General Boston Discussion

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Boston charts the future of downtown development in new plan - The Boston Globe

A new plan from the BPDA aims to streamline a mishmash of building height restrictions, highlight areas best suited for new development, update design and architecture guidelines, and suggest ways to re-energize public spaces.
www.bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com

Boston charts the future of downtown development in new plan
By Catherine Carlock Globe Staff,Updated August 30, 2023, 24 minutes ago




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Looks like a big focus is updating zoning regs for several sub areas of downtown focusing on height with some additional attention to Chinatown. Preservationists seem to already be in opposition (none of the existing tall buildings will be torn down guys…) so I hope pro density folks on this board comment during the public period. With so few people living downtown it could be a chance to really ratchet in some by-right density gains.
 
I don't have photos, sorry. However driving down I-93 into the city after spending several days up in Ogunquit, it was a very impressive skyline! Assembly Square Area and the Hood Business Park on the left, plus Cambridge Crossing on the right made a significant impression. (Encore Casino didin't seem so out of place anymore.) Then, the whole North Station area has changed the skyline so much. I remember this drive in the late 80's and it was quite different. As a South Shore person, I don't often get the chance to see the city coming in from the north, and it was quite spectacular..........despite the pre-labor day weekend Friday afternoon traffic. LOL
 
Java King said:
I don't have photos, sorry. However driving down I-93 into the city after spending several days up in Ogunquit, it was a very impressive skyline!
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I haven’t seen many pictures of it, and my main ideas as to why are (a) it’s difficult and unsafe to take photos while driving, (b) our more prolific photographers don’t drive I-93 into the city from the north often, or (c) there are actually photos in a thread I don’t check very often.

But the new building by Hood in Charlestown is stunningly beautiful. The way the brown-gold fins are layed out makes it look like light shining on a contoured surface when viewed from the side.
 
Had something irk me the other day about Boston.

On Wikivoyage for the entry for Boston, the Commuter Rail was shown as "Service ends at 12:00 - 12:40AM". Blatantly false, since the last trains to downtown depart around 9-10pm, and the last trains out from downtown at 10:45-11:45pm.

Had to fix the entries accordingly. Earlier this year, I went through and edited the subway frequencies to reflect the new slow zone schedules on the wiki article.

Here's how the page looked in March 2023, already was out of date for over a year.
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Now, with my fixes and corrections to the wiki articles, looks like this now.

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Sometimes I wonder if my edits to the wiki articles to reflect 2023 schedules would have an impact of those reading about what public transport is like in Boston, and impacting their decisions to see or not see Boston as tourists. Like the article on the wiki used the say "trains every 4-7 minutes", now it says "trains every 21-23 minutes".
 

Costs, interest rates, are clobbering new housing construction in Greater Boston​

article behind the paywall: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/11/07/business/new-construction-greater-boston/

some excerpts:

- The economics behind both residential and commercial buildings “are going to be under tremendous pressure in the next 18 to 24 months,” said John Fish, chief executive of Suffolk Construction, the largest general contractor in New England. “It’s the first time in my career where the cost of construction is greater than the value created through construction.”

- In the city of Boston, the decline is even sharper [compared to Greater Boston]. Production of new units is down 46 percent through the first nine months of the year, according to data from the Mayor’s Office of Housing

- even strong demand for apartments is not enough to take the financial risk of launching construction on more right now.

- Along with high interest rates, construction costs, and difficulty underwriting deals, ... a wave of new requirements for everything from energy efficiency to affordable housing means “there is no relief of any kind." as per a developer from Berkeley Investments

- Many Boston-area contractors are relying on public and institutional work — with colleges and universities or transportation authorities — to keep their pipelines full.
 
Update on Cambridge's street-sweeping pilot. The City is looking to increase fines for failure to move one's car, as many drivers are fine with eating the $50 fine and not moving their vehicle.

www.bostonglobe.com

Residents stopped moving their cars on street cleaning days during a parking pilot program. Now Cambridge wants to double fines. - The Boston Globe

When the city dropped towing in the spring, many drivers just paid the $50 fine instead. Soon, the number of repeat offenders nearly tripled.
www.bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com
 
Navigating the perpetual traffic in and around Boston feels like a soul-draining experience. The city itself appears to be ensnared in a nightmarish gridlock, exacerbated by a seemingly perpetual cycle of building upon an infrastructure that struggles to bear the weight of the city's demands.

The once tranquil areas outside of Boston, quaint towns like Melrose, Wakefield, Stoneham, Reading and Woburn, have morphed into bustling extensions of the inner-city mayhem. This urban sprawl has encroached upon once peaceful havens like Winchester, Belmont, Arlington transforming them into frenetic pockets of activity.

The relentless traffic, a constant companion on every journey, paints a diverse picture of vehicular frustration, with license plates from every state peppering the landscape. The roadways seem to be a melting pot of commuters, each one navigating the chaos in their unique way.

Adding another layer to the situation is the state government's decision to permit migrants to inhabit developments in Everett, Woburn, and other areas, developments financed by the collective contributions of hardworking taxpayers. This move has not only raised questions about the adequacy of these developments but has also sparked discussions about the allocation of public funds and the long-term sustainability of such endeavors.

In the face of these challenges, it's essential to engage in open dialogues with elected officials, fostering an environment where concerns about infrastructure, traffic, and resource allocation are addressed. By doing so, we can work towards creating a more sustainable and harmonious living environment for both current residents and those who are welcomed into our communities.
 
Johnnyrocket891 said:
Navigating the perpetual traffic in and around Boston feels like a soul-draining experience. The city itself appears to be ensnared in a nightmarish gridlock, exacerbated by a seemingly perpetual cycle of building upon an infrastructure that struggles to bear the weight of the city's demands.

The once tranquil areas outside of Boston, quaint towns like Melrose, Wakefield, Stoneham, Reading and Woburn, have morphed into bustling extensions of the inner-city mayhem. This urban sprawl has encroached upon once peaceful havens like Winchester, Belmont, Arlington transforming them into frenetic pockets of activity.

The relentless traffic, a constant companion on every journey, paints a diverse picture of vehicular frustration, with license plates from every state peppering the landscape. The roadways seem to be a melting pot of commuters, each one navigating the chaos in their unique way.

Adding another layer to the situation is the state government's decision to permit migrants to inhabit developments in Everett, Woburn, and other areas, developments financed by the collective contributions of hardworking taxpayers. This move has not only raised questions about the adequacy of these developments but has also sparked discussions about the allocation of public funds and the long-term sustainability of such endeavors.

In the face of these challenges, it's essential to engage in open dialogues with elected officials, fostering an environment where concerns about infrastructure, traffic, and resource allocation are addressed. By doing so, we can work towards creating a more sustainable and harmonious living environment for both current residents and those who are welcomed into our communities.
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The gridlock, in the suburbs as well as the inner metro, needs to be addressed with more bus lanes (with prioritized signals) and bike lanes in the short term, and more light rail, heavy rail, commuter rail, and busways in the (hopefully not too) long term. That is an obvious need, but the political will is weak and ambivalent,
 
Johnnyrocket891 said:
The once tranquil areas outside of Boston, quaint towns like Melrose, Wakefield, Stoneham, Reading and Woburn.
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While I’m sure that Woburn has never been a “tranquil” and “quaint” place within my lifetime, I’m not convinced it was those things in my parents’ lifetimes either.

This is the city where the drinking water was so incredibly polluted by industrial waste that it was giving kids cancer. Not exactly your typical bucolic, pastoral hamlet.
 
Johnnyrocket891 said:
Navigating the perpetual traffic in and around Boston feels like a soul-draining experience. The city itself appears to be ensnared in a nightmarish gridlock, exacerbated by a seemingly perpetual cycle of building upon an infrastructure that struggles to bear the weight of the city's demands.

The once tranquil areas outside of Boston, quaint towns like Melrose, Wakefield, Stoneham, Reading and Woburn, have morphed into bustling extensions of the inner-city mayhem. This urban sprawl has encroached upon once peaceful havens like Winchester, Belmont, Arlington transforming them into frenetic pockets of activity.

The relentless traffic, a constant companion on every journey, paints a diverse picture of vehicular frustration, with license plates from every state peppering the landscape. The roadways seem to be a melting pot of commuters, each one navigating the chaos in their unique way.

Adding another layer to the situation is the state government's decision to permit migrants to inhabit developments in Everett, Woburn, and other areas, developments financed by the collective contributions of hardworking taxpayers. This move has not only raised questions about the adequacy of these developments but has also sparked discussions about the allocation of public funds and the long-term sustainability of such endeavors.

In the face of these challenges, it's essential to engage in open dialogues with elected officials, fostering an environment where concerns about infrastructure, traffic, and resource allocation are addressed. By doing so, we can work towards creating a more sustainable and harmonious living environment for both current residents and those who are welcomed into our communities.
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Is this a copypasta?
 

Last week, the second round of USDOT's Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) implementation grants were announced. The city of Boston was awarded $14.4million in funding for "Implementing Boston's New Traffic Signal Operations Design Policy".

From the project description: "The City of Boston, Massachusetts, requests funding to make systemic safety improvements to traffic signals at 50 locations across the City. Upgrades will adhere to the City’s new Signal Operations Design Policy, which places greater emphasis on pedestrian safety by giving more time to crossing pedestrians and reducing high-risk turns. The project will focus on upgrading locations in underserved communities and on improving conditions for all roadway users along the City’s High-Crash Network. Currently, outdated equipment limits the City’s ability to update many of these highest-priority locations. The project will include equipment and programmed upgrades such as new pedestrian signals; modified signal phasing including protected/exclusive phases and leading pedestrian intervals (LPIs); No Turn on Red signage; bicycle signals; stop bar and advanced detection for vehicles and bicycles; physical reconfigurations for ADA compliance, such as moving push buttons; and upgraded fiberoptic cabling."

In addition, Chelsea was awarded $280,000 to develop a comprehensive safety action plan, and Everett was awarded $90,720 to update their existing safety action plan and "conduct a demonstration activity installing sidewalk extensions using flex-posts."
 
I’ve noticed that the wait times for walk signals at intersections in Boston is longer than NYC. I think the difference is that for most intersections NYC requires turning traffic to yield to pedestrians whereas Boston more often requires a fully protected pedestrian phase which equates to a longer waiting time. Much prefer the NYC approach as it seems to lead to much better compliance with the signals (and is just less annoying from the pedestrian perspective).
 
Smuttynose said:
I’ve noticed that the wait times for walk signals at intersections in Boston is longer than NYC. I think the difference is that for most intersections NYC requires turning traffic to yield to pedestrians whereas Boston more often requires a fully protected pedestrian phase which equates to a longer waiting time. Much prefer the NYC approach as it seems to lead to much better compliance with the signals (and is just less annoying from the pedestrian perspective).
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Generally NYCs streets and sidewalks are wider, giving better visibility. Boston's are more cramped with less visibility. I think that's the reason for Boston's use of an exclusive pedestrian traffic light phase.
 
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