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Completely agree. There's way too much that went wrong for the operator to be dodging blame like this. When I said it was telling, I meant of the operator and the light rail work culture, not of the T itself.

After passing a double red and going 36 in 10 MPH zone, it is pretty telling what the operator had to say:

Humans are always going to be worse at following rules than computers, but how much worse they are depends on so many factors. Two of the most important being enforced consequences for non-compliance (which sounds much higher than its been in decades) and pressure to decrease trip times. Given...

The restriction is entirely self-imposed from what I understand. Gates, lights, or even fencing that forces pedestrians to slow down and look in the direction of tram (pictured below, I don't know the actual name for this) could increase crossing safety. However, I was given the impression by...

@Electric_Brooke almost certainly knows more as an operator, but I've consistently gotten the impression from city and T officials that improving safety practices on the Green Line is a much higher priority than speeds currently. For example, Boston is studying a redesign of Comm Ave and is...

The 700 feet commonly sited in these articles commonly cite is technically true, but very misleading. The only place that will allow 700' skyscrapers is already fully built out with 500+ foot buildings. The map final map of zoning changes is below and will allow a number of more 500' buildings...

Plan: Downtown Approved https://www.universalhub.com/2025/boston-planning-department-advances-changes-downtown-zoning-encourage

There's a lot in here, most of which is of the traditional YIMBY mold (increased density, less housing development regulation). However, Section 4 would create a statewide Inclusionary Development Policy (IDP) of 10-15%. I doubt this part will make it out of committee given the influence of the...

Great Scott! Board approves new Harvard Avenue building for venerable venue, O'Brien's and 139 apartments "The Zoning Board of Appeal today unanimously approved plans to replace low-slung storefronts on Harvard Avenue at Cambridge Street in Allston with a new nine-story apartment building...

Links to the proposal web page and summary document: MEPA Amendment Background Document Definitely a step in the right direction, and the criteria to qualify for expedited review seems pretty reasonable. Three main points stick out: projects can be large but not massive (less than 10 acres &...

It very well might have been me. I'm not associated with the petition, but am quite excited by it. As for momentum, it's hard to say. However, the organizers are at the very least serious about it. Here's a blurb on signatories from the CommonWealth Beacon article covering it: More info here...

Actually, it looks like a new proposal has been made by the city for PLAN: Downtown. From what I can tell, it's basically identical to the last set of zoning changes with two tweaks: The language around compliance with the state shadow law is clarified. I'm not sure if this means much in...

The proponents are calling this the "Legalize Starter Homes" proposition, which is a fair, but maybe overly optimistic, name. As an example how this could play out, Weston currently has lot minimums of 60,000 sq ft in most of the town. Theoretically, these could be divided into 12 separate lots...

Even if you can't make the meeting, you can provide written comment in support of the development here. It appears input can also be emailed to the ZBA, but it is unclear which method is preferred. As a side note, it is extremely frustrating that these options are made highly visible, and...

One other thing to note is that even if there is genuinely a drop in roadway capacity from removing Bowker, it does not need to be replaced by road capacity. The transportation system as a whole needs pick up the slack, whether it's the T, walking, cycling, or anything else. Increasing the...

There's options here too, assuming that the 57 skips some Comm Ave stops. The simple answer is that the 57 would have to wait if it was right behind a trolley at a station, but could pass it in route to it's next stop. It is also (likely) possible for the combined stops to have dedicated bus...

The 57 has the nice feature where if it is behind a trolley, it can just be a bus and use Comm Ave to go around. Thinking some more, it could reasonably become only alighting from Packard's to Kenmore, and only boarding in the other direction with reduced stops. Again, far from perfect but it's...

This does seem like a net positive, but does it mean the existing municipalities in the system will have to cover more operating expenses as the system grows? Will new municipalities never contribute to these costs, or just be exempt given certain criteria? Again, any expansion would be an...

I'm sure this could be made to work. It's not like the 57's bunching would get worse if it was separated from traffic and did not have to pull over. However, the 57 would probably have to serve a limited number of stops to prevent over-crowding (or it could be upgraded to articulated buses, but...

As of today, the Orange Line is running at 55 mph between Assembly and Oak Grove. Data from TransitMatters also supports this, with an average speed of 36 mph between Malden Center and Assembly higher than anything else in the past year...