Information Relevant to the PRESERVE Mission Highway Design Information, Statistics, and Other Information and Examples Town of Reading 128/93 Information Ralph's Interchange Research Here is a link to the website of Reading citizen Ralph Vinciguerra, who has collected some images of the proposed design superimposed onto aerial views of the Reading/Stoneham/Woburn area: Reading Topography  Here is an interesting link that will bring you to various topographical images of Reading before Route 93 was built. They show the "cloverleaf corner" of Reading from the USGS map of 1951 -- after Route 128 was built, but before I-93 and the conversion of 128 to I-95. The extensive wetlands are one point of interest; the different interchanges at Route 28, North Ave., and Route 129 are also noticeable. Thanks to Dave Tuttle of Reading for this information! Roads of Metro Boston This link discusses 128 and gives interesting historical information and data. Reading Historical Homes This link shows the historical and architectural inventory of Reading. Of interest are the homes on South Street currently in the MHD Right of Way area. Home page of Conservation Law Foundation Traffic Fatalities and Injuries: The Effect of Changes in Infrastructure and other Trends by Robert B. Noland (Centre fir Transport Studies) Grass Roots Organizations/Additional Information PRESERVE is not the first group to challenge a road development proposal by Mass Highway. The following are links to web pages and/or stories of the successful battles that other groups have waged against Mass Highway: Home page for Compare A group formed by Massachusetts South Shore communities to stop a proposed mega-mall and its associated access roads (which Mass Highway would have built directly from Route 3). They succeeded! Here are some links to articles (some long, some chronologies, some general info)describing how Boston, Cambridge, and Charlestown helped prevent Mass Highway's so-called "Scheme Z" for the Big Dig from being built. The important thing to remember is that even though the residents did not win a specific lawsuit they had against Mass Highway (the lawsuit concerned whether an environmental review was properly conducted), the actions of these united citizens helped to force Mass Highway to abandon its Scheme Z proposal. Scheme Z Chronology Another group is ROAR (Residents Opposed to the Access Road), formed by concerned residents in Worcester, Mass., to stop Mass Highway from taking 40-50 homes to build an access road to the Worcester Airport. They succeeded! Because it is difficult to link directly to ROAR's site, use the link below (which will bring you to Central Massachusetts Communities Online), and then scroll down to the Search button and enter ROAR. The results will bring up a link to the ROAR site. Central Mass Communites Online and Access to ROAR Opinions/Stories/Letters The following are links to recent Boston Globe stories covering this project. Be aware that the links will only work for 30 days after the story was published; after that, to view a story you will need to order it from the Boston Globe archive service for a small fee (for copyright reasons, we cannot post the stories here). ************************* The following story appeared in The Globe Online: Headline: State pares back land-taking plan Date: 7/21/2000 Byline: " The public's fury over the planned $100 million mega-upgrade of the Interstate 93/Route 128 interchange has produced results: The state has abandoned any talk of a four-level interchange design and has cut by more than two-thirds the number of properties it would take to add vehicle capacity to the highway ramp system." To read the entire story, click on the link below: Boston Globe July 21, 2002 Story ************************* The following story appeared in The Globe Online: Headline: After the Big Dig, an encore or two? Date: 7/22/2002 Byline: " Some in Boston can't imagine their city without the Big Dig's lofty cranes, hard-hatted troops, dust clouds, and dizzying detours." To read the entire story, click on the link below or cut and paste it into a web browser: Boston Globe July 21, 2002 Story The following story appeared in The Globe Online: Headline: Their way or the highway Date: 7/11/2002 Byline: " READING - This is no ordinary selectmen's hearing that draws 600 people to Parker Middle School one clear summer night. Outside, activists distribute paper buttons with a red slash across the words ''Monsters Devouring Reading.'' Tacked on a wall in the lobby is an image of what people fear: a huge aerial photograph of the town overlaid with proposed ramps for an elaborate new interchange between Interstate 93 and Route 128 that would serve one suburban ideal, an easier and safer commute, but threaten another. It could force a score or more people here, and in neighboring Woburn and Stoneham, to lose their homes." To read the entire story, click on the link below: Boston Globe July 11, 2002 story ********************** The following letter from Reading resident Michael Rubin appeared in the Reading Advocate on June 27, 2002. It makes a lot of good arguments against Mass Highway's proposal. Michael Rubin's Letter **********************