Water Transportation Needs Support

By Vivien Li

South Boston’s Seaport District is booming.

At public meetings this year, new projects being proposed by the Fallon Co. and New England Development on the Fan Pier and Pier 4, respectively, and by the Drew Co. on Commonwealth Flats were met with broad support. Earlier this month, the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center announced a planning process to consider expansion of its 3-year-old facility. The opening of the new Institute of Contemporary Art on the Fan Pier and the reopening of an expanded Boston Children’s Museum on the Fort Port Channel have made the area a cultural destination for many, while the new InterContinental Hotel and the renovations to the Boston Harbor Hotel and the Seaport Hotel have given visitors even more options.

Transportation infrastructure recently developed to support the Seaport area is already taxed, even before construction begins on the above-mentioned projects. Completion of the reconstructed Congress Street Bridge this October will mark the end of a series of near-term improvements to a road network often already congested at rush hour. Likewise, the MBTA’s much-welcomed, 20-month-old Silver Line Waterfront route between South Station, the Seaport District, Boston Marine Industrial Park and Logan Airport is already at capacity during rush hour.

At the same time, scheduled ferry service to the waterfront has been reduced these past few years. Water transportation links to the thousands of convention-related, hotel, cultural and office jobs expected on the South Boston waterfront is urgently needed to supplement the already taxed transit system and roadways.

The Boston Harbor Association applauds state Transportation Secretary Bernard Cohen’s inclusion of “energy and the environment” as a guiding principle in the shaping of the commonwealth’s transportation priorities. Consistent with the desires to reduce air pollution from single-passenger autos and to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, TBHA is hopeful that the Patrick administration will make water transportation a priority.

Thanks to public agencies’ funding, water transportation infrastructure such as docks and terminals have been built during the past decade: accessible docks at Long, Central and Rowes wharves funded by the Executive Office of Transportation, Seaport Advisory Council and Boston Redevelopment Authority; a water transportation facility at North Station and an anticipated Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant water transportation dock in the Fort Point Channel, thanks to the Central Artery/Tunnel Project; and an active dock at the Moakley Courthouse maintained and operated by the General Services Administration. In addition to a water transportation terminal and dock at the airport, the Massachusetts Port Authority just authorized construction of a new $1.8 million water transportation terminal on Northern Avenue.

Private-sector leaders in water transportation include Equity Office Properties and Seaport Asset Management, which maintain and operate the water transportation terminals at Rowes Wharf and the World Trade Center, respectively.

The challenge for a robust water transportation system is increased funding for annual operations, particularly during the start-up of new services. Right now, modes such as commuter rail receive higher operating subsidies than water transportation.

Second, the MBTA should promote water transportation usage by allowing commuter Charlie Card usage on water transit. The Greenbush line, South Shore commuter ferry service to Rowes Wharf and MBTA Red Line service are all complementary and should be supported in a multi-modal transit system.

Third, waterfront developers with extended-term tidelands (Chapter 91) licenses are required to contribute to the development of a water transportation system in Boston. Implementation of the recommendations from key Boston Harbor water transportation studies needs to begin so these funds can be used to subsidize water transportation service to meet commuter needs.

As Boston’s waterfront grows, well-planned, affordable water transportation will help foster that growth, and link residents and visitors to employment and recreational opportunities.

Vivien Li is the executive director of The Boston Harbor Association.