Recent content by clam

Hell yeah, and even without a LVT it's still possible to use land value to help with this. I did my thesis on using land value discrepancy to identify potential redevelopment sites around the commuter rail, and it was pretty easy to find enough parcels to cover the cost of RER electrification...

Is it more likely for future NSRL costs (relative to today + inflation) to keep rapidly growing, stay about the same as today, or possibly decrease? I agree with the idea that starting RER should be done first, but worry that the best/cheapest time to start building this is always going to be...

Infill stations with TOD would easily pay for the NSRL

I did something similar 5 years ago for my thesis, and I used something from ArcGIS online to do it, but was limited to going station by station for some reason. For my bigger analysis I used parcel data from MassGIS, and set a very simple script in ArcMap that removed all the bad parcels...

Weird to be hostile and wrong at the same time, you really think that the Silver Line isn't rapid transit? Can you spell out BRT and get back to us on that

assuming they make the Tobin replacement similar to the current bridge, it's gotta be way harder to do major construction like adding rail afterwards right?

I made a crayon map plan for Springfield/Westfield/Holyoke commuter rail through there in college, and that yard is way larger and busier than I realized, lots of issues with the locals and not sure how cooperative they would be. Given how bad traffic gets that time of year, a connecting bus...

The Cape tourism season ends right before the Big E, leaf peeping, and Salem Halloween begins. Colleges come back overlapping with Cape peak tourism I think, but huge demand there too if you can reasonably connect Amherst and that area in Boston. Could do a Thanksgiving train home for the...

Was looking at the MBTA job openings, and it seemed like there's no jobs to develop employees and a shitload of openings for every kind of management role. Seems really shortsighted

Why LRT when we could get a 1 seat ride into Boston (and beyond with NSRL), with a commuter rail extension running multi units? Don't see how the stop spacing would make more sense for light rail.

Reading about the Highland Branch, and how it used to be a commuter loop. Not saying it's a good idea, but if for some reason an endless bag of money appeared with the stipulation you had to use it to make one loop line, either commuter rail or rapid transit, where would you put it?

I moved right as they finished these lanes, but it was insane how different it felt riding these to Jackson Square and taking the Orange Line vs. Silver to Dudley and then transferring/walking home. The silver line 4/5 would have a better legacy if it could at least be expanded to link in the...

What's stopping people from walking in via the bus way? Could see this as an incentive for people to do dumb things avoiding a fare gate at the bus terminal

Unfamiliar with these projects, it seems insane that NH dropped a billion on these? Where are all those cars going if not the Lowell/Boston area served by commuter rail? Wonder what a billion in commuter rail would look like for NH

If Mass is serious about supporting new development, it's crucial to get these online while that area is being rapidly redeveloped right now. Its a lot easier to get new resident onto an existing effective service than a couple years down the line when they're all used to driving in. They'll...