The Train to Boston
April 14th, 2009Mayor John Moak is worried. I’m worried. There is good reason for concern.
When the train left North Station in Boston for Newburyport back in 1998, it helped Newburyport, MA a whole lot.
It helped Newburyport, MA become an extra desirable place to live, work and play. Even if a person never, ever used the train, psychologically it gave the feeling that Newburyport was intrinsically linked to Boston. Housing prices picked up, valuable tourism picked up, plus for me it’s just plain old fun to ride the train to Boston, MA, not to mention a great way to get to Boston, and a good way to commute there (new parking fees and all).
Do I think it would be really, really bad for the MBTA to limit in any way the train schedule from Newburyport to Boston, whether it’s on weekends and/or weekday trains after 7:00 PM? You bet I do. I think it’s really, really important to the lifeblood of Newburyport, MA not to let this one happen. How we as a city do that, no clue.
And just from a green perspective alone, mass transit is a no brainer. A big “HELP” on this one.