MBTA opens Water Transportation Study to the public

MassDOT project acts as first step to improving water transit

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BOSTON — The MBTA is charting a new course for ferry service across Greater Boston.

At a virtual meeting on Oct. 8, officials opened the Water Transportation Study to the public, allowing attendees to learn more about the project and discuss their visions for an accessible ferry system. This study, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), is a “Building a Better T” initiative for reliability, modernization and expansion.

In a press release in September announcing the study, then transportation secretary and MassDOT CEO Monica Tibbits-Nutt called ferries a vital connection between communities that reduces congestion. She added the study will be shaped by community involvement.

Jacq Roderick, a Massachusetts native who grew up on the South Shore and lived in Somerville and Dorchester, recalled frequent ferry rides as a child and how the ferries enabled their travel for work.

“I would take the ferry and it would be like a 25-minute ride, and, when the weather was nice, it would be awesome,” they said.

Florencia Cortez, of Mashpee, said she avoided using ferries due to weather concerns and being unsure of how expensive it would be compared to the trains or buses, and a lack of accessibility.

“If I'm walking around the city, I have no idea where I would have to go, it's not visually as there as other modes of transport. It's like, out of sight, out of mind," she said.

Roderick acknowledged that there are improvements to be made, and expressed excitement over the potential for the Water Transportation Study to expand and improve transportation options.

"They're underused, weather pending of course, but I do think that the infrastructure could be built upon, especially because people are moving out of the Greater Boston area. A lot of people are moving to the North Shore and South Shore," they said. "If there are housing and affordability crises, the MBTA should look toward alternative modes of getting people in and out."

Cortez noted the uniqueness of robust ferry systems, saying she has “only really heard of the buses and the trains, so adding ferries to that is really cool.”

The Oct. 8 meeting was the first scheduled event with a presentation to outline the project scope and timeline. Events before this were drop-by open houses in Lynn, Quincy and Salem for the public to talk about the study with staff members.

There is still time to weigh in on the ferries. The MBTA has an online feedback form, and more open houses are planned. The study is expected to wrap up next summer.

Feature image courtesy of 4300streetcar, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.