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Wombo194 t1_j02adj6 wrote

Just like it was a mistake to build highways through Boston, it was a mistake to build an airport right on top of the city. I'm not sure what could be done now though, other than build a new airport elsewhere which probably isn't feasible.

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blackdynomitesnewbag t1_j02l0hu wrote

The proximity of Logan is one of my favorite things about Boston

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BadRedditUsername t1_j03fot4 wrote

For how close it is, the transit connections aren’t very good. It’s a bit of a waste to deal with all the negative externalities of the close airport when the best way to get there is to drive.

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CHARLIE_CANT_READ t1_j03japu wrote

As much as I wish it was more frequent and actually a train the silver line is pretty convenient. It being free and dropping off on the paid side of south station makes visiting here a breeze compared to some airports. Don't get me fucking started on LaGuardia.

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KSF_WHSPhysics t1_j04hjm6 wrote

Theres the silver line, the blue line, the mbta ferry, park and ride, uber, taxi, water taxi. I get that theres no trains but ffs im not sure what else they can do to improve it.

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Zashiony t1_j04jxcz wrote

Blue Line isn't really a direct connection, though. Having to take a shuttle to reach it makes it a much bigger pain.

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Uber and taxi are also commonplace at every airport. Not like you can say that that's something that makes Logan better.

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KSF_WHSPhysics t1_j04ktbm wrote

Every US airport. Plenty of countries/cities around the world where uber is banned. Never had trouble getting a taxi to be fair, but when theres no uber to compete with they get to bend you over the table

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brufleth t1_j04zmry wrote

Logan is close and easy to access. On top of that it's actually a good airport. Huge perk if you fly regularly.

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EventuallyUnrelated t1_j02o2hb wrote

You need to find more things to like then 😂

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BsFan t1_j03m3gc wrote

If you fly as much as I do, it is a huge perk.

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EventuallyUnrelated t1_j03n6lp wrote

Im not saying its not convenient. I live in the West End and can literally leave my house 45 mins before a flight. But one of my favorite things about Boston? No

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BsFan t1_j03qudo wrote

Gotcha. Yeah I would say it is one thing I love about Boston. Not my favorite thing.

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devAcc123 t1_j04fvk6 wrote

Leaving work an hour early on a Friday and catching a flight to NYC 1 hr before departure time is lovely. Can leave my door at 4 and be in the ground at like 6 in NYC. Love it.

Then it takes 90 minutes to get anywhere from LGA or JFK but besides the point

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winter_bluebird t1_j030844 wrote

I mean, you could do what Milan did. They have an in-town airport and they decided to build a new international airport in the middle of fucking nowhere. End result: twenty years and 9 BILLION EUROS later no one uses the hard to get to airport and they are expanding the in-town airport instead.

Proximity is key. There are things that can be improved, namely car transit to and from the airport and, potentially, a better MBTA connection than the silver line, but Logan is one of the most convenient major airports in the US.

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SkiingAway t1_j03859e wrote

Or more locally, Montreal tried this (Mirabel).

Failed so hard that it's no longer used for passenger service at all and half of it is now used for motorsports.

Realistically, it pretty much only works if you forcibly close the old airport (Stapleton/Denver), or if the old one is so limited that it really can't meet demand even if it stays in full operation (Midway/Chicago).

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brufleth t1_j04w164 wrote

Most of us have to go to that far away one and it sucks. I've been to Milan on business but never been to Milan.

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[deleted] t1_j032rdk wrote

[deleted]

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winter_bluebird t1_j034rcy wrote

That's why I'm responding to the comment above mine? The comment that says " I'm not sure what could be done now though, other than build a new airport elsewhere".

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Id_Solomon t1_j03c35u wrote

Would've been another mistake if they built a highway through Cambridge.

Thank goodness the residents from The Coast won that battle.

Fun Fact: If you don't know, you can actually go around the side of the Micro Center store and see the mural depiction of said battle.

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rygo796 t1_j02oiei wrote

Even if you wanted to, there isn't anywhere in relatively close distance where you could realistically do it. Express Train to MHT or PVD might make them viable options.

It is a sad use of what would now be quite valuable real estate. Including homes under the flight path that are now less valuable.

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2019hindsight t1_j03a3ms wrote

Hanscom airport is already owned by massport and is only like 6 miles from Boston.

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navymmw t1_j049fpz wrote

Hanscom is far to small to even be close to a replacement for Logan. More runways, longer runways, more ramp space, and better access would be needed. Basically at that point they’d need to just re do the whole thing

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winter_bluebird t1_j03p7i1 wrote

But Hanscom is a Delta airport to Logan’s Bravo. You’d have to triple it in size at least, at LEAST!, and reengineer that entire section of route 2 and the 95 exits. And never mind the actual Air Force base and Bedford neighborhoods to the north.

It’s not as easy as all that. Bravo airports require a lot of infrastructure.

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BadRedditUsername t1_j03ghoq wrote

I’d imagine the value of Logan’s real estate + economic potential of Boston without height restrictions and noise pollution would more than cover the cost of extending the Red Line to Hanscom with an express track, and potentially a commuter rail ring route which stops there as well. Only problem being that Concord NIMBYs would never allow it.

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navymmw t1_j049j4g wrote

Far more problems then just NIMBYS. Hanscom is far to small as it is it

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Master_Dogs t1_j03xqjb wrote

The Minute Man even gives you a really awesome rail ROW to use. It's a lovely bikeway now and I'd hate to temporarily lose access during construction, but there's some really good potential to setup an alternative bikeway via Mass Ave (add protected bike lanes through Arlington and Lexington) as well as redo the entire bikeway after you complete the Red Line construction with a wider path, lights and better bike access/street crossings.

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Psirocking t1_j045zst wrote

Trying to turn that back to rail would be the hardest NIMBY battle in history. Rail trails aren’t really made to create bike paths, they’re made to ensure trains don’t come back.

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Master_Dogs t1_j06rjg2 wrote

> Trying to turn that back to rail would be the hardest NIMBY battle in history.

Yeah I didn't say it would be easy, and that's why I mentioned having an alternative bikeway via Mass Ave bike lanes. Some of which already exist but aren't protected.

> Rail trails aren’t really made to create bike paths, they’re made to ensure trains don’t come back.

No. They're meant to do a number of things:

  • better utilize an underutilized public space. no different from putting a park on a town/city owned parking lot that isn't used fully.
  • create cycling routes to provide an alternative commute/travel option. this can actually improve traffic in some cases (see this bloomberg article with examples of bike lanes in NYC)
  • land bank the space so it can be reactivated a rail corridor later on. specifically in the case of the Minute Man the MBTA still owns the land and leases it to the towns which it passes through. the majority of rail trails I'm aware of do something similar, where the State leases the land on a long term basis (99 years or whatever) but adds a clause that they'll take it back if needed. the bike to the sea trail has this kind of setup as well.

In this case, with the MBTA owning the land it's just a matter of the State government having some balls and providing residents with alternative routes and improvements to please them. Ultimately if the State wants to, they can just bulldoze the path and throw down some rails. See this recent thread on how they did that with Logan, or how they almost did that with the Inner Belt and definitely did so with the Pike and 93.

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winter_bluebird t1_j03pcmu wrote

Surprise! Hanscom is definitely not in Concord.

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BadRedditUsername t1_j03sh6d wrote

Surprise! Parts of it definitely are, not to mention the approach paths. https://i.imgur.com/BY0MVsE.jpg

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winter_bluebird t1_j03ugvl wrote

You’re right! I forgot we have a corner of a runway. I live in Concord directly under the one of the current approach path, yeah. My husband is a pilot out of Hanscom.

There is no way that a red line expansion to Hanscom (hah) would be blocked by Concord NIMBYs, since it wouldn’t touch Concord in any way. It’s Arlington, Lexington, and Bedford that you’d have to deal with first.

I would happily take the red line all the way from Concord, by the way.

And you’d have to knock down like four Bedford neighborhoods and the entire HAFB if you wanted to ever turn Hanscom into a Bravo airport.

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navymmw t1_j049tmj wrote

Yup, they’d basically have to tear it all down and start from scratch to get that area even close to being a class bravo airport

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brufleth t1_j04wmqn wrote

Proximity to the airport is part of what makes Boston valuable.

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robthad t1_j03v7j4 wrote

Last time I went to New Orleans I flew in on the last day the airport was open. Flew home out of the new one. Istanbul just built a GIANT new airpot. So, it can be done.

Will it in Boston, though? Of course not.

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Psirocking t1_j0468f8 wrote

New Orleans didn’t move any runways though. Hell, they didn’t even have any public transportation that needed to be moved (seriously needing to take an Uber to get downtown there is so annoying)

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