The following letter was submitted to the Boston Zoning Commission for consideration of the South End Text Amendment proposed and approved by the Boston Planning and Development Agency last month.
Dear Editor,
I’m writing to request that the commission not to approve any zoning change to South End EDA until after
* The community has had an opportunity to review the ramifications of the change and,
* The City presents a viable plan to the community showing how the the city’s infrastructure, transportation and roadways will handle the approximately 30 percent increase in the South End population that is foreseeable in the near future.
We have thousands of units, not only in the South End but elsewhere, that will have significant ramifications for how we get around.
(South End – NY Streets, Harrison Albany, Flower Market, EDA South, etc. – and in the surrounding area – South Bay, Andrews Square, BJ’s development on parcel 3 on Tremont Street across from the Police Headquarters where more housing and a large shopping center are in the works, to name a few.)
Our intersections at Herald, Berkeley, and Mass Ave all receive the worst traffic rating, and our highways, streets, and public transportation are already overcrowded. It’s not too much to ask that approval for increasing density wait a little while the neighborhood weighs on the consequences of the change.
Natalie Truong
South End