MBTA Is Top Concern At Boston Olympics Forum
BOSTON (CBS) -- No matter what was discussed at Tuesday's forum on Boston's Olympic bid, the conversation always came back to transportation.
Record-setting snow crippled the MBTA this winter, and all panelists agreed that getting around could be a huge problem if the transit system is not upgraded before Boston potentially hosts the games in 2024.
"Terrible public transportation access," James Aliosi, the former Secretary of Transportation in Massachusetts, said at the Suffolk University forum. "If you had a family of four from Ohio show up at Logan and try to get to their destination by T, they'd be there for two days.
"If we don't have the will and the political courage and the capacity to deal with these issues then we have no business being here talking about hosting an Olympics."
Chris Dempsey, who co-chairs the No Boston Olympics group, brought up cost overruns and the risk of the public getting stuck with a huge bill for hosting the games.
But he left an interesting opening, specifically regarding more funding for the MBTA.
"We have told them if they do change that position and they support new revenue for the MBTA associated with the Olympics, then we will applaud them and support them for that change," he said.
That was music to the ears of Boston 2024 CEO Rich Davey.
"I brought a poster for him, which is, I think you're really 'Maybe' Boston Olympics," he said. "My goal is to get you to yes."
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Karen Twomey reports:
