State Senate would create transportation superagency

^^You know private corporations do the exact same thing that our government is doing right now?
 
They've had debt issues for way longer than Patrick's been in office...
 
czsz said:
They've had debt issues for way longer than Patrick's been in office...
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Yet Patrick did the opposite of fixing the problem, by increasing the cost and hiring people for unnecessary positions in 6 digit numbers. Patrick is a SHAM. He just approved a $9 million footbridge at Gillette Stadium for the 8 games the Patriots play at home. Kraft can pay for it himself, what about the other projects that desperately needs funding. This guy has no sense of priority.

/rant
 
KentXie said:
Yet Patrick did the opposite of fixing the problem, by increasing the cost and hiring people for unnecessary positions in 6 digit numbers. Patrick is a SHAM. He just approved a $9 million footbridge at Gillette Stadium for the 8 games the Patriots play at home. Kraft can pay for it himself, what about the other projects that desperately needs funding. This guy has no sense of priority.

/rant
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I agree that the footbridge is a political mistake, but not because Mr. Kraft can pay for it himself (but because the project is low-priority and retarded).

When you go down the "he should pay for it himself," where does the line get drawn? Mr. Kraft pays for lane markings adjacent to his property? Bulbs for the street lamps? A fleet of vehicles plus a staff to maintain the roads adjacent to his property?

We see this shit in Boston proper from time to time. Looting property owners simply doesn't work. Too many times the thieving party refuses to hold up their end of the bargain (Sidewalks mandated to be pavers are repaired long-term with asphalt. Street plantings are left to wither. Electric rubbish barrels are removed by the city "for relocation" a year later. The extra-fancy streetlights, never painted after install, rust within a year.) Business owners cede to get projects going, but it inevitably gets screwed it up.

If that's a state road, the commonwealth has a responsibility to provide safe passage for pedestrians, prioritizing it appropriately within the context of all proposed projects.

Finally, I wish opponents would stop saying it's just for 8 home games. The man didn't build that entire complex and buy a soccer team for 8 home games.
 
I don't see why a footbridge should be built there at all. Isn't there a crosswalk?

If the state is going to spend money on footbridges, let's build them where they are actually needed -- from Nashua Street Park to Lovejoy Wharf and from Paul Revere Park to North Point. Both cross railroad tracks and are mandated parts of the Big Dig project.
 
Ron Newman said:
I don't see why a footbridge should be built there at all. Isn't there a crosswalk?

If the state is going to spend money on footbridges, let's build them where they are actually needed -- from Nashua Street Park to Lovejoy Wharf and from Paul Revere Park to North Point. Both cross railroad tracks and are mandated parts of the Big Dig project.
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Yes there are crosswalks, but that requires the Staties to stop traffic in both directions on Rte. 1 at some points. Building a footbridge over Rte. 1 would go a long way to making things move more smoothly down in Foxboro. I also think that this would be a low priority.
 
The problem is that Deval was not elected Governor of Greater Boston, so he can't just dump all the stimulus money in the city (where it would arguably do the most good), he has to spread it around.

That said, there has to be a better project somewhere in the Commonwealth for this 9 Mil.
 
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bbfen said:
I agree that the footbridge is a political mistake, but not because Mr. Kraft can pay for it himself (but because the project is low-priority and retarded).

When you go down the "he should pay for it himself," where does the line get drawn? Mr. Kraft pays for lane markings adjacent to his property? Bulbs for the street lamps? A fleet of vehicles plus a staff to maintain the roads adjacent to his property?

We see this shit in Boston proper from time to time. Looting property owners simply doesn't work. Too many times the thieving party refuses to hold up their end of the bargain (Sidewalks mandated to be pavers are repaired long-term with asphalt. Street plantings are left to wither. Electric rubbish barrels are removed by the city "for relocation" a year later. The extra-fancy streetlights, never painted after install, rust within a year.) Business owners cede to get projects going, but it inevitably gets screwed it up.

If that's a state road, the commonwealth has a responsibility to provide safe passage for pedestrians, prioritizing it appropriately within the context of all proposed projects.

Finally, I wish opponents would stop saying it's just for 8 home games. The man didn't build that entire complex and buy a soccer team for 8 home games.
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He should pay for it because its a bridge from his property to his property next door. Its like MIT asking the state to fund the bridges that link their labs.

A bridge connecting two parking lots should be absolutely last on the list of places to spend money on.


And it IS for 8 home games.... the revs dont draw enough to even need the parking lot across the street. Add 2 international soccer games, and you get 10. Ten times a year.
 
It's absurd how much any construction process is aided and abetted when it's in the service of Big Sports.

There are bridges in the state that get crossed by thousands of vehicles and pedestrians daily that are rotting away. By any relative measure this should be a low priority.
 
jass said:
He should pay for it because its a bridge from his property to his property next door. Its like MIT asking the state to fund the bridges that link their labs.

A bridge connecting two parking lots should be absolutely last on the list of places to spend money on.


And it IS for 8 home games.... the revs dont draw enough to even need the parking lot across the street. Add 2 international soccer games, and you get 10. Ten times a year.
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It's connecting two public sidewalks adjacent to what is currently two private parking lots (so it's not like your MIT example). One of those lots is tagged by the Kraft Group for development.

And 8 Pats/2 in'tl Rev games is a simplistic, contrary opinion of what happens at Gillette. See also, the 5 hours it took to drive out of lots 44, 45 after a recent concert.

Boston.com:

The Kraft Group included the bridge in its application for the office park to meet requirements for pedestrian access.

[Greg Bialecki, the state?s secretary of housing and economic development] said the Kraft family?s wealth was not a factor in deciding whether they should pay for the bridge. The relevant question, Bialecki said, ?Is the public investment we?re making likely to increase private job creation? And if it is, then it?s a good thing to do.??
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http://www.boston.com/news/local/ma...unds_could_fund_foxborough_pedestrian_bridge/

I still maintain it's an obscenely stupid way to spend 9 million bucks. Just not for the same reasons as others here.
 
bbfen said:
It's connecting two public sidewalks adjacent to what is currently two private parking lots (so it's not like your MIT example). One of those lots is tagged by the Kraft Group for development.

And 8 Pats/2 in'tl Rev games is a simplistic, contrary opinion of what happens at Gillette. See also, the 5 hours it took to drive out of lots 44, 45 after a recent concert.
.
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Ok, so add in 3 concerts a year.

Ive been in those parking lots before, and had to wait 4 hours to leave. Id still rather the money be put towards new decorative tree boxes than this.
 
I dont know if this discussion should go here or in a new thread...

But I was interested in seeing what other projects were getting funded, besides the footbridge.

My search brought me to this website:

http://www.eot.state.ma.us/recovery/

Advertised Highway Project
Notice to Proceed (NTP) - Highway Project Notice to Proceed (NTP) - Highway Project
Transit Project Transit Project
Bike Path Project Bike Path Project



....except the map shows not a single bike or transit project....

WTF Deval?
 
If you look closely, there's a sad looking cyclist hovering over Easthampton out west.
 
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