed by the firm of Stull and Lee is a genially subversive connector between Dorchester and the Expressway. Poised to catch motorists attention as the expressway grinds to a halt, the Savin Hill Station offers Red Line passengers a glass enclosed and wind protected glimpse of how the driving half spends their morning commute.

The tight confines of the old toll booth are replicated in the new station but the average commuter will have a star turn on the catwalk as they proceed to the new waiting area above the tracks. 

Enclosed in sleek curtain wall glass, the waiting area is part of the first building that will genuinely recognize the expressway.  Commuters will be able to stand around reading; finishing their homework, anticipating the train and watching the traffic go by occupying the high ground, literally, next to the grim and often chaotic highway.

The station, clad in an unspectacularly modern pastiche of brick, metal and glass subtly, detaches from the neighborhood after the headhouse and offers a unique commentary on two modes of transportation. The unassuming entry seems calculated to not offend passersby.  The best moments in the station: where a passenger is suspended between street, highway and track are underplayed by the station, one wishes the architecture once free of expectation of "street manners" would take license with this moment of waiting.  The material and form of the waiting area and platforms are handled solidly but bluntly.  In the end the Savin Hill station is like a first quarter field goal kicked from the one yard line after the team had first and goal.