THE LOVEJOY water shuttle terminal in North Station boasts strong rail connections, good access for disabled people, and easy proximity to businesses and attractions, including TD Banknorth Garden. Yet the solid 120-foot dock and passenger terminal, just yards across the basin from from the rotten wooden pilings at Lovejoy Wharf, are conspicuous dead spots in Boston's water transit network.
With no single state agency in overall charge of developing new water transit routes on Boston Harbor, it is easy to see how time has slipped away on this dock. In 1997, Big Dig officials constructed the wharf to take pressure off the street traffic between North Station and the South Boston waterfront. But the MBTA water shuttle service to the federal courthouse, Fan Pier, and the World Trade Center dried up in 2005 along with the operating subsidy from the Central Artery project.
Boston's inner harbor needs reliable water transportation, and the Lovejoy terminal, if properly maintained and promoted, could play a major role in restoring service. A 2003 US Department of Transportation study cited Lovejoy water shuttle service as a "very strong candidate for future public support" based on access, environmental impact, and links to public transit.
But a detailed market and demand analysis is still needed. The Lovejoy ferry fared poorly against the free bus shuttles from North Station subsidized by large companies situated along the South Boston waterfront. Such businesses might consider doing their part to reduce downtown traffic congestion by subsidizing a water shuttle route instead. Regardless, demand along the route should only increase as new businesses, hotels, and convention trade emerge in the South Boston Seaport District.
The state Department of Conservation and Recreation, which owns the water shuttle terminal, is open to restoring service at the site. But the agency has no expertise in water transportation. Water transit experts in the state Executive Office of Transportation, who control state seaport funds, need to join forces with counterparts at the MBTA to determine how best to integrate the Lovejoy terminal into Boston's water transportation network.
A drawn-out legal battle on the waterfront is also impeding progress. A group of North End condo owners seeking to preserve their views are blocking plans by a developer to build a new condominium project at Lovejoy Wharf. The developer, Lexington-based Ajax Management Partners, is offering to provide a new docking facility and indoor terminal space as part of the public benefits package needed to secure a license to build on the waterfront.
It would be a big mistake, however, to wait for the condo court battle to be resolved. The nonprofit Boston Harbor Association makes a good case that the current DCR dock and terminal, with minor modifications, is adequate to support new water transit routes. Minimally, state transportation officials should not use the lawsuit as an excuse for inaction.
While analyzing the future of a Lovejoy water shuttle, transportation officials should also look at the underused waterfront area nearby - an area stretching from the North Washington Street bridge to the Coast Guard Station, including the area at the back of the DCR-owned skating rink. The stretch would make an ideal place to locate a state pier for recreational boaters who could tie up for the few hours needed to view historical sites or call on restaurants in the North End.
State planners too often lose their way on water transportation in Boston Harbor. A course correction should begin with greater attention to a Lovejoy water shuttle.
