Recent content by Charlie_mta

I worked at the US Army Corps on Trapelo Road during the summers while going to college in the early 1970s, but I had to take a privately run shuttle bus to get from the 73 bus at its Waverly Oaks terminus up to the Army Corps office. That private bus shuttle also served McClean Hospital. Also...

What amazes me is that there is no MBTA bus line on Trapelo Road west of Waverly Sq. That route would serve McClean's Hospital and the US Army Corp of Engineers office, plus residential areas west of there. It's a major hole in the bus network.

It lifts landscrapers to a whole new level.

I'm happy for Everett, and am happy that new housing is being built there at a rapid pace. But the massing of the landscrapers does strike me as Stalinesque, such as this example from that historic genre of architecture: I wish the new developments in Everett could be a bit more broken up...

They plan on leaving those in as bat habitat. 😁

I agree. I live in a cul-de-sac and it definitely cuts way down on the drive-through potential thieves from scoping out properties and also cuts way down the actual.burglaries and property crimes.

It doesn't have to be a literal grid. A well coordinated and laid out system of streets and multi-use paths for a large area BEFORE developments occur is important. What's happened in the Boston area suburbia is a total lack of a comprehensive street and path plan that new developments must...

Yes, I've always seen the Los Angeles/Southern CA area as having better planning and layout of streets and subdivisions than the Boston metro area. I worked as a civil engineer in one county there back in the late 70s There seemed to be more master planning of street layouts. In contrast, in...

It is indeed the model for urban and suburban areas. It is totally walkable, a diversity of housing types, tree-lined pleasant streets, rail transit, corner stores, restaurants; the Charles River nearby, all just a short walk away; who could ask for more, Thankfully the Inner Belt Expressway...

Thank you for the great photos. My mother lived in Woodrow Wilson Court in the late 1970s/early 1980s. I had to buy some cork board from a building supply store and put it up on her living room wall to reduce the music noise from the adjacent apartment. But aside from that, she liked living...

I looked on MassDOT's page for this project, and it is funded and scheduled for construction. So, it looks like a done deal.

That would be a giant step (no pun intended) forward. Also, electric bikes and bike lanes will be a big factor in cutting down on auto-centricism.

I'd also add bike lanes and multi-use paths to the mix, and developments that have a mix of residential, commercial and retail, and even pockets if industry. One of the worst aspects of post WW II suburban development was the residential-only character of SFH subdivision development. In...

Yep. showing the elevated expressway as transparent on the project documents is deliberately deceptive and deceitful,

Whatever density or housing type is developed for families with children, nearby open space and diverse use is essential. Playgrounds, public swimming pools, and supervised indoor activities such as boys/girls clubs, etc. need to be placed within safe walking distance, but are often absent in...