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If there's tons of theoretical but ill-suited "street parking" available, then a developer could theoretically not build on-premises parking - or build, say, one space per unit in a dense development - in a way that pushes the costs onto others. This problem would probably be more likely to...

There is a reasonable case for parking minimums in certain developed suburban areas where on-premises parking is almost universally sufficient to accomodate existing residents and street parking is basically nonexistent (along with on-street parking regulations). In places like that (and there...

How much power they have isn't what matters. It's their incentives to wield it that matter. Right now, a neighborhood group gets basically nothing out of a new development unless they're in a blighted area. There are lots of reasons they might want to delay, block, or reduce the scope of a...

But therein lies the problem. Allocation of a scarce resource should be based on scarcity, not on total usage. Otherwise it's essentially a form of rationing. And roads aren't always scarce; most of the time they aren't. They are scarce on certain roads in certain directions at certain times...

It's neoliberalism. Same goals and values as traditional liberalism, but injected with a whole lot more reality and facts. The problem with rent control and mandating developer-subsidized housing (the term "affordable housing" needs to die a swift and painful death) is that it creates massive...

From what I know (suburban Boston-area university), many of the dorms are used for various summer programs and classes, but the summer is also used as a time to go through and do inspections, renovations, cleaning, and maintenance that can't be performed during the school year. They are able to...

No, but I think higher gas prices (and thus taxes) are a far more equitable and economically efficient way to bring down gasoline usage than the alternatives. Gas tax is outrageously easy to collect and generates sufficient revenue for road users to pay for the road. It also incentivizes...

I'll say it again - double the state's portion of the gas tax.

There's two problems. First off, the neighborhood groups become fiefdoms with only one power: the power of no. Second, while development (and lack of it) affects the whole city, only the local neighborhood has any influence over any particular development, and parochial concerns like traffic and...

You can't toll any existing interstate highways. The only way to achieve toll equity is to eliminate the tolls.

Where'd this come from? Boston MSA is 83% car commuting (drove alone + carpool). City itself is around 55% car commuting.

There's a lot more restrictions on development than those that help drivers. The biggest problem is that developers can't build anything in Boston "as of right". They face uncertainty in everything they do, and everything they do is subject to political and bureaucratic manipulation. The city...

The deal was, as is often the case in Massachusetts (and every other state and country in the world), substantiative things get postponed until after the election. Because politicians aren't going to commit to tax increases before the election and because the election swallows up all the energy...

Huh? I was just asking the poster for data to support the idea that more is spent per capita on transportation in the suburbs/rural areas in Mass. I have nothing to gain from promoting that storyline, and I don't even object to more being spent on Boston per-capita since it's the economic hub of...

This is what happens when your funding gets cut by 40%+++ in real terms. The T hasn't had its revenue slashed as badly because the sales tax has at least kept pace with inflation (IIRC) but it's also fallen way below projections and below other tax revenue, which is the proper benchmark for...

I was thinking the comparison would be total local expenditures + Ch. 90 grants + MassDOT direct spending on roads and highways under their administration within a particular region. Urban highways are a lot more expensive to maintain than rural ones (think Big Dig tunnels). It may be rational...

Do you have any data to support this? I would bet that if you looked at muni road spending or MassDOT Highway spending or both combined you'd get a much higher expenditure per capita in Boston on road spending alone. And that's not even factoring in spending on mass transit. Keep in mind I'm not...

Who says they aren't going anywhere, and why? We have some upcoming changes coming to transportation financing that will be the most significant in 2 decades. Getting rid of the toll booths would be a great way to get a whole hell of a lot of political support from Metro West commuters. And...

Interesting. You should visit the State Transportation Library downtown. I'm sure you'd find plans that are similar to yours or that would give you ideas. MassDPW and the Turnpike Authority originally studied a lot of potential routings. The Turnpike Authority actually took part of Soldiers...