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In addition to the point whittle mentions (which also applies to the 39/E), the lanes are too narrow for buses, especially at stations. I don't think you could fit two buses side by side with the necessary space between them. (Same reason the Silver Line Waterfront stations are wider than Green...

The plaza also suffers from apparently being designed explicitly so people can't walk through it easily, but also not being nearly anything worth going to on its own. (At least it provides a nice place for a Hubway) Looks like the sort of thing that was designed so they could say "look at this...

The commuter rail is already in a death spiral; a friend who lived in Brookline recently got a job in Providence and found that even with having to pay to have her car lease mileage increased, she'd come out ahead driving in every day v. the cost of a monthly commuter rail pass. Who are they...

Encouraging the construction of detached small single-family houses (with parking?!) near rail stops seems like exactly how you get a housing crisis in the long run?

I believe this is also the case for Weymouth Landing/East Braintree on the Greenbush line; but I don't really know why.

My understanding is that the decline in population is also matched by a decline in the number of people per household; thus with modern living trends you need a much larger number of units for the same number of people.

My understanding is the "station name in black Helvetica on white, blobby colored line designations underneath" is the new standard-- old signs will be replaced as stations are renovated. And my opinion of that is that it's a shame and a step back.

Looking at the signage in the new station (from a passing train), it seems like even the old "GREEN LINE AT SCOLLAY SQUARE" sub-name for the station has disappeared. But the prominence of the tile signs will keep the name in the public memory should it be needed again.

Re: City Hall Plaza Polar Bar / City Bistro Since the logic at hand implies that there is no such thing as aesthetic 'goodness' and 'badness', just age, I suggest we demolish City Hall but agree to permanently preserve an office building of the same vintage on Route 128.

While I can see a benefit of a back-and-forth ping-pong from Union Sq. to Lechmere, wouldn't that basically entail a substantially more complicated Lechmere station design to allow Union trains to turn and get the cross-platform transfer Arlington envisions? And of course Union Sq. Station will...

Re: MBTA Survey - Pick the New RL, OL, & GL Livery Not a huge fan of any of the Green Line designs, would have preferred something a bit closer to the "traditional" pattern with the lower part of the train being green. On Red/Orange I chose Option 1, but I have to say I'm a huge fan of those...

Re: Open Thread Honestly, though the sidewalk is rather wide, and I dislike the brutalist aesthetic, Church Park seems to work just fine- the businesses seem to be doing well enough, and the overhang provides a nice shelter from the rain or shade on a hot day. (Focusing on this example because...

Re: Dr. Beverly Scott resigns If we divide transit extensions into those done to widen the MBTA service area for political support, versus those done to serve communities in need of better service that will have the ridership to justify it, it's clear which pile SCR falls into, and which one...

Re: Silver Line to Chelsea (Study Meeting) So why is it that BRT lines become pet projects and rail extensions become political footballs the politicians always try to kick out of the park? (analogies are hard)

The orange line and the blue line cars are the same width/height, but different lengths, due to tighter curves in the blue line's designed-for-trolley tunnels. As I recall there was a plan to rehabilitate the better-shape 0600s from the blue line in orange line service (in 10 car trains I would...

Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport This is replacing an already-existing church, allowing development on that site.

The thing is that SCR has been sold as this boon for the South Coast, that it deserves rail service, etc. So politically, it won't be popular down there if you say "okay we're going to take your train and spend the money on Boston instead", even if that does in fact benefit more people.

Happened to be out by this building today and snapped a picture. Not bad looking, honestly, though if it was taller it'd really make a nice statement.

Something about this building in those last few shots screams "hospital" to me.

I'm reading the FHWA guidelines right now and I don't see anything mandating the specific materials for the detectable warning strip, but merely stating various requirements that must be met regardless of material. But there seem to be a lot of guidelines in a lot of places, and I'm no expert on...