Southie residents cry foul over T testing near park
South Boston residents are blasting a $32 million plan to set up an MBTA facility near their homes and test Red Line cars along a long-quiet track, saying they’re being left out of a process that could lead to toxic dust being kicked up by new trains.
“Everyone was worried about helicopters flying over their houses, this is just as bad,” said Gary Murad, president of the St. Vincent Lower End Neighborhood Association. “If they’re going to reactivate something that’s been dormant for so long there needs to be a real full, wide community process and that seems to be lacking.”
The MBTA is planning to reopen Track 61, more than 5,000 feet of disused track that runs alongside the South Boston Bypass Road from Cabot Yard near Broadway to the Boston Exhibition & Convention Center, in order to test the brakes of 252 new Red Line cars being built in Springfield.
MBTA officials announced the plan in May and are looking to put the project out to bid this month so construction can begin later this year, but residents say the T needs to slow down.
Murad said many residents were not informed of a public meeting earlier this week that discussed the T’s plans and had questions about the decision to use track that is near their homes and next to Flaherty Park. Officials said testing T car brakes requires 1,800 feet of straight track, limiting their options, and that a section of track directly south of Cabot Yard would not work because it was used for commuter rail equipment.
MBTA spokeswoman Lisa Battiston, in a statement, said another public meeting is being scheduled. “Project staff have had many private discussions with city and state officials as well as community stakeholder groups,” Battiston said. “Staff is reviewing public comment and will be discussing steps to address the community’s concerns with any possible air and noise pollution.”
Audrey Hopkins, who lives by the playground, said officials should find an area that is less disruptive.
“It’s a really well-used playground, it’s very rare that it’s empty,” Hopkins said. “It doesn’t make sense to pick something that disrupts so many lives when you have something that doesn’t.”
Residents said they are also concerned about the possibility of contaminants affecting the air when work on the tracks and construction of a 5,000-square-foot testing facility on Cypher Street starts to disturb soil that is full of industrial pollutants. The area’s soil exceeds state limits for lead and chemical compounds, according to documents filed with City Hall.