MBTA in a state of disrepair. (Boston, Worcester: sales tax, shops, safer)

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by wolfgang239

People place the blame on Deval Patrick, Charlie Baker, Beverly Scott, etc. or whatever slanted and short sighted argument tries to make it about an individual. They've had some serious turnover of upper management and restructuring of their oversight board in the past decade. Covid really hit operations and the budget. There has been a Democratic supermajority since forever. They've cut service, are always "reimagining" things and have unicorn rolling stock and whacky RFP requirements for planned upgrades.

Zero consistency, no vision, a budgetary black hole, unions with a lot of pull and a despondent public. There's no way to go any lower.

The blame rests squarely with us, the voters. We have never made the MBTA a priority and so our government does not, either. Infrastructure isn't sexy and doesn't turn out support. I'm sure there will be a brief swell of support for MBTA improvements, but once things are patched back together well enough to work people will mostly forget about it again.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by jayrandom

The blame rests squarely with us, the voters. We have never made the MBTA a priority and so our government does not, either. Infrastructure isn't sexy and doesn't turn out support. I'm sure there will be a brief swell of support for MBTA improvements, but once things are patched back together well enough to work people will mostly forget about it again.

I don't think this entirely the case. I'd agree that we (voters) haven't made standard maintenance and upkeep a priority which is a big part of the reason we're in this mess. But other more visible T projects, like new stations, extensions, new trains, or added service are typically among top ticketed agenda items for Bay State politicians. Having spent the bulk of my youth/young adult years on the South Coast, supporting South Coast Rail was pretty much a requirement if a candidate for office wanted to win support in that area and it was one of the keystones of any political stump speech in the region. Other major completed/under construction/proposed projects like the Greenbush Line, station at Assembly, Green Line Extension, Blue/Red Line Connector, B-branch consolidation, regular Foxboro service, Blue Line to Lynn, Worcester "express" trains, Springfield Commuter Rail, etc. are all pretty influential issues for the voters across the state. But spending $1 billion to upgrade to welded track across all 4 rapid transit lines or electrifying all of the commuter rail lines just doesn't drum up the excitement even though both mean faster/smoother trips and fewer breakdowns.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by lrfox

I don't think this entirely the case. I'd agree that we (voters) haven't made standard maintenance and upkeep a priority which is a big part of the reason we're in this mess. But other more visible T projects, like new stations, extensions, new trains, or added service are typically among top ticketed agenda items for Bay State politicians. Having spent the bulk of my youth/young adult years on the South Coast, supporting South Coast Rail was pretty much a requirement if a candidate for office wanted to win support in that area and it was one of the keystones of any political stump speech in the region. Other major completed/under construction/proposed projects like the Greenbush Line, station at Assembly, Green Line Extension, Blue/Red Line Connector, B-branch consolidation, regular Foxboro service, Blue Line to Lynn, Worcester "express" trains, Springfield Commuter Rail, etc. are all pretty influential issues for the voters across the state. But spending $1 billion to upgrade to welded track across all 4 rapid transit lines or electrifying all of the commuter rail lines just doesn't drum up the excitement even though both mean faster/smoother trips and fewer breakdowns.

Baker is throwing $250 million at rail service to Springfield, that will maybe see 18 passengers a day? That same money could accomplish some serious track overhaul on the Orange Line, a route that sees 100,000 passengers a day. Or probably build a safer, more modern 128/93 interchange in Woburn, that sees around 250,000 vehicles a day. Yeah, we definitely get the government we deserve.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by massnative71

Baker is throwing $250 million at rail service to Springfield, that will maybe see 18 passengers a day? That same money could accomplish some serious track overhaul on the Orange Line, a route that sees 100,000 passengers a day. Or probably build a safer, more modern 128/93 interchange in Woburn, that sees around 250,000 vehicles a day. Yeah, we definitely get the government we deserve.

This is what I'm talking about. It's exactly the type of "sexy" project that politicians have used to demonstrate a "commitment" to a region since as long as there have been politicians. Voters eat it up (just look at the South Coast for the last 30+ years). So they do care about the MBTA and turn out to the voting booth for it, but it's mostly the sexier projects that promise to make all of the economic dreams come true in [insert economically strained region here] driving the turnout. Especially outside of Metro Boston.

Closer to Boston, expansions to Medford/Union Square, Lynn, Blue/Red Connector, North-South Rail Link, new stations (Government Center, Assembly, Lansdowne, Boston Landing, etc.) and renovations (most central stations), Orange Line to Roslindale, B-Branch station consolidation, converting the Fairmount Line to rapid transit, etc. are much more practical than South Coast Rail, Springfield/Pittsfield Rail, etc. and very much a voter priority and are constantly part of the discussion. But the less sexy stuff like rail and signal upgrades, tunnel improvements, safety system improvements/upgrades, etc. all seem to slide to the back burner. The exceptions being things like the 2015 winter meltdown which triggered a good deal of track work/upgrades (particularly on the Red Line), ongoing station renovations, the Blue Line upgrades from about 2007-2010 (new trains, signals, tracks, etc. - the reasons this line is the most reliable in the system), etc. But they're still not keeping the pace with the deterioration due to deferred maintenance and people are only starting to really care.

[mdovell]

Originally Posted by Guineas

Remote is eventually going to be the end of this country. We still live in the physical world where things need building and maintenance. We are already largely a paper pushing economy, and this just takes it up another notch.

The end how? Of course buildings need to be maintained but that's only if they need them. Look at just what happened in Hartford.

https://www.courant.com/business/hc-...xwi-story.html

You literally have a 30 story building shrinking down to 3. That's how much influence work from home is having. If you just deal with data well no amounts of free beer and pretzels will do anything. Consider the basic costs

The opportunity costs of commuting. Even a half hour each way is an hour. that can be used for cooking, reading books to kids, cleaning, laundry, house maintenance etc.
The cost of parking
The cost of wear and tear on a body and vehicle

Email replaced regular mail
Downloadable content replaced physical mediums for the most part. Think streaming services and DVD's, downloadable software etc. Who buys software at a physical store? how about movies, books and music?
Direct deposit replaced live checks
Smart phones and digital photography replaced film
Smartphones replaced camcorders - no vhs tape or hi 8 needed
websites replaced newspapers and magazines
websites replacing retail store fronts


The list goes on and on.

Between public schools going back, public universities and some sporting events it's going to be a hard month. I think they'll have pressure to get it all done and not get it done. No one has said what logistics they'll have to get to the jobsite unless they are onsite. If this drags on to say three months or more then it's nearly winter and we'll see an exodus at least from the center of boston.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by mdovell

how about movies, books and music?
.

Lots of people. Vinyl sales, for one example, are the highest they've been in 30 years and about 20x what they were 15 years ago.

Photography film has also seen a large resurgence with many new emulsions being made.

Bookstores still popular and busy from what I see.

I have no idea what this has to do with the topic of the thread, however. People don't "live" online.

[MMS02760]

Governor Candidate Maura Healey visited the condemned and closed South Attleboro commuter rail station to inspect its dilapidated condition on Tuesday 16-Aug. The station has been closed for the last 18 months due to its unsafe conditions. It was recently announced that the rusting and deteriorating steel bridge walkway will be removed in the coming months so that work can begin on a station renovation.



Maura Healey highlights transportation issues in campaign stop at South Attleboro Station
https://turnto10.com/news/local/maur...august-16-2022

[yesmaybe]

Originally Posted by MMS02760

Governor Candidate Maura Healey visited the condemned and closed South Attleboro commuter rail station to inspect its dilapidated condition on Tuesday 16-Aug. The station has been closed for the last 18 months due to its unsafe conditions. It was recently announced that the rusting and deteriorating steel bridge walkway will be removed in the coming months so that work can begin on a station renovation.

Are they really going to rebuild it? They are building a new station in Central Falls that's like 2 miles away. Just make the RI residents use that.

[WestieWhitie]

Originally Posted by timberline742

Lots of people. Vinyl sales, for one example, are the highest they've been in 30 years and about 20x what they were 15 years ago.

Photography film has also seen a large resurgence with many new emulsions being made.

Bookstores still popular and busy from what I see.

I have no idea what this has to do with the topic of the thread, however. People don't "live" online.

Not everyone is a waxed mustache hipster with a Crosley, Holga and a bunch of farraKhendi paperbacks…

[mdovell]

Originally Posted by massnative71

Baker is throwing $250 million at rail service to Springfield, that will maybe see 18 passengers a day? That same money could accomplish some serious track overhaul on the Orange Line, a route that sees 100,000 passengers a day. Or probably build a safer, more modern 128/93 interchange in Woburn, that sees around 250,000 vehicles a day. Yeah, we definitely get the government we deserve.

18 a day? Hardly. I don't think that you understand that the expansion of rails not so much to bring Boston to Springfield or Springfield to Boston but the fact that there's a significant Gap between these end lines. Amtrak was sued by Bloomberg News service about the rail line that's on the southern Connecticut Coast. If you were to go from Boston to DC you could take the Acela it would take this route. For some reason Connecticut put their rail right above the coastline. It's almost scary because when you think about it who would have designed it this way? If somebody is in Hartford and they want to go to Boston they have to take the train going down to New Haven then up and around going through Providence and then to Boston. We really don't know the Integrity of this rail line and it makes more sense to build a secondary line to mitigate climate change. The Chamber of Commerce in eastern Mass and western Mass and unions on both sides all want this. They would be greater access to more affordable housing by those that are in Eastern Massachusetts and more jobs available to those in Western Massachusetts so this simply makes more sense.

On a much more larger scale of things the MBTA is an absolute failure. From an organizational standpoint they overpromise their unions, from a procurement standpoint the federal government dramatically limits competition, there is not simply the same push towards public transit as there was in the past thanks to SUVs, and not all communities have enabled Transit development. I know of commuter rail stops that do have some shops and restaurants by them but there are others I know of that are completely devoid of anything. Not even a tiny Subway(no pun intended)

https://whdh.com/news/report-highlig...s-at-the-mbta/

On a grander scale things how about this what would Boston the city and the metro area and region as a whole look like if the MBTA were to ultimately shut down. All Subway Lines all commuter rails all boats absolutely totally soup the nuts fixed route and Paratransit shut down. I'm not talking about Redevelopment and ripping up lines I'm saying if they had some sort of federal order that you must shut everything down Soup To Nuts what would happen?

How many businesses would choose to leave Boston? How many students would decide to just stay at home or in their home countries and take classes online? How many major events would be canceled in Boston?

The MBTA is covid 2.0