General MBTA Topics (Multi Modal, Budget, MassDOT)

Interesting thesis and compelling first few paragraphs. Lost me when he tried to slice class prejudice into the story. The red line sucks for everyone, and headways are awful at south station at 7:45AM and presumably at Ashmont at 1PM

The MBTA administration only cares about its most affluent riders and places, while ignoring those who actually need it.

The MBTA in fact cares about none of its riders (but notably slow zones were fixed first on the Ashmont branch, probably the lowest median income area of any red line region, maybe the whole system)

The commonwealth does not care about funding necessary commodities for its people. At the same time, the Green Line goes through many wealthy neighborhoods of Boston. Its vehicles are clean, well lit and have a steady flow. The government prevents the improvements of the Red Line as a way of separating the people.

This marks the first time anyone, anywhere has pined for the green line. Decent writing, but that ain’t it, buddy.
 
Justbuildit said:
Interesting thesis and compelling first few paragraphs. Lost me when he tried to slice class prejudice into the story. The red line sucks for everyone, and headways are awful at south station at 7:45AM and presumably at Ashmont at 1PM

The MBTA administration only cares about its most affluent riders and places, while ignoring those who actually need it.

The MBTA in fact cares about none of its riders (but notably slow zones were fixed first on the Ashmont branch, probably the lowest median income area of any red line region, maybe the whole system)

The commonwealth does not care about funding necessary commodities for its people. At the same time, the Green Line goes through many wealthy neighborhoods of Boston. Its vehicles are clean, well lit and have a steady flow. The government prevents the improvements of the Red Line as a way of separating the people.

This marks the first time anyone, anywhere has pined for the green line. Decent writing, but that ain’t it, buddy.
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I agree he was riffing way too much on the class divide/racist thing. I do think historically there has been major racial discrimination in the way the OL elevated line replacement service (or lack thereof) to Roxbury was handled in the 1970s. But as far as the current operational dysfunction on the T rapid transit lines, that's just plain incompetence coupled with lack of funding.
 
Justbuildit said:
Interesting thesis and compelling first few paragraphs. Lost me when he tried to slice class prejudice into the story. The red line sucks for everyone, and headways are awful at south station at 7:45AM and presumably at Ashmont at 1PM

The MBTA administration only cares about its most affluent riders and places, while ignoring those who actually need it.

The MBTA in fact cares about none of its riders (but notably slow zones were fixed first on the Ashmont branch, probably the lowest median income area of any red line region, maybe the whole system)

The commonwealth does not care about funding necessary commodities for its people. At the same time, the Green Line goes through many wealthy neighborhoods of Boston. Its vehicles are clean, well lit and have a steady flow. The government prevents the improvements of the Red Line as a way of separating the people.

This marks the first time anyone, anywhere has pined for the green line. Decent writing, but that ain’t it, buddy.
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It's especially weird because if you wanted to make that argument, you could talk about the buses and communities that are not served by rapid transit, there's at least something there.
 
Teban54 said:
Milton vote next month will be a crucial test for state’s ambitious new housing law

The vote is set for February 13.
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A few updates on this:

Firstly, Milton voted no on complying with the MBTA Communities Law, which requires towns bordering MBTA stations to upzone:
www.wcvb.com

Mass. town votes to reject housing plan linked to state law, preliminary results show

A "no" vote means Milton is not in compliance with the MBTA Communities Law, and according to state officials, that means the town will begin losing out on significant grant funding.
www.wcvb.com www.wcvb.com

Despite an anti-housing community group claiming the state's guidelines have no legal implications, consequences immediately ensued. Healey immediately pulled state grants from Milton:
www.boston25news.com

Gov. Healey pulls Mass. town’s state grant funding after it rejects MBTA Communities Law

Gov. Maura Healey on Wednesday told the town of Milton that it’s not in compliance with the MBTA Communities Law and that it will begin losing out on state grant funding as a result.
www.boston25news.com www.boston25news.com

Mass. Attorney General Campbell is now suing Milton for non-compliance:
www.cbsnews.com

Massachusetts attorney general sues Milton for rejecting MBTA zoning law: "Compliance with it is mandatory"

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell is suing Milton for failing to comply with the MBTA Communities law.
www.cbsnews.com www.cbsnews.com

Milton was the only one among the first batch of towns with a Dec 2023 deadline, which targets those with rapid transit access, to not comply. A much greater number of towns that border commuter rail but not rapid transit have until December 2024 to comply. However, some other towns are now considering to dismiss the law, too:
www.boston25news.com

Another Massachusetts town considers fighting new MBTA Communities Law

Another Massachusetts town is considering putting up a fight against a new state law that requires communities near MBTA stations to allow more affordable housing.
www.boston25news.com www.boston25news.com
patch.com

'Assault On Democracy': Holden Says It Won't Comply With MBTA Zoning After Milton Sued

Milton is facing a lawsuit and the loss of grants, but Holden will get until at least the end of 2024 to comply with the MBTA zoning law.
patch.com patch.com
 
City of Cambridge Transit Advisory Committee just posted a presentation from the MBTA on the state of the systemwide track improvement program.
There's nothing earth-shattering in here, and apologies if there's redundancy with what's posted elsewhere (e.g., MBTA site) or already discussed on aB.

BUT, since several folks on here have mentioned frustration with the GL slow zone between North Station & Lechmere, I figured I'd point out that there's a 2-week shutdown of that stretch planned for November 2024 (see Page 5) to address that problem:
 
bigpicture7 said:
BUT, since several folks on here have mentioned frustration with the GL slow zone between North Station & Lechmere, I figured I'd point out that there's a 2-week shutdown of that stretch planned for November 2024 (see Page 5) to address that problem:
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There are no slow zones between North Station and Lechmere in either direction. There are Green Line slow zones in the Southbound/Copley direction from North Station to Government Center.

Perhaps you are confusing something with something else?

Removing Green Line slow zones between North Station and Government Center would potentially necessatate a closure of the Green Line between Science Park and Park Street. http://archboston.com/community/thr...cs-multi-modal-budget-massdot.971/post-471876

Speed Restrictions | Performance Metrics | MBTA

Official website of the MBTA -- schedules, maps, and fare information for Greater Boston's public transportation system, including subway, commuter rail, bus routes, and boat lines.
www.mbta.com www.mbta.com

1709243728783.png
 
Delvin4519 said:
There are no slow zones between North Station and Lechmere in either direction. There are Green Line slow zones in the Southbound/Copley direction from North Station to Government Center.

Perhaps you are confusing something with something else?

Removing Green Line slow zones between North Station and Government Center would potentially necessatate a closure of the Green Line between Science Park and Park Street. http://archboston.com/community/thr...cs-multi-modal-budget-massdot.971/post-471876

Speed Restrictions | Performance Metrics | MBTA

Official website of the MBTA -- schedules, maps, and fare information for Greater Boston's public transportation system, including subway, commuter rail, bus routes, and boat lines.
www.mbta.com www.mbta.com
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The presentation I linked was delivered on February 8, 2024.

What I am referring to is the first line on page 5. Maybe I am misreading it.

(Also I swear the T slow zone map, until very recently, did show two speed restrictions between Lechmere & Science Park)
 
bigpicture7 said:
The presentation I linked was delivered on February 8, 2024.

What I am referring to is the first line on page 5. Maybe I am misreading it.
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What you read in the presentation is correct, and it is the problem with the presentation itself. The presentation doesn't take into account that there aren't slow zones at all between Lechmere and North Station, and that there are still 2 leftover slow zones between North Station and Government Center.

The 2 slow zones around Haymarket essentially limit the entire stretch from North Sta. to Gov't Ctr to 5 or 6 MPH (8 - 9.6 KMH) the entire way, adding 90 seconds of travel time for that particular stretch.
 
Delvin4519 said:
What you read in the presentation is correct, and it is the problem with the presentation itself. The presentation doesn't take into account that there aren't slow zones at all between Lechmere and North Station, and that there are still 2 leftover slow zones between North Station and Government Center.
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Well they either are or aren't doing 14-days of trackwork in November on NS-->Lechmere. The presentation seems to state that they are.
 
bigpicture7 said:
Well they either are or aren't doing 14-days of trackwork in November on NS-->Lechmere. The presentation seems to state that they are.
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GM Eng also mentioned they wanted to shift Blue Line work to avoid splitting it half because of Marathon Monday. The presenation also has not yet been updated to reflect that. (One has to listen to the board meeting itself, it's not in the slides)
 
bigpicture7 said:
Well they either are or aren't doing 14-days of trackwork in November on NS-->Lechmere. The presentation seems to state that they are.
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IIRC, they were able to accelerate work on the Lechmere Viaduct beyond initial plans by taking advantage of unplanned GLX closures. There were a lot of discussions here earlier this year, when the expectation was still that Lechmere Viaduct would only be fixed in November.
 
Milton has claimed that the Mattapan Line isn’t rapid transit.

While I think that this clearly is an effort to skirt the spirit of the law via a narrow reading of its letter, I have to admit… especially in its current form, the Mattapan Line definitely pushes the limit of being called “rapid transit”, particularly with its low and unreliable frequencies.

(That being said, the Mattapan Line has appeared on the rapid transit map for decades, in the same visual language as the other lines, which makes clear that the T considers it an RT line. And I’m confident that those who drafted those definitions for the housing act would have been looking at the T subway map, and would have been thinking about train services where you pay a rapid transit fare, and which use trains like you see on the Red, Orange, Blue, or Green Lines — and while we railfans see a huge difference between Type 8s and PCCs, I’m guessing the general public doesn’t. So, it seems clear to me that the intention was for a community such as Milton to meet the definition.)

Of course, I suppose if Milton really doesn’t like the ramifications of having rapid transit, the Mattapan Line could simply cease stopping at stations in Milton. It’s a significant fraction of Mattapan Line ridership, but not a majority. Alternatively, if Milton believes their rail service isn’t rapid transit, logically they ought to pay a Commuter Rail fare. The municipality of Milton stretches all the way to “128” (actually 93, but it’s still 128, fight me), so I think a Zone 2 fare is reasonable. Their fare would increase from $2.40 to $7.00, but if they believe that both the Mattapan Line and Milton itself are unicorns, then it seems reasonable to pay unicorn prices.

(Yes yes yes, I know, I know, the Milton stops likely serve a good number of riders from just across the line in Boston, I know I know. It’s not really a serious proposal — although if Boston residents could be given a “discount fare card” to protect them from the fare increase, well…)
 
Riverside said:
While I think that this clearly is an effort to skirt the spirit of the law via a narrow reading of its letter, I have to admit… especially in its current form, the Mattapan Line definitely pushes the limit of being called “rapid transit”, particularly with its low and unreliable frequencies.
Click to expand...
Milton is trying to reframe the question and won't get away with it. The state response to the Milton letter lays out why the Mattapan line counts for the purpose of the law, and it doesn't turn on the question of whether or not the line is rapid transit. Essentially, the line qualifies because it has stations (rather than stops) and a grade separate right of way. The Chelsea Silver Line also qualifies under the full definitions within the legislation for the same exact reasons. Is Milton seriously trying to claim that a bus qualifies, but a train doesn't?
 
I suppose the leg could up the requirements to "adjacent" communities :)
 
HenryAlan said:
Milton is trying to reframe the question and won't get away with it. The state response to the Milton letter lays out why the Mattapan line counts for the purpose of the law, and it doesn't turn on the question of whether or not the line is rapid transit. Essentially, the line qualifies because it has stations (rather than stops) and a grade separate right of way. The Chelsea Silver Line also qualifies under the full definitions within the legislation for the same exact reasons. Is Milton seriously trying to claim that a bus qualifies, but a train doesn't?
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Yeah, that’s a great response.

I read another article over the weekend about similar pushback forming in places like Rockport. I wonder how this will play out.
 
Milton doesn’t have much of an argument and as a suburb bordering Boston, they really “need” to do more (I know that’s not illegal argument, but it’s ridiculous that any municipality bordering the city has such restrictive development).

How is Holden on this list, though? They’re not even close to a T station.

This is more of a planning comment but the problem in the US really is local control at the expense of regional and national policy. And in Mass, it’s even worse because each municipality wields more power and independence than in most states. Federalism and independent towns all lead to the same problems. https://jacobin.com/2023/12/federalism-disaster-labor-states-rights-racism-democracy
 
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