DanielPWM19
Active Member
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2020
- Messages
- 426
- Reaction score
- 703
I simply don't want a Train Station that looks like shit. Portland deserves better than that. While something utilitarian does the job, boy wouldn't it be lovely to arrive in Maine to something NICE? I don't think that's elitist.
Sure, the Portland Airport is fairly utilitarian and does the job, but is terribly uninspiring and kind of embarrassing IMHO. Maine wants to inspire visitors, but doesn't want to create something attractive with amenities to arrive to? Not to mention all of the wasted space on the first level of the airport as well. The Portland Ocean Gateway is okay, more inspiring than the airport and at least direct access to downtown.
If Maine is smart and wants to be forward-thinking, they will plan for BOTH:
- A walkable station in Portland for commuters from Boston, Brunswick, Lewiston, Augusta, Bangor, Saco (esp if Roux gets off the ground, soccer stadium, a new convention center).
- AND a more park-and-ride style station.
- While they're at it, reopen the lines to Quebec and Montreal.
But Maine never seems to be forward-thinking ENOUGH. If Mainers apparently care about Global Warming and the environment, then perhaps we SHOULD think less about accommodating cars. The younger generation is buying fewer cars as it is, though they're also more broke for other reasons. Wages are as inequitable as they get now.
Indeed - there is plenty of stigma about riding the bus lines in Portland that you don't see in large populous areas. It's hard to erase. I never cared about the bus stops I waited at in Boston (or the subways). The train station I pick up in Connecticut to get into NYC isn't some beautiful thing either. But you're not going to attract riders or erase stigma if you provide some shrug of a solution. The US needs clean, attractive, comfortable, and fast rail lines. While we're at it, Maine should do a marketing campaign to erase the misguided stigma of public transportation. Improve the bus lines, stops, stations, busses. Market to the younger generations.
If you don't want a East/West highway to Gorham or Windham (which is the only solution on the table to resolve the current bottleneck), cool. Then advocate for commuter rail lines or enhancements to the bus experience. Otherwise you're just talking politics and not solutions. Plenty of other Governors have had time to think of something too and haven't done anything. Leave it be.
So IDK ... we can either start acting like a de facto satellite of Boston ... or stop bitching about the wages, economics, and shortcomings of the area. Forward, yet oh-so-preservationist that we get nowhere except more stout stubby buildings and a housing market no one can afford. Sounds more perpetually NIMBY and elitist if you ask me. But all I want is a nice station to arrive to, so what do I know. We're not building a subway or satellite station on an existing commuter line. We're creating it. Nothing wrong with being innovative.
Sure, the Portland Airport is fairly utilitarian and does the job, but is terribly uninspiring and kind of embarrassing IMHO. Maine wants to inspire visitors, but doesn't want to create something attractive with amenities to arrive to? Not to mention all of the wasted space on the first level of the airport as well. The Portland Ocean Gateway is okay, more inspiring than the airport and at least direct access to downtown.
If Maine is smart and wants to be forward-thinking, they will plan for BOTH:
- A walkable station in Portland for commuters from Boston, Brunswick, Lewiston, Augusta, Bangor, Saco (esp if Roux gets off the ground, soccer stadium, a new convention center).
- AND a more park-and-ride style station.
- While they're at it, reopen the lines to Quebec and Montreal.
But Maine never seems to be forward-thinking ENOUGH. If Mainers apparently care about Global Warming and the environment, then perhaps we SHOULD think less about accommodating cars. The younger generation is buying fewer cars as it is, though they're also more broke for other reasons. Wages are as inequitable as they get now.
Indeed - there is plenty of stigma about riding the bus lines in Portland that you don't see in large populous areas. It's hard to erase. I never cared about the bus stops I waited at in Boston (or the subways). The train station I pick up in Connecticut to get into NYC isn't some beautiful thing either. But you're not going to attract riders or erase stigma if you provide some shrug of a solution. The US needs clean, attractive, comfortable, and fast rail lines. While we're at it, Maine should do a marketing campaign to erase the misguided stigma of public transportation. Improve the bus lines, stops, stations, busses. Market to the younger generations.
If you don't want a East/West highway to Gorham or Windham (which is the only solution on the table to resolve the current bottleneck), cool. Then advocate for commuter rail lines or enhancements to the bus experience. Otherwise you're just talking politics and not solutions. Plenty of other Governors have had time to think of something too and haven't done anything. Leave it be.
So IDK ... we can either start acting like a de facto satellite of Boston ... or stop bitching about the wages, economics, and shortcomings of the area. Forward, yet oh-so-preservationist that we get nowhere except more stout stubby buildings and a housing market no one can afford. Sounds more perpetually NIMBY and elitist if you ask me. But all I want is a nice station to arrive to, so what do I know. We're not building a subway or satellite station on an existing commuter line. We're creating it. Nothing wrong with being innovative.
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