Most of Greater Boston’s densest neighborhoods have their own subway stops. But there is one community, located closer to downtown Boston than Harvard Square, with density comparable to Cambridge’s central neighborhoods, which has never had a subway station: Chelsea, which has over 40,000 people squeezed into 1.8 square miles of residential neighborhoods.
As the state prepares to spend millions of dollars repairing or replacing the Tobin Bridge, which connects Chelsea and Boston, it’s time to ask: Can we use this opportunity to give densely populated Chelsea the high-quality transit that it deserves?
At 27,000 people per square mile, Chelsea is comparable in density to Cambridge’s neighborhoods along the MBTA Red Line, such as Wellington-Harrington and Mid-Cambridge. In fact, across the region, neighborhoods with density similar to Chelsea, including the North End, East Boston, and areas along Commonwealth Avenue, are virtually all served by subway or Green Line stations within walking distance.
Chelsea itself is an industrial powerhouse for Greater Boston – quite literally: fuel tanks lining Chelsea Creek provide Logan Airport’s jet fuel and 80 percent of the region’s home-heating fuel, the New England Produce Center feeds over 8 million people, and 40 percent of the city is zoned for commercial or industrial use.
Despite its high density and number of jobs, Chelsea is served only by buses and infrequent commuter rail.
The SL3 branch of the Silver Line, an enhanced bus service launched in 2018, marked a notable investment and linked Chelsea to the Seaport and South Station. But unlike reliable rapid transit routes, SL3 buses are hampered and delayed by traffic, especially in the Ted Williams Tunnel and from drawbridge openings of the Chelsea Street Bridge along its route.
Even more transit riders in Chelsea use the 111 and 116 bus routes, which are among the T’s highest ridership and most frequent routes, but which endure heavy traffic that creates delays and reduces reliability. TransitMatters data show that the 111 and 116 are slow and often face unreliable headways, with the 111 earning a “Schleppie Award” for its unreliability.
The comparison to Cambridge’s high-capacity subway, which provides high speeds and reliable schedules, is striking. Chelsea’s Bellingham Square is 2.4 miles from Haymarket Station in downtown Boston, while Harvard Square sits 3 miles from Park Street Station, also in downtown Boston. Yet, TransitMatters data show that the 111 typically takes 16 minutes (but sometimes over 20) to make that journey via the Tobin Bridge during rush hour, while the Red Line reliably clocks in at less than 10 minutes, despite going a longer distance.
But the need for high-quality transit in Chelsea is not only a “need for speed.” With heavy industry, a major port, and 63,000 cars crossing the Tobin Bridge every day, Chelsea is an economic hub with many sources of air pollution, which increases rates of asthma and other diseases.
Analysis by GreenRoots shows that Chelsea residents have a 50 percent greater risk of cancer and 150 percent more asthma-related hospitalizations than the rest of the state. High quality transit enables residents to travel without driving, and will help address air pollution and health disparities in Chelsea.
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