Yeah, this garage doesn't really look like a garage, and is kind of cool architecturally speaking. I'd definitely rather see a repurposing rather than a tear down and replace. But it brings a lot of extra cars in to a congested area, so this is a win from that perspective. Let the Children's Museum experience include learning about public transit.
Ever tried to ride a NY subway in a wheelchair? To be clear, I haven't either - but the number of ancient stations with limited-to-no accessibility is huge. Wikipedia says the MTA's own 2020 analysis found only 29% of the city's 472 subway stations were accessible. Granted, 135 accessible subway stations is still probably more than the rest of the country's combined, but as a percentage of a single system, it's low. I can't as easily find an overall percentage for the MBTA, but a quick search says the Red and Orange Lines are 100%, and all but one Blue Line station are accessible. No idea about the Green Line, but 77% of all Commuter Rail stations are accessible.
Fair enough. Is it of any worth to point out that I grew up (part of the time, anyway) in Dorchester -- NOT near a stop -- and nonetheless took the T to the Children's Museum (and Aquarium, MFA, Science Museum, Harvard Sq, and plenty other places)?
[bolding mine]
But it isn't. I took my kids there on the T, I took them to the Science Museum and Aquarium, I took them to sporting events and lots of other places. As teenagers, they were independently mobile, because they knew about the T, understood how it worked, and felt comfortable with the idea of using it. Also worth noting, I don't live in a neighborhood with direct subway access, nevertheless, we take the T plenty.
This is a much bigger issue at Boston museums than transit accessibility. The admission prices do push it beyond affordability for many families. But there is also a solution to this, and it actually already exists. You can borrow passes from the Boston Public Library. And library cards are free.
