Collins Now Says No To Inner Belt Route

Mayor John F. Collins of Boston pushed plans for the proposed Inner Belt farther into oblivion Thursday night when he withdrew his previous approval of the controversial roadway in response to the demands of irate citizens.

According to the proposed route, the Inner Belt would go from the Boston-Brookline line at the Charles River through the Fenway into Roxbury and the South End.

It is estimated that the roadway would displace hundreds of residents in Cambridge, Somerville, and Brookline.

All three of the communities have threatened to veto those portions of the Inner Belt passing through their jurisdiction, under the provisions of a 1961 state law giving them such veto power.

The Cambridge City Council has gone on record at periodic intervals as opposing any route for the Belt which would uproot large numbers of residents.

January, when a measure to repeal the local veto power was introduced in the Massachusetts legislature, the Council passed a resolution opposing repeal an 8-1 margin. At that time, Councillor Andrew T. Trodden had asserted that the proposed Inner Belt route through Cambridge would "drive out many families and many thousands of tax dollars."

In withdrawing his support of the Inner Belt route, Mayor Collins criticized the "chaos" in the state highway program which has prevented the realization of the Inner Belt and other proposed roadways.