This is a big middle finger to JP
and the Emerald Necklace Conservancy!
“We believe that a bus facility, plus at least 8 acres of housing and other community amenities, including housing for the formerly homeless and associated services, can all be accommodated on the (Arborway) site,” she told StreetsblogMASS.
700k sf for 200 buses? PVTA put 150(including some 60fter space) into 280k sf
for 1/8th the price!
The have stated $400M in earlier presentationsUh, how? They're getting 8 acres of land that's currently parking lot to redevelop and should make Washington St a vastly more coherent place, a better street grid, and a wider natural buffer for the sidewalk/bike path than currently exists.
What exactly were you expecting here?
They don't exactly sound opposed or like they were expecting any significant portion of the Arborway site to become park.
(Karen Mauney-Brodek, President of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy)
Neighbors Have High Hopes for Redevelopment of Arborway Yard
“This will be one of the most transit-rich spots in the city with more than 18 acres of public land that can be utilized in a way that meets community needs,” says Karen Mauney-Brodek, …mass.streetsblog.org
So at "PVTA" square footage, that'd be 373k sf for 200 buses. This appears to include an underground employee parking garage, and that seems like it could be another 100k sf as well.
But really, if they're overbuilding the size of the facility relative to what they currently intend to use it for, I'd be thrilled that they're building facilities with room to grow further in the future, not opposed.
I don't see a budget listed here at all? Do you have one?
So the 700k figure does not include the basement.Uh, how? They're getting 8 acres of land that's currently parking lot to redevelop and should make Washington St a vastly more coherent place, a better street grid, and a wider natural buffer for the sidewalk/bike path than currently exists.
What exactly were you expecting here?
They don't exactly sound opposed or like they were expecting any significant portion of the Arborway site to become park.
(Karen Mauney-Brodek, President of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy)
Neighbors Have High Hopes for Redevelopment of Arborway Yard
“This will be one of the most transit-rich spots in the city with more than 18 acres of public land that can be utilized in a way that meets community needs,” says Karen Mauney-Brodek, …mass.streetsblog.org
So at "PVTA" square footage, that'd be 373k sf for 200 buses. This appears to include an underground employee parking garage, and that seems like it could be another 100k sf as well.
But really, if they're overbuilding the size of the facility relative to what they currently intend to use it for, I'd be thrilled that they're building facilities with room to grow further in the future, not opposed.
I don't see a budget listed here at all? Do you have one?
I know Karen, and you conveniently ignore the part where she talks about community programs and structured housing. The Conservancy is most definitely not happy with this planUh, how? They're getting 8 acres of land that's currently parking lot to redevelop and should make Washington St a vastly more coherent place, a better street grid, and a wider natural buffer for the sidewalk/bike path than currently exists.
What exactly were you expecting here?
They don't exactly sound opposed or like they were expecting any significant portion of the Arborway site to become park.
(Karen Mauney-Brodek, President of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy)
Neighbors Have High Hopes for Redevelopment of Arborway Yard
“This will be one of the most transit-rich spots in the city with more than 18 acres of public land that can be utilized in a way that meets community needs,” says Karen Mauney-Brodek, …mass.streetsblog.org
So at "PVTA" square footage, that'd be 373k sf for 200 buses. This appears to include an underground employee parking garage, and that seems like it could be another 100k sf as well.
But really, if they're overbuilding the size of the facility relative to what they currently intend to use it for, I'd be thrilled that they're building facilities with room to grow further in the future, not opposed.
I don't see a budget listed here at all? Do you have one?
I’ve been frustrated with very irregular headways for buses for quite a while and I was hoping this latest schedule update would show some improvement for my morning commute on the 89. It didn’t. Can anyone explain why buses are scheduled to be bunched from the get-go? I certainly understand sending an extra bus at the highest demand time, but I don’t understand headways like 8min, 15min, 2min, 13min, 7min. That could have been consistent 9min headway or 11 minute headway with the one slot doubled up (the extra bus). I’m sure there is something about operations that I simply don’t understand.
AlsoI agree LRV is usually preferable to BRT in cities, but transit funding is mighty scarce, to say the least. Even just surface LRV on a reservation in a roadway is much more expensive to construct than BRT on dedicated lanes. It's like the phrase, perfect is the enemy of good. If we were to forego BRT and hold out for LRV, that would be a decades-long wait in most cases. Besides, dedicated BRT lanes can be converted to LRV when the funding becomes available, probably more easily so than if BRT wasn't there, because the automobile lanes and parking would already have been removed for the BRT.
The have stated $400M in earlier presentations
So the 700k figure does not include the basement.
Calling a 20 ft wide sidewalk an "Emerald Necklace"? The earlier agreement with the city involved green space. That is not green space.
40ft blank walls right up to the sidewalk
I know Karen, and you conveniently ignore the part where she talks about community programs and structured housing. The Conservancy is most definitely not happy with this plan
Center-running bus lanes should have been painted. The curbside bus lanes will be used as parking by delivery trucks and people "temporarily" parking.MBTA bike and bus lanes have been striped on Centre St in downtown Malden, with more markings going down. Here's a page showing the final layout with the grants they received: https://www.cityofmalden.org/853/Lane-Changes-and-Signal-Improvements-on-
Hopefully this paint-only project will be successful enough that the whole street can someday be fully rebuild with center-running bus lanes and above-the-curb cycletracks.
Here's one segment (follow the link above for more)...
View attachment 19652
Center-running bus lanes should have been painted. The curbside bus lanes will be used as parking by delivery trucks and people "temporarily" parking.
I find the bike lanes sandwiched between the travel lane and the bus lane to be very peculiar. That can't be very comfortable from an all ages and abilities standpoint. I would much rather worry about an occasional bus merging into a bus stop than to have vehicles passing on both sides of me for the entire corridor.MBTA bike and bus lanes have been striped on Centre St in downtown Malden, with more markings going down. Here's a page showing the final layout with the grants they received: https://www.cityofmalden.org/853/Lane-Changes-and-Signal-Improvements-on-
Hopefully this paint-only project will be successful enough that the whole street can someday be fully rebuild with center-running bus lanes and above-the-curb cycletracks.
Here's one segment (follow the link above for more)...
View attachment 19652
I just worry about a precedent and political inertia setting in when a phase one is painted with curbside bus lanes. Washington Street in the South End has had curbside bus lanes for several decades with apparently no movement happening to switch them over to center bus lanes. The political thinking seems to be that if a street already has bus lanes, let's spend scarce transit funds on establishing new bus lanes elsewhere, rather than redo ones that already exist. But I also understand the need to get a phase one painted in now rather than wait years ahead for the full build.Agreed that it should be center-running for sure, but that's really hard to do with a quick-build pilot in a smaller city. Infrastructure along that road is rough, so hopefully a successful pilot sets them up for a center-running project like Columbus Ave down the line.