Letter: The easy way to regain Casey trust

MassDOT admits that there are trust issues with the community regarding the Casey Overpass (“MassDOT chief: We’ll fix Casey ‘trust issue,’” July 20). They say they want to regain the community’s trust. It’s quite simple: Stop manipulating the traffic counts, pay attention to the buses, treat the citizens of the advisory group and their elected officials with respect by honoring their requests for information, and most importantly, tell the truth.

We all know the original truth: MassDOT never intended to repair or replace the Casey Overpass. Maintaining a bridge costs money and impacts the department’s balance sheet every year. Better to alter the traffic patterns around a major transit hub (Forest Hills Station) and foist the cost burdens onto the Department of Conservation and Recreation, which will inherit the roadway once the bridge is down.

If MassDOT were playing in the corporate world, Secretary of Transportation Richard Davey and his colleagues would be slapping each other on the back, popping a few champagne corks and congratulating themselves on their slick outmaneuvering of the competition. But this is public roadway serving tens of thousands of people every day. Folks commute by car from Milton, Canton and Sharon as well as Mattapan, Roxbury, Hyde Park, Readsville, Jamaica Plain and Roslindale through Forest Hills each day. Other folks ride the T, or bike or walk to work and school.

The latest MassDOT plan calls for only two at-grade lanes (down from the current two lanes at grade and one flyover lane). Citizens of JP, if MassDOT would listen, what would you tell them about their latest traffic plan? Does it improve traffic flow, ease bus travel time, make it safer to ride and safer to cross? Let them hear your thoughts because you are going to have to live with this long after Secretary Davey and his folks are gone.

Barbara Gibson

Jamaica Plain

 

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