Reasonable Transit Pitches

BussesAin'tTrains said:
^ I totally agree. It will spread the cost across the driving population, and more accurately price the cost of driving. If they really wanted to be ambitious, they could use the system to implement congestion pricing, but as it stands now that isn't "reasonable" ;) The trick will be not disrupting intra and interstate travel before everyone has a transponder. We don't want from cars from outside the EZ-Pass states to have what amounts to a customs stop on the way into the state. The feds wouldn't put up with that I don't think ~ and that's assuming they ever put up with this scheme to begin with.
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They won't. Rhode Island already tried this exact scheme, seeking approval to toll on the border of CT. Turns out it's illegal to toll a state border crossing.

So then Rhode Island tried to toll between Exit 1 and 2, and that was shot down because you can't, say, toll near one end of the state to pay for a new bridge on the other end.

I want to repeat - I'm all in favor of all new infrastructure and infrastructure repair being funded by tolling - temporary or permanent, since ORT can come down as easy as it goes up. I think this measure should be retroactively applied to projects as far back as the Big Dig - this includes the I-Way, and should include the new Providence viaduct.

I do NOT support and cannot and will not support forcing 495 commuters to pay for the Big Dig for the same reason I can't support the MBTA being on the hook for it.

Yes, in a perfect world we could toll all our interstates and become totally independent from the federal highway money, and have all the tolls spread out so that nobody had to pay more than $0.10 per tolled mile.

We aren't living in a perfect world, and what this looks like to our bordering states is - creating an economic moat around the border of Massachusetts to make sure that nobody gets in or out of the state without ponying up.
 
You're right, it's totally unjust to charge someone an entry fee in order to transport themselves...
 
I don't want to make "495 commuters pay for the Big Dig". An infrastructure bank wouldn't be for paying down the Dig, it would be a general fund for infrastructure statewide. Obviously if the Feds are immovable the whole thing is a non-starter, but I'll always think that the tolling in MA is grossly unfair to the western suburbs. If we can't mass toll roads until the Feds move, we can at least put in Open Tolling where we already HAVE tolls. Mass Pike traffic will dry up without the tolls impeding the flow. How much would it take to break the toll patronage system that's standing in the way of sanity?
 
BussesAin'tTrains said:
I don't want to make "495 commuters pay for the Big Dig". An infrastructure bank wouldn't be for paying down the Dig, it would be a general fund for infrastructure statewide. .... How much would it take to break the toll patronage system that's standing in the way of sanity?
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Buses -- Remember the scandal over the patronage hires in the Parole Board -- that was a big time scandal -- some miscreant was accidentally let out and who immediately kiled someone -- well the story has died down

This one -- perhaps someone got the flue because some toll taker spit on the dollar bill?

With toll booths -- You are talking deeply embedded patronage nepotism, etc -- as "how the hellm a gona get my bruddas useless kid a good job at good wages .... Ah [lighbulb image] I'll go see the godfadddda bout a toll job"
 
Google has officially become the first company to get a license to test its self-driving cars on public roads, the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) announced on Monday, May 7.

Since Nevada drivers could soon be sharing the roads with self-driving vehicles, the DMV made sure such vehicles would be easily recognizable. The autonomous vehicles will feature a license plate specifically designed to officially designate them and set them apart from other cars on the road. These license plates will have a red background (rather hard to go unnoticed), and an infinity symbol on the left-hand side.
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http://www.mobilenapps.com/articles/2056/20120510/google-self-driving-cars-nevada.htm

And:

http://mashable.com/2012/05/08/google-self-driving-car-nevada/
 
JohnAKeith said:
http://www.mobilenapps.com/articles/2056/20120510/google-self-driving-cars-nevada.htm

And:

http://mashable.com/2012/05/08/google-self-driving-car-nevada/
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John -- yes -- these kind of tests have been conducted by DARPA for several years -- the interaction of the robot vehicles with humans is generally good as long as the humans are aware of the robots and treat them the same way you treat a car that says "Student Driver"

However, when since the robots are good a reacting, but terrible at anticipating actions -- when you have a significant density of robot cars in real local road-type traffic environment such as the most recent DARPA Grand Challenge (Urban driving) you can get bizarre events such as the world's first 0 velocity collision between an MIT and a Cornell robot

On the other hand -- robot cars working in concert with predictable behaviors can lead to increased highway capacity with lower probability of accidents than with humans driving

Moral of the story -- so far with todays robot technology:
1) probably reduced accidents, reduced driver fatigue and enhanced capacity on highways
2) increased numbers of accidents, mostly fender-benders, potentially reduced capacity of local roads -- particularly where on-coming traffic is involved
3) worst case is rural or low-density suburban roads with head-on high-speed traffic
 
Reasonable transit pitch: a short bus tunnel/underpass in Allston to reconnect both sides of Franklin Street split by the pike.

On the south side, this is the very short continuation of Harvard Ave after Cambridge Street that runs between the Ace Ticket building and what's currently a Regina's (used to be the Sports Depot). On the north side is a residential street that shaves a good ten minutes off the jog to Barry's Corner.
 
Actually on the north side is what used to be a business district but is now mostly derelict. I'm actually kind of curious what Franklin Street was like before the Pike, with just the B&A tracks.

Such a connection should be combined with an elimination of the Union Sq detour. Alternatively, the 66 should go beyond Union Square to Everett and then something else should be considered for N. Harvard.
 
Look on Google Streetview now - Franklin is now actually predominantly residential, although some vestiges of the old industrial area remain.

And in terms of eliminating the Union Sq detour: Absolutely. The Union Square detour sometimes takes 15 minutes and for absolutely no purpose other than to connect "squares" on the bus map. It hardly impacts anyone's connectivity or proximity to the bus route to any large extent.
 
Don't need to look there, I walk there quite often. There's lots of vaguely industrial, vaguely commercial looking properties that seem to be unused (though maybe they are). Old maps seem to indicate businesses there.

Check out Franklin Street on this map: http://www.bahistory.org/1909_19_LO.pdf

"Tunnel" with apparent trolley tracks in it? I wonder what remains there.
 
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My reasonable transit pitch:

In Medford, use an (abandoned?) railroad right of way as a sort of BRT to get busses to flow into Wellington Station better.

Basically, it would go from Riverside Ave. to River's Edge Dr, using the ROW. It would catch busses coming from Riverside Ave, Rt. 28, and Highland Ave, providing an express bus-only way to get to Wellington. 4 or 5 bus lines could get diverted through here- more importantly it would get busses out of the miserable traffic around Wellington Circle during rush hour- I'd say it would save each rider at least 15 minutes in the morning.

It's also grade separated w/ route 28- so an on/off ramp would be required there, as well as an intersection w/ River's Edge Dr. (the BRT route could actually be extended down that road until the overpass w/ rt 16, which is far too narrow for any additional lanes). Other than that, it would just require removing the tracks and paving it over. I think this would yield a high bang for the buck.
 
Max Power said:
My reasonable transit pitch:

In Medford, use an (abandoned?) railroad right of way as a sort of BRT to get busses to flow into Wellington Station better.

Basically, it would go from Riverside Ave. to River's Edge Dr, using the ROW. It would catch busses coming from Riverside Ave, Rt. 28, and Highland Ave, providing an express bus-only way to get to Wellington. 4 or 5 bus lines could get diverted through here- more importantly it would get busses out of the miserable traffic around Wellington Circle during rush hour- I'd say it would save each rider at least 15 minutes in the morning.

It's also grade separated w/ route 28- so an on/off ramp would be required there, as well as an intersection w/ River's Edge Dr. (the BRT route could actually be extended down that road until the overpass w/ rt 16, which is far too narrow for any additional lanes). Other than that, it would just require removing the tracks and paving it over. I think this would yield a high bang for the buck.
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Can't do it. The tracks that run on the surface while the tunnel carries the Orange Line and commuter rail below are not only active, but the T has an official proposal to rehab them into a full-speed passing siding so CR schedules can be increased on the single-track stretch. You aren't getting from the Medford Branch ROW to a River's Edge Dr. intersection without an overpass and jughandle like the 16/Wellington interchange. Too dangerous to build such a road and have a grade crossing right at the intersection. The switch onto the passing siding is only feet away, so you wouldn't have much run-up space to time the crossing gates if they're only going to get activated when the track switch is flipped to the siding instead of tunnel.


Medford Branch is probably going to get abandoned by Pan Am soon (it's still active, but I don't think there's been a documented freight move on it in over 2 years...which is about the threshold it took them to abandon Watertown). What they should do is bike path it and put a much less espensive footbridge over the CR siding track so the neighborhood gains excellent ped access to Wellington instead of being totally sheared off from it by the tracks and a harrowing trip up the 16 "sidewalk". Amazing to think that Medford St. and Fellsway have been in literal eye- and earsight of Wellington for 37 years and never been able to get there without getting in a car or bus.
 
F-Line to Dudley said:
Can't do it. The tracks that run on the surface while the tunnel carries the Orange Line and commuter rail below are not only active, but the T has an official proposal to rehab them into a full-speed passing siding so CR schedules can be increased on the single-track stretch. You aren't getting from the Medford Branch ROW to a River's Edge Dr. intersection without an overpass and jughandle like the 16/Wellington interchange. Too dangerous to build such a road and have a grade crossing right at the intersection. The switch onto the passing siding is only feet away, so you wouldn't have much run-up space to time the crossing gates if they're only going to get activated when the track switch is flipped to the siding instead of tunnel.


Medford Branch is probably going to get abandoned by Pan Am soon (it's still active, but I don't think there's been a documented freight move on it in over 2 years...which is about the threshold it took them to abandon Watertown). What they should do is bike path it and put a much less espensive footbridge over the CR siding track so the neighborhood gains excellent ped access to Wellington instead of being totally sheared off from it by the tracks and a harrowing trip up the 16 "sidewalk". Amazing to think that Medford St. and Fellsway have been in literal eye- and earsight of Wellington for 37 years and never been able to get there without getting in a car or bus.
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Let's see how both River's Edge and Assembly Sq. develop in 10 years or so -- then we can see how to improve the access for pedestrians, cars, bike and T commuting, etc. -- too much of that area is in flux right now
 
whighlander said:
Let's see how both River's Edge and Assembly Sq. develop in 10 years or so -- then we can see how to improve the access for pedestrians, cars, bike and T commuting, etc. -- too much of that area is in flux right now
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Has nothing whatsoever to do about River's Edge development. There's 8 blocks of dense residential sandwiched between 16 and the Medford branch N-S and Sydney/28 and Middlesex/Craddock E-W who cannot reach Wellington 1/4 mile away because 16 and the tracks are an impenetrable barrier boxing them in. Nor can the entire neighborhood from Medford St./Central Ave. to Riverside Ave. N-S and Fellsway/93 E-W a half-mile away. That's a tens thousand residents or two who can't reach on foot a station right fucking there.

That is an accessibility injustice that should've been righted 25 years ago, not when whatever upscale is planned for River's Edge comes online. I would build that footbridge and a starter path at least from the Middlesex Ave. grade crossing next to BJ's the very second Pan Am abandons and the state can swing the ownership transfer/landbanking. The freakin' sidewalk on 16 is this wide. That's not only terrifying, but deadly with how bad the accident rate is on 16 between 28 and 99 and how heavy-duty the truck traffic is.
 
I'm confused - are you saying that there's no way to access Wellington if you're walking along the north side (westbound) route 16?
 
Shepard said:
I'm confused - are you saying that there's no way to access Wellington if you're walking along the north side (westbound) route 16?
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http://g.co/maps/78uyh

Walk down that thar 2 ft. sidewalk and dirt patch and go down that ramp. And hope like hell that on the walk from Wellington Circle you don't have to pass any baby strollers or very obese persons walking in the opposite direction.
 
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