Globe writes about hopes for Allston bridge underpasses

Thanks to the Globe for writing this story and to the Charles River Conservancy and and State Reps Walz and Wolf for their advocacy regarding the inclusion of bike/pedestrian underpasses when the Allston/Cambridge bridges are rebuilt.

The state says it can't afford adding these underpasses, but the state able to afford rebuilding the pedestrian overpass that crosses Storrow Drive near Beacon Hill (price tag: $10M). The state is also rebuilding the pedestrian overpass in Cambridge near the BU Bridge. But the budget is tight and a discussion about the cost and benefit is worth having

But it is disappointing a for the state to use as an excuse "the difficulty of securing the federal permits needed to disturb parkland and alter the appearance of bridges in the Charles River Basin". I don't know who would need to approve these permits, but is the point of the permitting process to prevent any change or improvement, locking our surroundings in a time capsule for ever, or it is to allow reasonable and constructive progress?

For path users, dangerous crossings along the Charles - The Boston Globe