Recent content by ritchiew

This is great. Boston is once again opening Canal Street for pedestrians during Bruins/Celtics playoff games https://www.boston.gov/news/mayor-wu-announces-return-playoff-hub-canal-street I missed all of these last year. I planned to go when the Bruins got further along in the playoffs, and...

Newbury during the Marathon. I have no idea how so many people got there! There was no on-street parking, and you couldn't even drive down Newbury or Boylston. How does that work? Come to think of it... how did I get there? No matter. It was a beautiful day!

Yes, I think Wu understands everything you're describing. In her report on the BPDA from when she was councilwoman, the second sentence reads "The BPDA gives concentrated control over development to the Mayor of Boston with little to no accountability." She explains that in detail over the next...

This area was almost certainly denser in the 1950s, and that density has mostly be dwindling ever since. (Maybe, hopefully, that tend has reversed the past little while). Boston's population peaked in 1950. If you go comparing aerial photos here, you'll see scattered older buildings replaced by...

True, but also it's countless government regulations and policies that led to strip malls being the most profitable use of this land. If we want these places to be redeveloped, it would help to just change those regulations and policies. Change zoning to allow more mixed-use and higher density...

Yeah, I don't think the plaza has an official name. The landmark commission's report really thoroughly describes everything about that building and the plaza, and they only ever call it "the plaza." So if there's no official name, I guess the "BCBS plaza"? Or "Milton Place" sounds nice.

Yeah, what @KCasiglio said. I didn't know you could do that. One other suggestion for you (or anyone) is contact the Boston Public Library, or go ask in person. They have researchers on staff, available to anyone, and they're awesome. It's an incredible public service.

For those not digging though the article, some Cambridge city council members want to delay building protected bike lanes. Most immediately, that affects planned lanes on Main Street and Cambridge Street. A bike safety group set up this campaign if you want to write to the city council. And...

The link in that post is dead, but you can still find the whole document in the Wayback Machine https://web.archive.org/web/20030103142830/http://ntl.bts.gov/DOCS/boston.html

I just came across this picture from, looks like, 1960s. A Traffic jam trying to get over the canal. It looks basically identical to the situation today. We know how to make this better for everyone, and it involves creating reasonable alternatives to driving. It's investing in getting more...

This is awesome! I was looking for exactly this kind of map recently. Next step, I'd love to see someone build something that includes all the 1920's timetables, too. Have some website that lets you plan out routes and travel times on all those lines.

I was just wondering about exactly that. That's an electrical substation along Alford, and maybe that needs to stay, but I didn't think so. In part I was wondering because if that substation needs to stay, I don't think there's any possible room for the stadium while keeping the smokestacks...

Yes, it's good to be skeptical of CLF's concerns. I don't think that means ignoring or outright rejecting them. CLF is saying it's bad state policy to manage our waterfronts through spot-zoning, political lobbying, and one-off legislation. Also, they're saying there's no plan, let alone funding...

FWIW, there was a hearing today about the bill to rezone this spot to allow the stadium. From the parts I heard, basically everyone was in favor. That included elected officials, businesses, unions, various other stakeholders, and 90% of the members of the public who spoke. Even people and orgs...

The last of these three renders seems to be missing the overhanging roof. I think they just didn't render the roof.