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Alewife neighbors press MBTA for stronger asbestos protections, flood and tree‑mitigation details
Summary
Local residents and environmental groups at an MBTA RAM‑plan meeting urged the agency to follow Cambridge’s asbestos protections where feasible, provide engineering diagrams of work limits and flood storage, replace mature trees being removed and extend the RAM public comment period for deeper community review.
Residents and environmental groups attending the MBTA’s virtual meeting on the proposed high‑rail access tunnel voiced strong concerns about public health protections, flood risks and tree loss, and asked the agency to provide more detailed plans and additional opportunities for public review.
Community concerns centered on asbestos and means of construction: several speakers noted that developer IQ HQ completed nearby asbestos remediation under Cambridge’s Asbestos Protection Ordinance (APO) with tenting and negative‑pressure controls and asked why MBTA’s RAM plan does not adopt the same measures. MBTA staff responded that pile‑driving and a wide excavation footprint (struts, welding and heavy shoring) complicate continuous negative‑pressure tenting, but said the agency is open to additional means and methods where practical and is proposing conservative monitoring (community monitors and a 0.007 fibers/cc action limit) and immediate stoppage when thresholds are exceeded.
Flooding and groundwater: Multiple attendees stressed that the site is in a flood‑prone area and near wetlands and that combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and groundwater flows must be addressed. MBTA said the excavation will use sheet piles to create a watertight box and that sheet piles will be above recent flood levels; MBTA also described provisions for temporary floodproofing measures, vacuum trucks and either treating pumped water on site or hauling it off if discharges are necessary. MBTA said it will monitor groundwater and include specifications in contract means and methods to prevent off‑site migration.
Trees, habitat and public use: Speakers from neighborhood groups and Mass Audubon noted that the site has been treated as a natural meadow in adjacent planning and that about 30 mature trees are proposed for removal. MBTA said it intends to replace removed trees (MBTA cited 30 removed/30 replaced in the project discussion) and agreed to schedule a meeting focused solely on tree mitigation and to coordinate with Cambridge’s urban‑forest concerns.
Process and public engagement: Several community organizations said they learned of the RAM plan only recently and requested a formal extension of the RAM public comment period and additional public design meetings. MBTA said it will post the recording and slides to the project webpage, send a follow‑up email to registrants with links and contact information, and accept written requests for an extension of the comment period; the agency also committed to future meetings to review engineering details, work limits, and mitigation plans.
Balance and next steps: MBTA officials emphasized the operational need for a western access point to reduce Red Line shutdowns and said the location was chosen after alternatives analysis based on geometry, operational constraints and minimizing residential impacts. Residents and advocates urged MBTA to attempt to meet Cambridge APO protections where feasible and to provide detailed engineering diagrams and mitigation plans before proceeding. MBTA said it would continue coordinating with the IQ developer, Cambridge staff and other stakeholders and will respond to written extension requests and schedule follow‑up meetings.
Attribution: Comments and technical descriptions are drawn from MBTA staff (Ashley Armand; Ron, MBTA project manager; Brad Nickel, deputy chief of operations) and named participants including Stefan (MBTA Rider Oversight Committee), Joel (Alewife Study Group), Renata Pomponi (Mass Audubon), David Bass (retired hazardous‑waste remediation professional), Kristen Anderson (Save the Alewife Brook) and multiple residents who spoke during the session.
Ending: MBTA said the RAM plan is posted to the project page (a hard copy at Cambridge Public Health Department) and that the formal comment period closes Oct. 30; MBTA asked participants to submit written requests for extensions, and pledged additional public meetings focused on design details, tree mitigation and construction impacts.
