Wynn proposes footbridge over Mystic River

[keithn.livejournal.com]

In an interesting development that is sure to put the mayor in an awkward position, Wynn wants to build a footbridge over the Mystic river to connect the Wynn casino site to Assembly Square. I know the possibility of a bridge has had support from people who don't even plan on visiting the casino, but according to our mayor: “A footbridge would benefit Steve Wynn and Steve Wynn only."

Read more at http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/11/12/wynn-resorts-footbridge-span-mystic/2i7jPr6hCYwSjTCsWwoxpI/story.html

Comments

[ron_newman]

Will he actually pay for building it, as opposed to just paying for a study? That makes a big difference.

The Somerville Bicycle Committee has been lobbying for this bridge for years, even before Wynn entered the picture. (I was a member of the committee until April 2014, and helped write a letter from the committee to the state gaming commission, advocating for the bridge.)

It's ridiculous for the mayor to say the bridge would benefit Wynn only. It would benefit every business in Assembly Riow and everyone in either Everett or Somerville who wants to bike or walk to the other city. It would connect Assembly Row to a hotel, something the development now lacks.

[keithn.livejournal.com]

The way I read the article, it seems plain to me that Wynn would pay for it:

"Now, Wynn Resorts wants to build a footbridge to span that short distance between the two cities, as part of its plan for its $1.7 billion casino and hotel development, ..."

[ron_newman]

That's a welcome development if true, because past reports said only that he would pay for a study.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

FYI: They were forced to pay for the study

[ron_newman]

Good. How can we make him pay for the construction?

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

Go back in time and include it in the settlement? :) I think it's solidly in the casino's best interest to build it, both for the goodwill and bottom line (I also could imagine they would chip in a little extra to make the design more appealing). I suspect Somerville's mayor is saying all this nonsense mostly to make it clear Somerville won't pay for it. (Honestly, it's a small enough amount that I would rather whatever process is speediest be the one used).

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

I will believe that Wynn plans to foot the entire bill for it when I see that more explicitly. But I will be curious to see it. He certainly saved many millions when the T sold him that piece of land he needed for next to nothing... (What the hell was up with that, anyway.)

[frotz.livejournal.com]

Before the casino entered the picture, there was a lot of talk (I believe supported as an alternative option by the SBC, but I could be wrong) about allowing pedestrian crossings of the dam instead of building a bridge, much as it works now at the Charles River locks. Sometime around perhaps 2010 I thought it was on track to actually happen "soon". Did it get actively killed for some reason?

[ron_newman]

I was on the committee at the time. Unfortunately, the Mystic dam wasn't built with pedestrian crossing in mind, and one of the locks is left open for hours at a time for flood-control reasons. It doesn't have a spillway like the Charles dam.

I don't think this option is impossible, but it's not entirely straightforward to implement either.

In Google Earth view, it appears that the pedestrian route across the existing dam would be very indirect. You could only cross the wide lock at either end, not in the middle where you'd really want to.