SAVIN HILL BEACH

Bob O'Sullivan, the Association's MDC liaison, reports that Back to the Beaches Program Director Joe Orfant assured him that the beach renovation project would be virtually complete and the beaches open for summertime use. Some additional landscaping and a limited "punch list" will be put off until fall.
 

JFK/UMASS PLATFORM OPENS WITH MUCH FANFARE AND LESS FAIRNESS

Once again the MBTA has managed to prove that their community process is non-existent as they bungled protocol at the grand opening ceremony and cut the level of service to be provided at the new Old Colony Commuter Rail Platform. Our president, Annissa Essaibi, was not even invited to the festivities, and only heard about it through Representative Walsh's office that morning and he too had only recently been notified. If this is any indication of the way communications are going to proceed with the MBTA regarding our Red Line Station upgrades, then it looks as though our long and hard fought battle will continue until our project is put on the same fast track and completed. 

The Boston Herald's Roads Scholar transportation column was helpful in pointing out that the new platform provides very little transportation benefit to our community (but we get more pollution), while providing commuters from the southern suburbs direct access to the institutions of Columbia Point. In the morning, inbound trains will stop to release commuters and pickup our residents who want to go directly to South Station ($1 fare/no subway pass). The trains that return to the south in the AM will not stop to pick up our residents who want direct access to Brockton, Plymouth or points south. Besides weekends, the only time the southbound trains will stop here is in the afternoons to retrieve the homebound commuters and the afternoon inbound trains will not stop here either. It sounds confusing, but when you think about it, the only service it provides us is weekend round trip service to points south or AM inbound to South Station/PM outbound from South Station. Our residents who commute to points south are denied the same one seat/direct access that the suburban commuters have to Dorchester. If there are people who want to do this reverse commute, the trains should stop.

The track record at the MBTA is poor when it comes to Dorchester and Roxbury by denying full access to the commuter rail system, while at the same time burdening them with the highest concentration of adverse impacts. 
 

APRIL PRESIDENT'S CHOICE

For the first time in its history, last month's Presidents Choice Award went to two people, a husband and wife, John Anderson and Diana Wilson. The Pleasant Street area residents, who are expecting their first child, have been a driving force behind the Dorchester Recycling Coalition. John is a frequent contributor to this newsletter by providing his locally themed cartoons. Thank you to the two of you for making the neighborhood a better place.

TREASURER'S REPORT