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If people just advocated for funding the T through general revenue instead of picking the pockets exclusively of non-transit users to give to transit users, they'd get a lot farther. It's when you pit one group (motorists) vs. another (transit) that you get problems. Use a small increase in the...

He's been scared to touch major transit expansion because it would require funding, and his last transit funding plan (rightly, IMO) went down in flames along with Jim Aloisi. The income tax is automatically going down to 5.25% due to economic growth levels. Block that and you probably get...

Don't they have to make an underground loop to turn around after Charles/MGH? That's pretty much under the beginning of the Longfellow Bridge and Storrow Drive, and possibly under the Charles. I could see that being pretty expensive, far more expensive than the cut and cover down Cambridge St.

To me the primary issue is comfort, not safety. I drive my car everywhere, even to downtown, because I get to drive in air conditioned comfort, and I despise heat. If there were PSDs and air conditioning I might consider the T. Agree or disagree, there's lots of people who think like me.

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos The RMV is actually pretty damn efficient. They get a bad rap. Foreign students, yes, but what happens if you're out of state (and they have your SSN or home state license number) is your right to drive in Massachusetts is suspended and your info is...

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos It will ultimately catch up with you. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not next year, but interstate compacts are in place so that license suspensions are reciprocated among all states. When they do upgrade their notification systems - and they will...

So replace the staffed lanes with automated pay machines with a "stupidity surcharge" above and beyond what's charged at the prepay stations. No need for staffed lanes. Massport's an independent agency that's flush with cash so they don't need to make the hard decisions that other organizations...

I only have one thing to add - Cambridge does go too far in its anti-car policies. It's true that most jurisdictions have policies tilted towards cars, but that doesn't mean policies should become anti-car. They should be more car-neutral. Removing mandatory minimums for parking is good...

Here I would respectfully disagree. There's nothing about urbanity or increased density that is anti-growth. What's anti-growth is restrictive zoning that limits density and things like "wetlands" and "historical preservation" laws that limit development. And I say this even as I advocate for...

Jaywalking is something, like speeding, that is usually harmless and rarely understood. For example, did you know if there isn't a marked crosswalk within 300 feet, it's perfectly legal to cross - it just means the pedestrian has to yield the right of way to vehicles rather than vice versa? And...

Surely, though, you can't say that Europeans have lower wages, less regulation, or less strong unionization than America does. I don't know if there's a corollary to Davis-Bacon there, but even without it I would bet the cost of hiring an employee for a public construction project would be as...

The law itself is brief and straightforward and it seems to reference only on-site workers. The point about non-union contractors is that the productivity issues associated with unions do add costs, and that's bad, but that's independent of Davis-Bacon since D-B doesn't require union contractors.

Municipalities are issued blanket authority by MassDOT to set up one-way restrictions on roads even if there's plenty of room for two-way traffic. They should put a permit requirement in place. It wouldn't be difficult to get a permit, but you'd have to show some kind of justification.

This might be an ignorant question, but I've always been a suburb dweller so I don't know. What's so special about the Esplanade? I've never understood why people are so passionate about it. What's so unique about it? And the whole Olmstead system, people revere these parks like they were...

All projects are like this though, not just rail. And correct me if I'm wrong, but the FRA's most egregious requirements largely increase the cost of rolling stock rather than infrastructure. I think the biggest issue is we rely on consultants too much for management, planning, and oversight...

All of this is true of highway construction as well. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-26/u-s-taxpayers-are-gouged-on-mass-transit-costs.html U.S. Taxpayers Are Gouged on Mass Transit Costs By Stephen Smith Aug 26, 2012 6:30 PM ET If the first segment of Manhattan’s Second Avenue subway...

Bridges are generally more cost-effective than tunnels. They've spent over $100 million refurbishing and repainting it over the past 20 years. They have a full time DOT crew there maintaining it, I would bet it would last more than 30 years. The best option for a pedestrian walkway would...

It's one thing to keep a sufficient distance from the right that you don't risk hitting something on the right; it's another thing entirely to move farther than is necessary in an attempt to "take the lane" and preclude a car from passing you. That's illegal and dangerous. Why is it dangerous...

I think the issue is when drivers want to pass and bicyclists don't give them room to. That's pretty infuriating, and cyclists need to learn to keep right.

But that's the problem. It seems like nothing MBTA-related is off-the-shelf or standardized. So you have to re-invent the wheel every time you procure new cars, creating custom stuff that's much more expensive and less reliable than off-the-shelf stuff. This is why we can't have nice things...