As Greenway grows, key advisory board must be revived
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YANNI TSIPIS correctly points out that the development decisions along the Rose Kennedy Greenway will affect the fabric of our city for generations to come (“Wise stewardship of new Greenway,’’ Op-ed, June 22). Sadly, the Massachusetts Legislature has just eliminated one of the few public forums where such development decisions can be vetted.
For more than a decade, the Metro Highway System Advisory Board has reviewed proposals by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority to sell or lease land and air rights along the Massachusetts Turnpike and Central Artery. The turnpike authority owns some of the most valuable real estate in the nation, and pressure to maximize revenues can easily conflict with the best uses of these public lands.
Members of the advisory board took their work seriously, commenting on each proposal and holding public hearings when needed. They suggested practical steps to build affordable housing, to protect neighborhoods from traffic and pollution, to provide for ample open space in project design, and to create public amenities amid private buildings.
Now, with the board gone, a new super-agency, the Department of Transportation, will make all of these decisions with much less public input. The governor and the Legislature still have a chance to correct this mistake and restore the advisory board to its prior status. Generations would thank them for their wisdom.
Dan Wilson
Executive director
Move Massachusetts Boston 
