I-695, Soutwst X-Way, Mystic Valley Prkway, S. End Bypass

[whighlander]

I too see eventual rising fuel prices tipping the balance in favor of electric propulsion with trolley feed. Especially if we really do get vehicles that can dynamically and automatically fit themselves into guideways.

Carpools and van sharing do alleviate the geometry problem. Perhaps somebody will come up with a computer-based "sharing" system that allows coordination of multiple people and one vehicle. Much like van shares today, but without the labor costs of a driver. Such vehicles can provide a convenient "middle road" between entirely private and public transit. They will still be too unwieldy to handle large volumes of people going to the same location though. So, public transportation on a fixed route will still be the most effective and efficient way of moving large groups of people along a predefined route.

Mathew -- consider Alewife -- 2700 parking spaces -- perhaps 5,000 people arriving and parking (I'm being generous) out of 10,657 people (arriving by bus, bike, foot, kiss&ride and parking their car) and leaving Alewife for ???? each day

If they all went to say the SPID -- you'd need to provide 2700 parking spaces there -- but they are distributed some go to:

1) Logan
2) Government Center
3) FID
4) Fenwway Park
5) Longwood
6) Kendall
7) BU
8) MFA
9) MGH
10) DTX
11) North Station
12) South Station
13) MOS
14) Pru

to name a few possible and reasonably probable locations

distribute them evenly and you need parking for about 200 cars per venue

 

[datadyne007]

Part of my research yesterday...

Basic Design Report Southwest Expressway - Interstate Route 95, Route 128, Canton, to Jackson Square, Boston
Brown Professional Engineers, Inc (Book - 1966)

http://bostonpl.bibliocommons.com/i..._route_128,_canton,_to_jackson_square,_boston

^^Holy. Shit. !!!^^

 

[czsz]

Wow, didn't realize the SWEx would be so wide or still have the Orange Line running down the middle. I guess it would have been Boston's version of Chicago's Dan Ryan expressway:

 

[Ron Newman]

And now, realize that the big green space on the left side of the Forest Hills picture is the Arnold Arboretum. How pleasant a place that would be next to a huge highway.

 

[F-Line to Dudley]

F-line -- I wrote what I wrote from a basic and fundamental understanding derrived from many years of interest in:

1) petroleum geophysics and engineering
2) energy economics
3) the oil bidness
4) the Baaken formation and the Green River and Powder River geology

as well as some 10 years living in Austin TX and a semester course called "Introduction to the Economics of Energy Systems" taught in-part by Prof. Wiliam Fisher, Ph.D., the then director of the UT Bureau of Economic Geology" and former Ast. Sectretary of the Dept. of Interior

Sorry...I don't have my curriculum vita handy. But...vita is not the same as presenting factual point/counterpoint, is it?

where did your Leftwing talking points originate?

Well, as long as we're being crystal clear this whole line of argument is rooted in ideological talking points, I've got no problem with that. It's a waste of the thread's time to clog it up with some immovable "Wabbit Season!...Duck Season!" volleys when minds are made up. But, like the austerity thing...let's be crystal clear here what's informing that view.

 

[Lurker]

I'd rather see dynamic parking pricing and an actual sane limit and pricing scheme for residential sticker parking in Boston before implementing city specific congestion charges. Privatizing or leasing the operation of highways (to treat them like railroads once were) and moving that maintenance burden off the public books would be another big move in my playbook.

 

[F-Line to Dudley]

Wow, didn't realize the SWEx would be so wide or still have the Orange Line running down the middle. I guess it would have been Boston's version of Chicago's Dan Ryan expressway:

My God...we almost became Indianapolis.

I assume that's the future zipper lane running in the center there. And that this a noontime Saturday shot, because there's no breakdown lane travel.

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

moooree.....

 

[datadyne007]

Note: I posted the BPL link/call# for anyone who wants to go to the library and look at the study. It's in "government documents," but you have to request it from Social Sciences because the BPL has closed the gov't docs desk. Both are in Bates Hall.

There are plenty of renders, plans, sections, elevations, MBTA integration, etc.

 

[Commuting Boston Student]

As long as we're talking oil...

Why hasn't anyone yet tried to produce synthetic/artificial oil? Relying on a supply of something we need to pull from the ground until it's gone seems like a bad idea in general.

Why can't we figure out how to make fake oil?

 

[ant8904]

As long as we're talking oil...

Why hasn't anyone yet tried to produce synthetic/artificial oil? Relying on a supply of something we need to pull from the ground until it's gone seems like a bad idea in general.

Why can't we figure out how to make fake oil?

I thought ethanol is kinda like fake oil.

 

[mass88]

Wow, the SW Xway looks like what the Southeast expressway should look like. 4 full travel lanes in each direction, along with full breakdown lanes and adequate lighting.

 

[choo]

I particularly like the train stations in the middle of the highway that has no bridge going over it or any other visible pedestrian access. I imagine future arguments would have been that public transport can't exist without subsidies and that we should just make it six lanes in both directions.

 

[datadyne007]

I particularly like the train stations in the middle of the highway that has no bridge going over it or any other visible pedestrian access. I imagine future arguments would have been that public transport can't exist without subsidies and that we should just make it six lanes in both directions.

Connections are all made underground. Crossing above a highway is much more unpleasant than crossing below it.

 

[Charlie_mta]

Except when you get mugged in the pedestrian tunnels.

 

[Matthew]

Muggings can happen in pedestrian overpasses too. It's not like anyone on the highway below is going to help you.

 

[choo]

Fact: The drugs are always better underground than above it.

 

[BostonUrbEx]

2) Peak Oil is a myth

You heard here first, folks! Oil is unlimited! Rejoice and top off your tank!

 

[whighlander]

As long as we're talking oil...

Why hasn't anyone yet tried to produce synthetic/artificial oil? Relying on a supply of something we need to pull from the ground until it's gone seems like a bad idea in general.

Why can't we figure out how to make fake oil?

Commute -- they were working on this in Deutschland while it still had pretentions to be über alles but the Alles (err Alies) had cut off access to oil

Later for much of the same reason the project was resurected in South Africa

The process is a complex system of chemical reactions generally grouped under Fischer–Tropsch synthesis

Depending on the feed materials and end products it can be called Synfuel or "liquid coal" -- basically you need to add a lot of hydrogen to the carbon -- where pray tell do you get hydrogen -- why from:

1) reacting the coal with and air water at high temperatures -- that makes a very toxic gas mixture (H2, CO, CO2, CH4 and even some HCN) which you can reform into a liquid
2) from Natural gas -- why not just use the natural gas -- either as CNG or made into a liquid

The US has piddled about with it for about 40 years -- no one thinks its worthwhile now because of the long-term glut of natural gas -- and so the focus is on Clean coal for stationary power plants and synthetic liquid fuels from natural gas for transportation

PS: you can even gassify wood and then generate "liquid wood" fuel by using a variant of the #1 process with wood, sawdust, pulp or charcoal

 

[whighlander]

Except when you get mugged in the pedestrian tunnels.

Charlie -- I think that was the reason that the "subway" underneath the Green Line at Arlington connecting the two platforms was bricked-up (rediscovered a couple of years ago during the station renovation)

Meanwhile you can take a "subway" walk under the Thames at Greenwich