Recent content by EastCambridgeDreamer

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    Better MBTA Station Names

    Yes, but "Chelsea 2nd St" is more in line with how train stations are named. See Philadelphia 30th St Station.
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    Better MBTA Station Names

    Montreal does something like this, and I find it helpful!
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    Crazy Transit Pitches

    Love this! It would take a lot of cars off of the roads, honestly. Tangentially, I was reading about DC planning to automate their metro system. Folks on here pointed out that this would not work if applied to the T's rapid transit system as it stands today, because we have only 4 main transfer...
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    Grounding the McGrath

    This would be amazing! Doubt we would see it done this way, but I like the way you're thinking. I do like that there's enough room for the current design to have a fully-protected intersection at least, but that's more of a silver lining imo.
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    Regional New England Rail (Amtrak & State DOT & NEC)

    Um, is this an April Fool's joke or something? Worcester has always been on the Lake Shore Limited line...
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    Regional New England Rail (Amtrak & State DOT & NEC)

    Got it! That's very cool. So using that Z routing, you give up the fairly marginal market of trips between Greenfield and Fitchburg and gain many more riders in Northampton, Holyoke, and Springfield. The Hoosac Tunnel remains a big challenge still, but for higher ridership the work on the tunnel...
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    Why did we stop building through-streets?

    I grew up in Weymouth, which is nice I guess, has great schools, lots of trees, etc. But it's dull af and I was happy to escape as an adult. And, of course, Weymouth doesn't really have a street grid at all. While it is very difficult to reconstitute or develop a street grid in a place like...
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    Why did we stop building through-streets?

    I agree that there are so many benefits of street grids, that it was a giant mistake for us to stop building them. I also want to +1 the principle that open space is crucial for human flourishing - which can take many forms, like 1) a street with a wide sidewalk, some shade and a few benches, 2)...
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    Regional New England Rail (Amtrak & State DOT & NEC)

    The Z-shaped option? Could you say more about what that routing would look like?
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    Reasonable Transit Pitches

    Idea: Leverage East-West Rail to enable same-day trips from Boston to Toronto, Montreal, and Burlington VT with a transfer at Albany Boston's options for direct or at least same-day trips to destinations to the W and N are limited. The Downeaster is a great service for reaching Portland, ME but...
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    McGrath Linear Park

    The segment of McGrath that runs from Twin Cities Plaza to Lechmere Square (specifically, where it intersects with North First Street) feels way overbuilt. I never see it busy, and I feel like the space can be used much better. Has anyone thought about converting half of the road into a park...
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    Cape Cod Rail, Bridges and Highways

    I also think Cape Cod presents a lot of challenges for transit, and sadly it doesn't seem feasible to provide the kind of local service that's frequent enough, fast enough, and wide-spread enough to allow people to visit most parts of the cape without a car. So I would challenge folks here to...
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    Cape Cod Rail, Bridges and Highways

    As others have pointed out, the vast majority of people either drive to the cape, drive/get a ride once they arrive, or both. But as a crazy urbanist/transit person, I have to ask...what reasonable car-free trips between Boston and Cape Cod are possible today? I have a few ideas... Fast Ferry...
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    Crazy Transit Pitches

    Should we classify the recent Grand Junction study as a crazy transit pitch? I'm very dubious of its implication that Cantabrigians would accept gates coming down across Main St, Mass Ave, Broadway, and Cambridge St, 3-4 trains per hour, all day. Instead...assuming 1) West Station is already...
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    If you designed a metro/subway for Worcester, MA how would it look?

    Makes sense. Worcester would also be an unusual city if there were good transit to its airport, as the likelihood of a quick way to drive to that airport feels much more remote than a good transit connection!

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