White Stadium Transportation Plan Full of Holes, According to Transportation Expert and Local Residents

Transportation Engineer Says Transportation Plans for Pro Soccer Games Based on Flawed Assumptions, Residents Warn of Traffic Gridlock, Parking Bans, and Restrictions on Park Access

BOSTON — A new professional analysis of the White Stadium pro soccer project’s limited transportation planning documentation finds that the project’s transportation plans are “riddled with troubling opacity, internal contradictions, and unsupported assumptions and conclusions,” and that “a significant amount of information is either intentionally omitted or inadequately developed.” Local residents say this reflects the lack of adequate transportation planning for the White Stadium pro soccer project, and warned that pro soccer games in Franklin Park would cause severe traffic gridlock and reduced access to Franklin Park on game days, along with strict parking bans that would prevent thousands of Boston families from going about their lives.

On Tuesday afternoon, local residents and park advocates gathered in Franklin Park to call attention to these unresolved transportation issues. They called on the team and elected officials to immediately release key transportation details that have not been publicly disclosed, including a detailed traffic study that meets professional industry standards and the location of satellite parking lots that are key to the current game-day transportation plans. And they urged the city and team to reconsider the flawed Franklin Park professional soccer stadium plan altogether.

White Stadium sits in the middle of a park, with no parking, surrounded by residential neighborhoods, almost a mile from the nearest train station. Since the proposal by Boston’s new NWSL team Boston Legacy Football Club was announced, questions about game-day transportation planning have gone unanswered, and proponents have released a changing set of transportation plans that fail to address local residents’ concerns about traffic gridlock and disruption. Last month, the city official overseeing the White Stadium project admitted that transportation plans are “still a work in progress,” even as the existing high school stadium was being torn down.

At Tuesday’s press conference, Bill Lyons, Founder, President, and CEO of Fort Hill Companies LLC, presented the findings of an analysis of the project's limited transportation planning documentation. Lyons is a professional traffic operations engineer & transportation planner who has provided professional engineering and planning services to a wide array of public and private sector clients, including state and municipal governments in Massachusetts. He also has served our nation as a now-retired member of the Army Corps of Engineers, full colonel, and is former Director of Traffic and Parking for the City of Somerville. His analysis found that:

·       The latest “transportation update” released by the City and Boston Legacy at the end of April is not grounded in any scientific findings of any formal traffic study that meets any recognized standard, either by the Boston Transportation Department, MassDOT, or industry standards.

·       No traffic analysis has been conducted since the original proposal for the project, which had significantly different assumptions and estimated trips.

·       Traffic counts used in the latest document were obtained in November, during a time of year not at all comparable to the seasons when the pro soccer season and other public recreation is highest.

·       The project promises shuttles from satellite parking lots, but those sites have not been disclosed.

·       The project expects that 4,400 spectators will arrive by shuttle from remote lots and 2,200 spectators will arrive by shuttle from MBTA stations. This results in more than 2 bus trips per minute for the two hours before the game. With passenger drop-off/pick up, an estimated stop of 5 minutes per bus, that is 10 buses per minute on site. That requires 400 feet of curb space for shuttle buses – a little longer than a football field. Significantly less space is provided for shuttle buses in the plan.

·       The project expects that 1,100 spectators will take a rideshare to the games in the two hours before it starts. This would result in more than 10 Uber/Lyft drop-offs and pick-ups per minute on average, and 16 per minute at peak. With a dwell time of two minutes, that is 32 vehicles per minute requiring curb space or 640 feet of curb space just for rideshare vehicles — nearly two football fields long. The area designated for Uber drop off is significantly smaller than 640 feet. This will cause more havoc on local streets as ride share vehicles drop off and pick up passengers in unintended locations, causing additional vehicle and foot traffic in the neighborhoods around Franklin Park.

“It’s clear that professional soccer games, concerts, and other large events in Franklin Park would be incredibly disruptive for our communities, and that there’s no workable plan to move 11,000 people to and from White Stadium. This traffic gridlock and disruption is entirely unnecessary,” said Renee Stacey Welch, an Egleston Square resident and member of the Franklin Park Defenders. “Why is the city spending more than $100 million — perhaps as much as $170 million — to build an 11,000-seat stadium at professional sports standards, when a smaller, more affordable, fully-public stadium would provide all the same benefits for BPS students, without all the transportation challenges of a professional sports stadium? It’s time for a responsible compromise to rebuild White Stadium as a fully public facility, and identify a different permanent home for the soccer team.”

While White Stadium is almost a mile from the nearest train station, the city and team continue to claim that 40 percent of fans will travel to the stadium via public transportation, and most others will drive to as-yet-unidentified remote parking lots and take large tour buses to the stadium. They claim only 10% will use Uber or Lyft. Proponents claim that their transportation plan will work by comparing it to Fenway Park, which is within a third of a mile of a T station and the commuter rail. But even at transit-rich Fenway, barely 23% of attendees use transit, and nearly two-thirds drive or take Uber or Lyft.

“I’m shocked that a project this large is moving forward without critical transportation details, including any actual traffic study. We don’t even know where the dozens of shuttle buses will be coming from,” said Beth Abelow, a Jamaica Plain resident and member of the Franklin Park Defenders. “The plans for multiple buses at a time to drop off passengers and turn around off of Walnut Ave does not seem workable. Traffic will certainly back up for blocks – and travel for local residents will be nearly impossible. Let’s be real: a professional sports and entertainment complex does not belong in a public park with limited parking and transit access.”

Gameday neighborhood parking restrictions in the current transportation plan will prevent local residents from hosting backyard BBQs or birthday parties without applying for a city block party permit. Residents living in large portions of Roxbury, Dorchester, Jamaica Plain, and Mattapan will be required to obtain parking permits, and only be allowed one visitor per household on game days.

“This plan is prioritizing the soccer team’s needs over our ability to enjoy our homes,” said Caliga, a Jamaica Plain resident and member of the Franklin Park Defenders. “What if you want to host a birthday party in your backyard, and you want to invite more than one person who needs to drive to your house? The city’s answer? Ask the city for a ‘block party permit.’ I shouldn’t have to apply for a permit to invite my family and friends over to my house on a summer Saturday.”

A strict parking ban on game days, along with the traffic gridlock caused by game-day transportation, will reduce access to Franklin Park for residents. On game days, only residents with tickets to a permitted event, the zoo, or a golf course tee time will be allowed to park in Franklin Park, and will be required to reserve parking in advance using an app.

“I work, and the weekends are the time I’m able to enjoy the park. But under the current plans, on game days, residents will be banned from parking in much of Franklin Park to visit a playground, walk around the park, attend a cookout, or engage in other free activities,” said Welch. “Soccer games will effectively force everyone who’s not a paying ticket-holder out of our park. Franklin Park should be for everyone, not just those who can afford to buy a ticket to a soccer game or concert.”

With Boston Legacy Football Club now planning to play their inaugural season at Gillette Stadium, more and more people are calling for reconsideration of the proposal to build a professional sports stadium in Franklin Park. Last week, the NAACP Boston Branch called for an immediate halt to the professional soccer stadium plans, and expressed support for a significantly more affordable, fully-public stadium renovation that would meet the needs of BPS students and the community, without the many flaws of the new private soccer stadium. And multiple elected officials, including City Council President Ruthzee Louijeune and several of her Council colleagues, as well as State Representative Chynah Tyler, who represents neighborhoods on the north side of Franklin Park, have spoken out against the private redevelopment proposal.

While the existing high school stadium on the site has been mostly demolished, construction of the new stadium has still not been fully bid or begun, and residents and advocates say there is still plenty of time to reconsider plans to build a massive new professional sports stadium in Franklin Park. Also last week, leaked city documents revealed that the cost of the city’s half of the project could reach $172 million under ‘worst-case’ contingencies. Mayor Wu admitted that the project’s taxpayer cost would increase again once elements of the project go out to bid this summer, after already tripling from a $30 million estimate when first announced to $91 million as of last December.

Background on the White Stadium Redevelopment Project

Residents of the Roxbury, Dorchester, Jamaica Plain and Mattapan have significant concerns about the plan to lease White Stadium to a professional sports team — rather than renovating it as a public stadium for the sole benefit of BPS students and the local community. The City of Boston and Boston Unity Soccer Partners (BUSP) are in the process of demolishing the existing White Stadium in order to build a new, significantly larger for-profit professional sports stadium, entertainment venue, and multiple restaurants and retail shops in its place.

In addition to the legal concerns expressed in an ongoing lawsuit against the project, neighboring residents and park advocates have expressed opposition to the project over issues ranging from increased air, noise and light pollution, increased litter, the removal of 145 mature trees, increased traffic and parking restrictions, and decreased student and community access.

Pro soccer games and other private events would displace BPS students and the community from White Stadium and surrounding parts of Franklin Park on 20 annual game days, 20 practice days, and additional concert and event days - more than half of all weekends during the summer, when residents use the park the most. BPS football teams would be displaced from the stadium entirely during the bulk of their regular season, because the soccer league doesn't want their cleats on the field.

The full cost of the project’s construction will not be clear until at least July 15, when construction bids for the City’s share of the project are due. While it was initially described by city and team officials as costing as little as $30 million, the project’s cost has since ballooned to over $200 million, with the City and Boston Public Schools responsible for at least $100 million.

Background on the Alternative: a Fully-Public Renovation of White Stadium

Neighbors and parks advocates support an alternative plan to renovate White Stadium as a public high school facility for BPS student-athletes, at a much lower cost to taxpayers and the environment.

The Emerald Necklace Conservancy has proposed such an alternative concept: a high-quality, fully public renovation of White Stadium that would avoid the many negative impacts of building a professional sports venue in the middle of historic Franklin Park. A detailed cost estimate conducted by Vermeulens, Inc. included in the report found that Boston could renovate White Stadium as a high-quality, fully public high school stadium for $28.9 million.

There are numerous examples of high school and even college sports stadiums being built or renovated for similar amounts. Stadium expert Andrew Zimbalist states that “it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that Boston taxpayers are subsidizing a professional sports stadium on public recreation land in Franklin Park.”