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  1. TheRatmeister

    Other People's Rail: Amtrak, commuter rail, rapid transit news & views outside New England

    HSR in China is a complicated story. Some amount of it is either built for political reasons (see the lines to Xinjiang or Tibet) or just built for the sake of building something and pumping GDP up. Obviously there is a debate about whether transit and HSR should be profitable but there is a...
  2. TheRatmeister

    Sidewalks/Walkability in Massachusetts

    If you really want to terrify him, does he know that some cities use concurrent bicycle phasing? Now that's something.
  3. TheRatmeister

    Reasonable Transit Pitches

    That is certainly an option, but I think it's worth avoiding it if possible because god that be a nightmare. Washington St is one of the oldest parts of Boston and the stretch around East Berkeley St has particular historical significance. The original town wall and gate of Boston on the neck...
  4. TheRatmeister

    Reasonable Transit Pitches

    The transitway is frankly what I'm least concerned about. In terms of places for pedestrians to wait a few seconds, the transitway is one of the least bad. Vehicles would only be coming about once ever 3 minutes on average, and it's not difficult to put indicators at crossings to alert...
  5. TheRatmeister

    Reasonable Transit Pitches

    You cannot fit the Ink Block/Peters Park stations with island platforms, travel lanes, and bike lanes. There just is not enough space. (Tufts does barely fit with an Island platform but obviously it makes no sense if you have to then go back to the side.) You're right that staggered platforms...
  6. TheRatmeister

    Reasonable Transit Pitches

    Nevermind it was actually not too hard to fit pedestrian islands in. There isn't enough room for two so I put them between the bike/travel lanes. There is one north of Herald St/Ink Block station where there just isn't room, unfortunately. If anyone has ideas for that one I'd appreciate it.
  7. TheRatmeister

    Reasonable Transit Pitches

    You're right. I think for everything past Oak St or so it should be possible to fit pedestrian islands between the bike and travel lanes. That would come at the expense of some sidewalk width but it's probably necessary. The further south you go the less of an issue it is, Washington widens...
  8. TheRatmeister

    AI Redraws Boston

    My opinion is that yes it's important but... The effects to the recreational and public waterfront are so dramatic that costs/some amount of congestion is justified. The land taken by Storrow or otherwise made borderline useless by it and its ramps is immensely valuable and may be able to be...
  9. TheRatmeister

    Reasonable Transit Pitches

    What if Washington St had a side-running transitway between the BDPA Parcel and E Berkeley St? Color code: Red: Transitway Dark Blue: Platforms Light blue: Ramps up to platforms The side running transitway for this portion was chosen to make use of the C-Mart Parking lot as additional room to...
  10. TheRatmeister

    Red Line Extension to Arlington Heights

    Is there a provision for a station at Lake St in these plans? It certainly looks like it.
  11. TheRatmeister

    Red Line Extension to Arlington Heights

    What would you even skip? Certainly nothing after Davis, so that leaves what, 3-4 possible expressed stops? Alewife and Davis are both powerhouses for ridership, if we're building to Arlington then it would be silly to skip Arlington Center, and Arlington Heights would be the end of the line. So...
  12. TheRatmeister

    Red Line Extension to Arlington Heights

    Arlington absolutely does. East Arlington/Arlington center have similar population density to Mattapan or Roxbury. Then go a bit further to Arlington Heights for a good bus hub and a small yard to put a nice bow on the extension.
  13. TheRatmeister

    Roads and Highways General Development Thread

    What's the proposed budget here? My hot-take about the Concord Rotary is that funding put towards it would be much better spent on Fitchburg Line improvements. When you're not going during rush hour the Concord Rotary is totally fine, the huge backups pretty much exclusively happen during peak...
  14. TheRatmeister

    Idea for fixing the housing shortage

    I mean yes about it not being affordable but I think it's more about sprawl like @jklo is saying. 'Preserving Montana' means keeping "Big Sky Country" natural and open, not full of urban sprawl.
  15. TheRatmeister

    General MBTA Topics (Multi Modal, Budget, MassDOT)

    https://www.mbta.com/news/2026-05-06/construction-major-accessibility-improvements-symphony-station-begins-june-6?utm_campaign=curated-content&utm_medium=news&utm_source=homepage&utm_term=green-line&utm_content=Construction+for+Major+Accessibility+Improvements+at+Symphony+Station+Begins+June+6...
  16. TheRatmeister

    Biking in Boston

    I can tell you it's absolutely not just a Boston issue, mopeds and fat bikes are scourges of dutch cycle paths as well. The gas ones are deafeningly loud and the electric ones are quiet enough to sneak up on you like a Prius in a Trader Joes parking lot.
  17. TheRatmeister

    Biking in Boston

    They aren't mutually exclusive. What's really needed across the board is enforcement of traffic laws in general.
  18. TheRatmeister

    Biking in Boston

    These seem quite similar to the Dutch rules based on a quick read.
  19. TheRatmeister

    MBTA Buses & Infrastructure

    Easily my favorite part of the 2003 PMT for just how bonkers it is, it really goes to show how far BRT mania was reaching at the time. The article annoyingly doesn't quote the actual provision, so here it is: It doesn't actually say 'Bus Rapid Transit' it says 'Rapid bus transit' which...

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