That rail line ran through my Arlington backyard in 1978. Train service had ended about a year earlier.
-Bob On Wed, Nov 29, 2023 at 6:05 AM Sara Mattes <samat...@gmail.com> wrote: > …and, imagine if the Minuteman Bike Path were still a rail line…. > ——— > Sara Mattes > > > > > On Nov 28, 2023, at 12:57 PM, Don Seltzer <timon...@gmail.com> wrote: > > On Tue, Nov 28, 2023 at 9:49 AM Virginia Goodwin < > virginiahgood...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> Regarding the issue of "we don't write discriminatory laws", I have two >> examples off the top of my head: >> >> 1) Arlington refusing to allow the Red Line to go through is a specific >> local example of laws passed to control (ie: restrict) all of those “inner >> city” (ie: poor; ie: Black) T riders from besmirching the pristine environs >> of their precious suburb. >> > > I was a resident of Arlington at that time. I strongly disagree with your > interpretation of what happened in the 1970's. > The proposal at that time was to extend and terminate the Red line in > Arlington Center. It was a terrible idea because the terminus of a subway > line should have a large parking facility, a large bus station serving > feeder routes, and good access to major highways. Unlike the Alewife site, > Arlington Center had none of these. It would have been a traffic and > parking nightmare to terminate the Red line there. What many Arlington > residents were demanding was an extended Red line to at least Arlington > Heights, and preferably all the way to 128. They were open to the Red line > going through town, with one or two stations, but opposed to the line > terminating in town. > > The most vocal opposition came from St Agnes Church, which would have been > heavily impacted by a terminal built next door. There were multiple > reasons for the opposition, in which fear of increased crime was certainly > one. It has been popularized by some authors of academic papers as the > primary reason for opposition, without any analytical data. My perception > as a resident was that racial/crime fears were secondary. Most residents > wanted faster, more convenient public transportation, but a Red line > terminus in Arlington had too many insurmountable problems. That is why I > and many of my neighbors voted against it. > > Don Seltzer > > > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to Lincoln@lincolntalk.org. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/ > . > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. > > > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to Lincoln@lincolntalk.org. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/ > . > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. > >
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