General Infrastructure

bigpicture7 said:
That is an absolutely hilarious artifact; thank you. for sharing. Do you know whether it was meant in sarcasm or is there some other interpretation? It's hard to imagine even in 1948 that was serious...
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Well, as all things Mayor Curley, I am pretty sure he was serious - I mean who wouldn't want to use flamethrowers to remove snow.

For completeness, here is MIT's response, which I think is equally as amusing:

1948 MIT President to Mayor: Try Salt

alum.mit.edu alum.mit.edu
 
bakgwailo said:
Well, as all things Mayor Curley, I am pretty sure he was serious - I mean who wouldn't want to use flamethrowers to remove snow.

For completeness, here is MIT's response, which I think is equally as amusing:

1948 MIT President to Mayor: Try Salt

alum.mit.edu alum.mit.edu
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I finally was able to use my propane torch to melt some snow and ice this winter. The only downfall is that if it's windy, I have to constantly relight the torch however it works incredibly well for ice, and especially in the past several weeks with lack of salt.
 
Actually... So I have a super niche question. I was looking at the new Harvard Square Plaza plans, and I realized that the crosswalks there make zero sense. Specifically, why are there 3 distinct Mass Ave pedestrian crossings on the "western" / Brattle / Kennedy side of the Plaza? Because it's fed by one ways it's controlled by a single traffic phase... So in practice it's a single 170+ft wide crossing. It should be a free for all, but it isn't- Locals treat it like that, tourists are confused by it, but people absolutely gravitate towards the markings. I get that because it's so wide you'd need multiple pedestrian signal heads... but it's already so wide that there's several already there. The tiny interspersions of not-crosswalk are so minimal to basically provide zero lane guidance for drivers. Worse, the last presentation from the Mass Ave reconstruction plan, plus the plaza reconstruction, shows the status quo state of affairs to be the plan into the future, so... Why?

I've never questioned it because I'm so used to it, but is there a standard for maximum crosswalks width or something? Crossing distances for timing? I imagine there isn't a max width, because otherwise speed tables wouldn't be a thing - is this worth writing an email to the massave reconstruction folks asking for a sidewalk level raised crossing spanning the full distance?
 
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www.bostonglobe.com

Some believe Monica Tibbits-Nutt has lost her voice as transportation secretary. Can she find it again? - The Boston Globe

Major projects, including the construction of new Cape Cod bridges and the restructuring of the Massachusetts Turnpike through Allston, may hang in the balance.
www.bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com

Those in her corner said Tibbits-Nutt is a dedicated leader who has so far shepherded several transportation victories across the state, such as helping establish a reduced fare program at the T for low-income adults, and committing resources to street safety programs. But political observers and transit leaders contend the high-ranking Cabinet member is in over her head and has struggled to build a seasoned management team.

[..]

When Healey was building her Cabinet, Tibbits-Nutt was viewed as a rising star. With a background that included working in community planning, she was tapped as undersecretary, then thrust into the top post after her predecessor, Gina Fiandaca, abruptly resigned in September 2023.

[...]

Five months into her official tenure, all seemed to be going well. At an April event hosted by the advocacy group WalkMassachusetts, Tibbits-Nutt spoke freely about her stance on various transportation issues.

She vowed to nix a layover yard for parking and maintaining diesel-powered trains as part of the Allston multimodal project, freeing up space for people and development.

She went where few public figures dare to go, pledging the transportation funding task force she was co-leading would seriously consider imposing tolls and fees — “basically going after everyone who has money.”

“I will not spend one day trying to keep my job. I just won’t. Because otherwise it makes it very, very hard to actually do the job correctly,” Tibbits-Nutt said.

[...]

A firestorm erupted after her spirited comments traveled beyond the like-minded audience. Healey reprimanded Tibbits-Nutt in a radio interview, saying, “It’s not how we do things.” The state GOP slammed the speech as “an abhorrent display of bad policy.” State Auditor Diana DiZoglio said tolls at the New Hampshire border “would have devastating impacts.” Trolls online disparaged her manner of speaking and her gender identity.

[...]

In the aftermath, current and former transit and business leaders said Tibbits-Nutt started working from home increasingly often and became more reserved at public meetings. Tibbits-Nutt countered she has “always been a very good listener” and prefers giving time to members of the public for comments.

“From what I saw, she tended to come late to those [MBTA board of directors] meetings and not necessarily interact,” said Brian Kane, executive director of the MBTA Advisory Board, a regular at the monthly meetings in downtown Boston. “But I believe there was a lot of interaction behind the scenes.”

Still, several leaders said she entered the role with little managerial experience and has jeopardized her success by rejecting, or ignoring, advice and offers to help from senior leaders in the field — and largely only consulting with her undersecretary, Hayes Morrison. In comparison to past transit chiefs, they said Tibbits-Nutt has not staffed a management team nearly as robust or experienced. Tibbits-Nutt is responsible for overseeing around 12,000 employees and managing both day-to-day operations and long-term planning.

[...]

Whether Tibbits-Nutt has fallen in line or become more cautious, it has come at a growing expense: the faith of some of her earliest backers. Many community activists said they were caught off-guard upon learning state transportation officials included a space for trains in their preferred plan for the Allston project, announced by Tibbits-Nutt in the November email, noting it marked a reversal of her earlier position.

[...]

Tibbits-Nutt defended the change. “We make the best decisions we can with the information we have.”

In recent months, she seems to have had little direct oversight of two of the most significant transportation projects on the state’s agenda. In December, industry veteran Luisa Paiewonsky was hired by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and charged with leading the Allston project and Cape Cod bridges.

For Tibbits-Nutt, her focus is on getting the transportation financing proposal passed. The moment presents the opportunity to imagine “what we really want this system to look like,” she said.
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