In my last post I wrote about new Boston city center developments with parking space to apartment ratios of less than 1. A proposed development in the Financial District, on top of South Station (a key transit hub), goes against this idea with a garage that would provide more than 1.5 spaces per apartment. As the author points out, this proposal conflicts with the City’s Go Boston 2030 goals which include: an 80% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions, an increase in public transit commutes of 30%, and a 50% decrease in single passenger car commutes. Wishful thinking it seems.
The developers behind a three-building, two million square foot, 677 foot-tall project on air rights over South Station that has been in the works since 1989 filed a notice of project change with the Boston Redevelopment Authority last Friday. They made some changes to the proportions of the project devoted to residential, hotel and office space, but most significantlty, they upped the amount of parking they want to build to 895 spaces. This is completely understandable, as it’s not like this project is close to, much less right on top of, a major transit hub with one rapid transit line, nine bus routes, nine commuter rail lines, taxis, car sharing services and Amtrak. Oh, wait, it is.
Not only does the presence of those parking spaces virtually ensure that nearly 900 more cars will clog the streets of the Financial District, increasing pollution and making residents more hostile to development…
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Happy Commutes 