Recent content by acroterion

The Springfield metro area is far more economcally integrated towards the north and south, not a whole lot of relation with Albany, and Pittsfield even is quite off onto itself. You will see that kind of schedule along the inland route, and to a small degree up the Pioneer Valley, but 35 miles...

There is no friggin way 91 would be boulevarded, unless you want to spend another 10 minutes passing through the city, and then you would have a delightful stretch of gridlock of heavy trucks cutting off the waterfront. Almost certainly the viaduct will be repaired, burying the thing would be...

Having spent the majority of the last 5 years in the the Fine Arts Center, I can assure you it is as soul crushing inside as it is outside. Other than skylights, the studios have no connection with the outside world, and the "bridge" which contains the architecture department acts as a giant...

I-91 north of Springfield had remnants of dual signage up to about 10 years ago.

Much less for the LSL and much more for the inland service. If Boston to Portland can support 5 trips a day, surely frequent and faster through service between New Haven and Boston via three cities over 120k and an international airport warrants consideration. Not taking into account traffic...

How about some $$$ for double tracking on the Boston & Albany to assist the perpetually late Lake Shore Limited and prepare for enhanced Inland Route service?

I agree, I should have included "on an intermediate scale, oriented towards local consumption and not specifically in Detriot". The largest conceivable operation would be managed by a CSA or a similar organization where remediation would be on a managable scale or fragmentation of land wouldn't...

Clearly there is no middle ground between growing food on former coal gassification plant sites and industrial scale mechanized agriculture. Like performing soil contamination tests to determine what parcels are appropriate for growing crops fit for consumption or using alternative methods that...

Ah yes, Monarch place. It was the largest mixed use project west of Boston when it was built. Built with 200 something million dollars during the Mass Miracle with substantial state funding, then bought 10 years later by the head of Peter Pan for something like 25 million.

The only situation where these things would work would be in some massive, polluted Blade Runner-esque dystopia void of arable land. It's hard enough to grow food on flat land using underpaid migrant labor without the huge amount of capital required to do it vertically. "Urban Farming" works...

Recreate the original station? I'd say wait until capable 5 axis CNC machines are more refined and widespread. Or find a modern architect capable of creating a work with an equivalent sense of civic grandeur. Calatrava?

The only real opportunities for commuter rail in the Springfield area are the CDOT project underway, and possible service up the Conn River Line to Holyoke, Northampton, etc. The latter having been included in the PVPC Knowledge Corridor Study. East-West travel would be satisfied by enhanced...