Cortes Street area of Bay Village: Noise level of construction on expressway? What area is like? (Arlington: 2013)

[Gauss44]

I may be moving near Cortes Street in Bay Village and noticed some construction either near or on the expressway or highway there. Do you know what the current noise level is like inside most buildings, given that nearby construction? Also, do you have any other comments about the area that I might want to know about before moving there? Thanks.

FYI - This is the area parallel to the orange line subway tracks that run between Back Bay station and the Tufts Medical Center station.

[bostonguy1960]

Seems ok nowadays. Twenty years ago, I was cutting thru there and noticed a condom on the ground.. Not surprising, considering the general area back then.

You will have MassPike, subway, commuter rail, Amtrak and airplane noise (taking off from Logan) some days.


The new Liberty Mutual headquarters nearby can only help...

[Gauss44]

Originally Posted by bostonguy1960

Seems ok nowadays. Twenty years ago, I was cutting thru there and noticed a condom on the ground.. Not surprising, considering the general area back then.

You will have MassPike, subway, commuter rail, Amtrak and airplane noise (taking off from Logan) some days.


The new Liberty Mutual headquarters nearby can only help...

Yeah, the usual noise from the MassPike, etc. isn't bad. There's construction of some sort going on though (sort of near the MassPike) and I'm wondering how loud that tends to be? I've only been there intermittently, so I wouldn't know if there's serious cement slicing at 6am or something terrible.

In terms of your finding there 20 years ago, I still wouldn't be surprised today. There's a lot of clubs/bars around the area. As long as it's on the ground and not on my doorknob or something, it doesn't bother me.

[FourBuildingsDown]

I live in the area. The noise that wakes me up on the weekends isn't the Pike, the trains, or the planes - it's large trucks and 18-wheelers hitting the transition from road to bridge over the Pike. There's a slight grade differential and a small gap that causes a loud bang when trucks hit it just right.

Pike construction has occurred intermittently over the 3+ years I've lived here. It can cause noise at night, not so much in the morning. I suspect that a lot of the construction was due to the transition from the failed Columbus Center project to suburban grassy bank that now separates the Pike and Cortes. The Pru tunnel ceiling removal process is underway now and results in construction noise.

Projects may come along in the next 5-50 years to build over the Pike in that area; development proposal, planning, and approval stages are underway at the Fenway side of the tunnel. Development projects also may occur on the parking lot bound by Berkeley and Isabella and the empty paved lot bound by Berkeley, Columbus, and the Pike. Then again, the challenges the Columbus Center project faced with decking costs and a vocal minority of NIMBYs may stave off developers in the near to mid future.

Homelessness and drug use were minor problems until the beginning of 2013. The MBTA more thoroughly restricted access to the Back Bay emergency exit on Berkeley Street, and this has drastically cut down on homeless loiterers and drug users, as the far end of the tracks used to be a drug hotspot.

I love the area - it's architecture, people, businesses, safety, and location. If you like the area, I'd recommend searching for a place off of the main roads (Arlington, Berkeley, Columbus, Tremont, Stuart, Charles Street S) and off of the Pike (Cortes) due to the aforementioned noise.