Gov't Center Station Rebuild

For a few LED floodlights? There are broke college kids who can afford those when throwing a makeshift rave.
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I'm basically opposed to government agencies spending a penny more than necessary on the bare functional minimum that meets requirements for whatever they're trying to accomplish. Green lights == wasted money IMO. This adds up over time because everyone always writes these little detail things off as "It's only $XXXX of the total cost. Do that a couple hundred or thousand times across a number of projects and it adds up quick.
 
meddlepal said:
I'm basically opposed to government agencies spending a penny more than necessary on the bare functional minimum that meets requirements for whatever they're trying to accomplish. Green lights == wasted money IMO. This adds up over time because everyone always writes these little detail things off as "It's only $XXXX of the total cost. Do that a couple hundred or thousand times across a number of projects and it adds up quick.
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Meddlepal -- in an ideal world we should perhaps get worked-up over some gratuitous lighting

In the real world of the T -- we need to focus the "Get Worked-upedness" on things that really matter -- the Pension Fund probably steals / wastes as much in a day as the Green Lights will cost to install, operate and remove over their life cycle

There might be enough wasted in the paper schedules to pay for the Green Lights [assuming that they are always green]

My guess is that the lights will turn different colors depending on seasons -- Green possibly for the re-opening of the station near to St. Paddy's ?
 
In the real world of the T -- we need to focus the "Get Worked-upedness" on things that really matter -- the Pension Fund probably steals / wastes as much in a day as the Green Lights will cost to install, operate and remove over their life cycle
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So we should just throw up our hands and accept our fate? I don't agree with that. Both need to be addressed.
 
meddlepal said:
I'm basically opposed to government agencies spending a penny more than necessary on the bare functional minimum that meets requirements for whatever they're trying to accomplish. Green lights == wasted money IMO.
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Sorry...that kind of nihilism is an abstract fantasy. Let's take that to its logical end: why spend a penny on service increases when the public isn't going to overthrow the government over the cuts? They'll get used to the bare functional minimum, after all. Why replace a peeled-off system map onboard a train when riders can just grab a paper map at their boarding station? They'll get used to the bare functional minimum. Why spend on a cleaning crew to power-wash the grime off a station every few years. It's just aesthetics; they'll get used to the bare functional minimum.

The world won't end over a frickin' $150 light fixture that sips 40 watts of power and makes for a semi-functional nighttime beacon for people not familiar to the area coming downtown to spend entertainment money at the area bars and don't know which direction to the station to catch the last train out of town.

It doesn't mean it's wrong to be ambivalent about the glass headhouse, but that ship sailed long ago. You'll get over your nihilism about the LED fixtures soon enough.
 
meddlepal said:
Mhmmm more wasted money.
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Are you this guy on UniversalHub? If not, you two should keep each other busy.


Explain why the colored lights

By roadman on Fri, 02/19/2016 - 11:12am

are necessary. More wa$te of resources in the name ot asethetics. And exactly the type of CRAP the "review" board should be putting a stop to.

As I said on there, it's complaining about supposed waste, but yet here we are, paying for broadband services for the ability to go on the internet...and to what, complain about cost-efficient LED lighting? That seems like a waste of money, if this is how you utilize your paid broadband services. Nothing learned & nobody better off for having seen such opinion (my own included).
 
I would love it if they could permanently light the box.
 
City Hall will also be getting bathed in light regularly this year. City Hall Plaza might actually acquire a sense of place (Genius Loci) with these lighted architectural features!
 
meddlepal said:
So we should just throw up our hands and accept our fate? I don't agree with that. Both need to be addressed.
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My what a bleak, bleak world you want to occupy, Ebenezer Scrooge. How dare the Government spend a tupence to bring a bit of color to the masses.
 
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So we should turn the lights off on the Zakim, the State House, the Library, etc.? Let's also turn off all the lights on the public buildings and monuments in DC? It's a shame government wasted all that money paying for some of our most beautiful buildings and monuments. Think of all the money we could have saved. I hear it is going to cost a fortune to rehab the Lincoln Memorial. Perhaps we should just tear it down? Let's make everything as dreary as possible if we can save a few bucks.
 
I have mixed feeling about the LED lights, not just in this building but as an architectural and artistic trend. It seems like everything these days has color changing LEDs on it somewhere to "personalize" the look of it for holidays and events. The lighting does not usually solve any problems, or is intrinsic to the design of the building or structure, it is just tacked on for a wow factor. Good lighting can make a building sing at night (see: The State House and most of the monuments in DC), but by just bathing something in saturated colored light that can change on a whim, you are drawing attention away from the structure and towards the lighting. Lighting for lightnings sake doesn't appeal to me and that is what I feel color changing LEDS mostly do. THey just add a "wow" that may be considered tacky in 10-20 years, just like 80's neon does now.

Granted, after saying all of that, this glowing cube will become a landmark and tons of tourists will take pictures of it at night. It will be a success in that regard, but wouldn't it be better if it was a success because of its construction and design, not just because we slapped color changing lights on yet another structure?
 
Can the lighting show multiple colors simultaneously? It would be cool to see it lit up Green and Blue, to represent the T lines at GC.
 
bigeman312 said:
Can the lighting show multiple colors simultaneously? It would be cool to see it lit up Green and Blue, to represent the T lines at GC.
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Not confirmed, but I don't see why not. It's probably the same or similar system to the one they have on the Pru. I had the same thought about Green/Blue.

Someone on UHub had (sarcastically) suggested having it change color based on what lines are currently delayed. It was concluded that the headhouse would essentially just become a gay club. xD
 
Btw, here's some pix of the track work this weekend (why service is suspended between Park & Haymarket all weekend):

https://twitter.com/MBTA/status/701066375331258370

CbqtVm7XIAAFmg0.jpg:large

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Edit: More from Joe:

https://twitter.com/JoePesaturo/status/701083306700308480

Cbq_i-UUsAAKAst.jpg:large
Cbq_i-VUcAAAB36.jpg:large
Cbq_i-WUAAQfmM5.jpg:large
 
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So we should turn the lights off on the Zakim, the State House, the Library, etc.? Let's also turn off all the lights on the public buildings and monuments in DC?
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Yes.
 
I respect your political inclinations, but it pretty much ends all conversation on this sub-forum, focused on public transit and infrastructure. Do you like this? No, it cost money. Should we build this? No, it costs money. Why post in the Transit & Infrastructure sub-thread at all if you consistently hold that all public transit and infrastructure is intrinsically bad?
 
Lighting is by far the most cost effective way of enhancing safety, usability and aesthetics. Private sector loves it. Absurd to complain about it.
 
I respect your political inclinations, but it pretty much ends all conversation on this sub-forum, focused on public transit and infrastructure. Do you like this? No, it cost money. Should we build this? No, it costs money. Why post in the Transit & Infrastructure sub-thread at all if you consistently hold that all public transit and infrastructure is intrinsically bad?
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How did you jump to that conclusion? I strongly support public transportation and think it's a necessary public service that helps keep an economy growing and operating.

I don't support wasting money on frivolous things such as fancy lighting, public art, and fancy decoration. Fuck that noise. The job of a transportation system is to get people from A to B as quickly and as safely as possible. If something doesn't accomplish that goal then it shouldn't be done.

I assume you also oppose all streetscape projects, public parks, etc? What a hellish public realm we'd have if that was the prevailing desire.
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Not quite. Parks are necessary to some degree because people demand them and they tend to have a pretty high pay-off in terms of benefit to cost. I am opposed to a lot of other stuff though, for example, public art that is paid for with tax money.
 
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