General MBTA Topics (Multi Modal, Budget, MassDOT)

dhawkins said:
Its a crazy idea so I think this is the place to post it.

This has to be an April Fools Day joke... MBTA Googly Eyes
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Pulling this out of the Crazy Transit Pitches thread because well, the T did it.
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(I always thought the Type 9s already had a natural face that makes me think cartoon caterpillar, and the googly eyes detract from that for me)
 
stefal said:
This is MassDOT's CIP. The MBTA has a separate CIP. This may be more relevant in the General Infrastructure thread.
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I saw MassDOT in the title of this thread and thought this was it lol. I'll move it there.
 
Every 6 months the T posts their accessibility projects update as required by the settlement which I find to be the only way to find information about the status of some projects. This months update is one of the most disappointing I've read in years. Almost every single project on here is delayed, cancelled or on hold due to lack of funding. https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2024-06/2024-06-Accessibility-Initiatives.pdf
 
cubbe8 said:
www.boston25news.com

Person dead after stumbling onto tracks, becoming trapped under Orange Line train, police say

One person is dead after becoming trapped under an Orange Line train on Friday afternoon.
www.boston25news.com www.boston25news.com
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There is a solution to prevent tragedies like these from happening again:

Platform Screen Doors

A no brainer. Other cities around the world have these. When will Boston get on board?

Less people falling onto tracks. Less items and debris falling onto tracks. Fewer service disruptions.

Maybe for the next CIP after this year, advocates should start lobbying for platform screen doors.
 
As HBH notes, lots of schedule slip since the last update.
  • Last update, the next round for Forest Hills - upgrades to three existing elevators, plus a new elevator connecting the two busways - was expected to be finished with design in mid 2024. Now it just says "The design for the broader station upgrades under Phase II—including upgrades to the existing elevators and the new elevator between the upper and lower busways—is underway. The final scope of the project will depend on funding availability."
  • 75% design for Charles/MGH second headhouse also no longer has a completion date
  • Newton Highlands is similarly vague: "Construction of this project will require numerous shutdowns to Green Line service. As such, a strategy and timeline is being developed for the project’s construction." The four other D Branch stations are seemingly being punted. They're now planning short sections of accessible platform and modifications to some entrances by the end of 2024, with the full projects later. I can only hope that the delays will result in the stations being built directly for Type 10s, rather than being re-rebuilt in just a few years.
  • Symphony...oof. "Designs for the full station upgrade were completed and advertised for bid in May 2024. Bids received far exceeded the estimated project cost and allocated budget. Discussions are underway regarding potential options forward."
  • Hynes reached 30% design in March, but is on hold pending funding.
  • B Branch stations are estimated to start construction in fall 2025, and C Branch stations estimated to finish construction in fall 2026. I have no clue why they framed it that way.
  • Outer E Branch is to reach 15% design in July. Sounds like it includes the segment on South Huntington - I presume that means Riverway gets rebuilt, Back of the Hill finally nuked, and Heath Street rebuilt (or more likely replaced).
 
Delvin4519 said:
There is a solution to prevent tragedies like these from happening again:

Platform Screen Doors

A no brainer. Other cities around the world have these. When will Boston get on board?

Less people falling onto tracks. Less items and debris falling onto tracks. Fewer service disruptions.

Maybe for the next CIP after this year, advocates should start lobbying for platform screen doors.
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Wouldn't this require signalling upgrades? I know that's a project, but I agree that ultimately it'd be well worth doing.
 
Justbuildit said:
Tax cut details can be found below. It covers a lot of ground, and it's not clear where the absolute dollar amount savings are across each of the cuts, but note there are line items that will disproportionately help higher income individuals (capital gains and estate tax relief) and others that are probably felt most by low income individuals (child and family tax credits increase, rental deduction, low income housing tax credit). And who could forget the targeted relief to cider and dairy manufacturers? In any case, the net revenue from the millionaire's tax does need to be considered in view of this much broader set of cuts, some of which will provide relief to those who are paying the new 4% marginal rate.

Governor Healey Signs First Tax Cuts in More Than 20 Years

$1 billion in tax cuts includes savings for seniors, businesses, renters, and the most generous Child and Family Tax Credit in the country
www.mass.gov www.mass.gov
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The millionaires tax increases are dwarfed by the estate tax and ST cap gains tax reductions.
 
Riverside said:
I assume that "reduced fares" refers to the Reduced Fares program, which subsidizes lower fares for certain groups.
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Right, which doesn’t seem to be allowed under the constitutional requirement for where the funds can be spent. For an agency facing billion dollar deficits and a barely functioning system, fare reductions and ill-advised south coast expansion is making things worse.
 
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According to the MBTA speed restrictions tracker, six restrictions between Community and Sullivan have been lifted, including a few at the stations themselves. The Orange Line is now slow-zone free between Community College and Mass Ave.

This is showing up in TransitMatters data tool as well.

Community College to Sullivan has gone from 3:50 to 1:25
Sullivan to Community College has gone from 2:33 to 1:19.
 
Balerion said:
According to the MBTA speed restrictions tracker, six restrictions between Community and Sullivan have been lifted, including a few at the stations themselves. The Orange Line is now slow-zone free between Community College and Mass Ave.

This is showing up in TransitMatters data tool as well.

Community College to Sullivan has gone from 3:50 to 1:25
Sullivan to Community College has gone from 2:33 to 1:19.
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In other news, the MBTA has quietly updated the track improvement restoration program to include a brand new, upcoming, full 2 week shutdown of the entire GLX all the way to Medford/Tufts, with the diversion extended all the way to Park Street, in November 2024.

This diversion was expanded from the original Lechmere - North Station diversion in order to cover slow zones between Gov'y and North Station, and I'm assuming both the North Station crossover and Govy loops need to be shuttered in order to gain access to the speed restricted track to conduct track repairs.


Cleveland Circle is marked as "complete" with no more diversion days needed, but they forgot to remove it from the October 2024 calendar itself.

The Braintree Branch has also had its scheduled diversion extended from 16 days to 24 days, compared to the original plan. This essentially means there will be an almost monthlong shutdown of the Braintree Branch (and probably also including Old Colony Rail as well) in September 2024.

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Delvin4519 said:
The Braintree Branch has also had its scheduled diversion extended from 16 days to 24 days, compared to the original plan. This essentially means there will be an almost monthlong shutdown of the Braintree Branch (and probably also including Old Colony Rail as well) in September 2024.

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Is this actually likely though? I'd be surprised if they diverted 3 commuter rail lines for that long. As I understood it, the weekend shutdowns in May & June of the entire corridor were attributed to Dorchester Ave Bridge work, not the track program. If they could do track work on the Orange Line parallel to the Haverhill line, without impacting the CR service, I'd expect them to be able to do the same here.
 
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Is there a rationale for the Medford/Tufts closure? I thought the slow zones were between North Station and Lechmere.
 
RandomWalk said:
Is there a rationale for the Medford/Tufts closure? I thought the slow zones were between North Station and Lechmere.
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The slow zones that remain are between North Station and Govy. Is it not possible to use the North station yard from the north and have trains terminate at Science Park?
 
Can the Park Street loop handle all of that capacity? Some trains could terminate at Boylston.
 
RandomWalk said:
Is there a rationale for the Medford/Tufts closure? I thought the slow zones were between North Station and Lechmere.
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There are no slow zones between North Station and Lechmere right now. As the aforementioned commentor said, North Station - Govy are where the slow zones still exist.
 
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