General MBTA Topics (Multi Modal, Budget, MassDOT)

[sneijder]

TransitMatter's Slow Zone tracker indicates that the Red Line just hit an all-time high in slow-zones at 13 full minutes lost on each trip. Seems like Red might be next for at least partial shutdowns to do track work

 

[737900er]

TransitMatter's Slow Zone tracker indicates that the Red Line just hit an all-time high in slow-zones at 13 full minutes lost on each trip. Seems like Red might be next for at least partial shutdowns to do track work

On the topic of speed restrictions on the Red Line, something I realized I don't know the answer to: When there is a speed restriction on Ashmont or Braintree inbound, is the schedule adjusted in an attempt to maintain core northbounds headways?

I've noticed that there seem to be some Red Line bunching issues (which is nothing new, but odd considering the general service reduction) at the same time that there is 2.4 minute delay on Ashmont inbound and 0 on Braintree.

 

[HubCat]

TransitMatter's Slow Zone tracker indicates that the Red Line just hit an all-time high in slow-zones at 13 full minutes lost on each trip. Seems like Red might be next for at least partial shutdowns to do track work

The tracker also shows that T was able to get Orange line to drop from 6.2 min to 0 from Aug 19th to 20th -- and then kept it there for a month. How'd they do that?

 

[ant8904]

There's a MBTA job fair coming up next week. They also been blasting it as commercials on the radio.

A thought recently crossed my mind. A lot of us here can be generally described as passionate about transit (and others here are passionate about city planning or architecture or all the above). But how many of us are in the field? I remember that places like r/boston talks about the MBTA or general urbanism with some occasionally posting some pretty technical stuff or detailed posts, but I also remember a thread asking if anyone works for the T and the most upvoted comments were all "my uncle" or "my close friend". I know some of us here are involve in activism but I don't recall anyone here mentions working for the T or city planning type of position. I could be very wrong though.

I guess where I'm going is well, I want to apply. My formal background isn't in rail operations, but the general news is the MBTA needs people from all types of backgrounds (which Quality Assurance is a listed open position with other positions have arguments, albeit my formal professional background been around more medical/health tech). And formal professional backgrounds aside, we definitely follow far more than the most people unless they are actually in the field, why not actually be in the field if we can?

Note: I know that I would be just a cog and how the MBTA needs funding which is politics and not the workforce. But we also know some issues is from lack of labor side - though I don't know if I can truly contribute. I know I can't get that entrance in Park Street reopen and I can't help bring the headcount up in way that would help to restore HRT headways, but I don't know. Maybe I can at least help get an app released? And who knows longer term If I can get in. Anyone knows any advice for me to attempt?

 

[jlichyen]

are MBTA staff forbidden from openly participating in forums like this or Reddit? wouldn't surprise me.

Also, a fairly common complaint from private-sector urban studies scholars is that the public sector organizations are both 1) so bloated and inefficient AND 2) so uncompetitive in pay that anyone with talent and/or ambition is effectively discouraged from ever working there, and ends up in consulting or tech.

 

[JumboBuc]

are MBTA staff forbidden from openly participating in forums like this or Reddit? wouldn't surprise me.

Pretty much all employers have policies stating that what employees do on their own in their own time (online or not) is their own business, but employees should at no time represent themselves as representative of their employer in any way without express consent of the employer. Also pretty much all employers have strict policies against employees disclosing non-public company information without authorization.

 

[bigpicture7]

Back in 2006, folks probably felt there was some possibility of anonymity in the online world, whereas now, even if anonymity is desired, most people here post assuming they could be found out, so they are understandably reticent. This all makes total sense, but has naturally affected the forum. Some of the long-timers on here lament the decline of the dialogue away from quality architectural or urban design criticism, and more toward the pedestrian "oooh, why can't that skyscraper be taller" commentary...but we are in a world where people can't really talk about their work, at least not in detail. It's just the way it is.
That said, some posters here clearly have some discipline-specific legitimacy and do a wonderful job of sharing informed and experienced insights while steering clear of crossing that line that their clients/employers would care about. And to them, I applaud: You help keep this place worth visiting.

 

[F-Line to Dudley]

On transpo forums you'll find few to virtually no people self-identifying as transit workers (subway, bus, MBTA front office). Even on very active forums like Railroad.net. The one exception is railroaders (Amtrak, Keolis, freight carriers). They are out, proud (and occasionally letting their freak flags fly), and numerous drawn from many employers. Not sure why there's such a stark split by job function, but might be a function of RR union contracts baking in free speech guarantees whereas transit workers either don't have that or it isn't addressed at all in their labor relations.

It's known that T employees do monitor social media in lurker mode, including on this forum.

 

[nbcoram]

Much has been made about the MBTA's comms failures in the RLT/GLT/OLT thread.

Here is another one (not related to any of those three lines so I'm posting here). Blue Line diversion during evenings next week, Mon-Thu, from Bowdoin to Orient Heights. That starts in four days and was just announced this morning. They also only posted it on the BL alerts page. What an embarrassment. Entirely too short notice for something like this, and then they bury it.

 

[737900er]

Much has been made about the MBTA's comms failures in the RLT/GLT/OLT thread.

Here is another one (not related to any of those three lines so I'm posting here). Blue Line diversion during evenings next week, Mon-Thu, from Bowdoin to Orient Heights. That starts in four days and was just announced this morning. They also only posted it on the BL alerts page. What an embarrassment. Entirely too short notice for something like this, and then they bury it.

What are they even doing? TransitMatters' Slow Zone Tracker shows zero speed restrictions on the entire Blue Line. If this happens next summer there are going to be massive problems with the Sumner closed.

 

[jass]

Wasnt the blu line closed not that long ago?

 

[TrolleybusFoaming]

Wasnt the blu line closed not that long ago?

Yep: for Harbor Tunnel Work

On a related note, I find it really funny that the Suffolk Downs pedestrian footbridge is still closed, despite that other Blue Line shutdown.

 

[The EGE]

In other news, the town of Milton is suing the T:

Town sues MBTA over Milton Station stairs

The Town of Milton has filed a lawsuit in Norfolk Superior Court demanding that the MBTA repair and reopen the pedestrian stairway that connects Adams Street with the Milton Station

www.miltontimes.com

The MBTA is claiming that to repair the stairs, they would have to install an elevator, so it's too expensive and they're just going to demolish the stairs. I find that difficult to believe - yes, there's a major rebuild of the line planned, but that's a poor excuse to close the main entrance of the station

 

[Brattle Loop]

The MBTA is claiming that to repair the stairs, they would have to install an elevator, so it's too expensive and they're just going to demolish the stairs. I find that difficult to believe - yes, there's a major rebuild of the line planned, but that's a poor excuse to close the main entrance of the station

It's been discussed before (though the search function is failing me at the moment) that renovations/repairs to Commuter Rail stations have been sufficient to trigger provisions requiring accessibility modifications (which for the CR usually means full-high platforms). It certainly sounds like the T's suggesting that rehabbing the stairs would trigger similar provisions, hence mandating the elevator installation. It wouldn't be the first time that the accessibility rules produced a perverse outcome because of the agency's unwillingness or lack of funds to properly comply, like how a bunch of the CR stops have remained inaccessible since most of them wound up under the "no mini-highs" rule. It's absolutely an argument for properly funding station rebuilds and upgrades, but if they're not cued up for that (whether because of their failures or those of Baker & Company and the legislature), they might not really have much choice.

 

[bakgwailo]

Lol. I remember those being brought up in the community meetings now years ago on the line "transformation" project that has went basically no where so far. Crazy that the MBTA is OK closing the main entrance to the only rail/rapid transit for Lower Mill's CBD. It would be like, I don't know - closing Mass Ave's entrance on Mass Ave and telling everyone to just use an entrance on Gainsborough or something.

 

[Brattle Loop]

Lol. I remember those being brought up in the community meetings now years ago on the line "transformation" project that has went basically no where so far. Crazy that the MBTA is OK closing the main entrance to the only rail/rapid transit for Lower Mill's CBD. It would be like, I don't know - closing Mass Ave's entrance on Mass Ave and telling everyone to just use an entrance on Gainsborough or something.

It sounded like the stairs have been closed off for years, which sadly fits with the T's pattern of not repairing decaying infrastructure. Not that they're terribly opposed to inconveniencing passengers; a handful of useful entrances exist but are closed off, most notably the Berkeley Street entrance to Arlington (I think that was also accessibility reasons), so it's a situation where their indifference and lack of funds go hand-in-hand.

 

[HenryAlan]

Lol. I remember those being brought up in the community meetings now years ago on the line "transformation" project that has went basically no where so far. Crazy that the MBTA is OK closing the main entrance to the only rail/rapid transit for Lower Mill's CBD. It would be like, I don't know - closing Mass Ave's entrance on Mass Ave and telling everyone to just use an entrance on Gainsborough or something.

It's not quite so extreme as that. The pedestrian detour is not a significant distance, no longer really than the pedestrian route to the outbound platform, where there are no stairs at all. I don't disagree that there should be more direct access, but I don't see it as a super high priority when we are only talking about an extra hundred yards, if that.

 

[bigeman312]

It’s a minor cut in a system suffering death by a thousand cuts.

 

[bakgwailo]

It sounded like the stairs have been closed off for years, which sadly fits with the T's pattern of not repairing decaying infrastructure. Not that they're terribly opposed to inconveniencing passengers; a handful of useful entrances exist but are closed off, most notably the Berkeley Street entrance to Arlington (I think that was also accessibility reasons), so it's a situation where their indifference and lack of funds go hand-in-hand.

Yeah, probably even a year or two before the community meetings. Some of the bigger concerns, at the time, raised about it was the fact that the lighting was shot going out into the parking lot that you would need to traverse through the dark into the side street out back up to the main drag which was a bit of safety concern at night, especially for women (which a few were pretty vocal about this).

It's not quite so extreme as that. The pedestrian detour is not a significant distance, no longer really than the pedestrian route to the outbound platform, where there are no stairs at all. I don't disagree that there should be more direct access, but I don't see it as a super high priority when we are only talking about an extra hundred yards, if that.

So, I mean for the outbound platform you can either walk all the way around through the storage place parking lot (might I add maybe the best looking storage place ever?), or... you could just walk down the same stairs and cross the tracks from platform to platform right there. And, yeah, OK it's about 200 yards detour, but it's a pretty big physiological detour including the issues with lightning at night I detailed above. Sure, a bit of hyperbole from me and melodrama, but, it's the third most trafficked station on the line excluding the termini at Ashmont and Mattapan, and its singular main entrance has been out of commission for years.

Also, admit that the High-Speed line is near and dear to my heart - and it is annoying after a few years now on the 'transformation' project that little has been done with the rehabs of the PCCs are woefully behind schedule with little else going on. There has been a decent amount of ToD on the line, too, which makes the T's dragging of feet all the more annoying. Plus, I personally see the line as almost the perfect guinea pig and test bed - pretty much a closed loop with only two grade crossings that the T should be using as more of a lab for things like signal priority, synchronization with the Red, hell, and even full automation. Should be a test bed for wider Green Line technology rollouts.

I'd see the station moved and centered under Adams (yeah, bridge... so maybe crazy pitch), with entrances on both sides of Adams and Eliot and then selling/pushing for air rights ToD development where the station is now, and on the Eliot St. side, too and hopefully continue the street wall for a decent square, with a good connection to the rest of Lower Mill's CBD. The Chocolate Factory condos seem to go for over a million easily, so, I'd have to think on the Milton side development isn't a hard economic sell. Also - please forgive my grammer/spelling/stupidity, full the 2-month newborn brain shutoff right now (on top of the existing 3 yo toddler). Late-night ranting on ArchBoston helps the sanity a bit.

Also: do we have a Mattapan High Speed Line thread? more than happy to relocate my ranting there, but I don't think I have ever been able to find one.

 

[themissinglink]

Also: do we have a Mattapan High Speed Line thread? more than happy to relocate my ranting there, but I don't think I have ever been able to find one.

I don't think we have a thread specifically for the Mattapan High Speed Line, but there's been some past discussion in the Red Line Extension to Mattapan thread. Perhaps it could be reanimated as the dedicated Mattapan High Speed Line thread.