T Concerns Swell, Residents Oppose Cuts

Over the past week, concern has swelled within the Charlestown community about .

Early in the week, five Navy Yard residents co-authored a and circulated a petition urging the MBTA not to cut the commuter boat. According to the group’s Facebook page, also established this week, the residents have collected about 200 signatures supporting the boat.

But the commuter boat may not be the most damaging loss that Charlestown could suffer. Residents last week said they were about the proposed elimination of the 92 bus, which serves the heart of Charlestown.

In a , residents voted the proposed 92 cut as more important than the ferry cut by a more than two-to-one margin.

Meanwhile, City Councilor Sal LaMattina sent us an to MBTA General Manager Richard Davey, in which he decried all the cuts as too harmful for Charlestown. A few days later, the Charlestown Mothers Association followed up with .

And the cuts may be damaging for more than Charlestown’s mobility: a Tufts study concluded that both plans proposed by the MBTA would result in more cars on the road, and —particularly in communities that lie along Route 93.

But here's an upside: Boston.com hosted an online chat with Davey this week, during which someone asked him about the proposed ferry cuts. 

"The scenarios were designed to prompt a conversation," Davey said. "Neither is a firm or concrete proposal. We don't have all the answers and look forward to hearing from our customers with ideas for how to improve service and cut our costs... We encourage people to attend one of our 20+ we will be holding through March."