Tracking Transportation

Keeping track of transportation

DCR unwilling to ease I-90 Allston space crunch

Officials reject narrowing lanes on Soldiers Field Road

By Lily Robinson and Bruce Mohl Transportation 0 Comments Jun 11, 2021

STATE TRANSPORTATION officials looking for some extra space to put all of the roadways and train tracks associated with the Allston I-90 project at ground level are facing resistance from the Department of Conservation and Recreation. On a press call on Friday announcing a new master plan for improving Greater Boston parkways, DCR officials said(...)

Replacing Long Island Bridge isn’t only option

There are other ways to provide addiction services

By Bruce Ayers Health Care, Transportation 0 Comments Jun 11, 2021

I’VE READ WITH GREAT INTEREST recent news stories that may signal a shift in Boston’s hard-lined stance on the Long Island Bridge issue. It seems that Boston’s acting mayor, Kim Janey, is willing to do what previous administrations would not: explore alternatives to rebuilding the bridge. Boston’s goal to expand addiction treatment and recovery services(...)

Poll: Boston traffic congestion to return or get worse

Survey indicates most voters favor reduced or no transit fares

By Bruce Mohl Transportation 0 Comments Jun 10, 2021

A NEW POLL indicates three of every four Greater Boston voters think traffic will return to previous levels or get worse as the state reopens, and most are in favor of reducing or eliminating bus and transit fares to take more drivers off the roads. The poll of 670 voters was conducted by the MassINC(...)

New MBTA board picks up some momentum

House spending plan calls for permanent, 7-person body

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Jun 9, 2021

THE MOVE TO REPLACE the expiring MBTA Fiscal and Management Control Board with a new oversight agency appears to be picking up steam, as a House spending plan released on Wednesday follows the governor’s lead in creating a new seven-member, permanent oversight board. The proposed Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Board would include the secretary of(...)

We must guard against human isolation

Social distancing, telecommuting are enemies of social cohesion

By James Aloisi MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Jun 8, 2021

Second of two parts. THERE’S NO STATUS QUO for a river. That’s what’s behind the old saying that you can’t step in the same river twice. Rivers are inherently dynamic, refreshed by rains and snow melts, always moving, rarely stagnant. Time is like that, too. Time depends on movement forward; time is stagnant only for(...)

T derailment blamed on ‘series of contributing factors’

Transit authority, vehicle manufacturer at odds on chief cause

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Jun 8, 2021

IT’S BEGINNING to look like the MBTA may never pinpoint the cause of a March 16 derailment of one of its new Orange Line trains. At a meeting of the Fiscal and Management Control Board on Monday, Deputy General Manager Jeffrey Gonneville indicated the T and the Chinese manufacturer of the trains disagree on the(...)

T notes: Compromise on income-based fares

Budget for FY22 has some twists

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Jun 7, 2021

THE MBTA’S Fiscal and Management Control Board voted unanimously on Monday to direct the transit authority’s staff to develop two options for testing income-based fares, leaving the decision on whether to proceed with those pilot projects in 2022 in the hands of a future oversight board. With the control board scheduled to go out of(...)

T estimates Red-to-Blue connector cost at $850m

Could break ground in 2025 if funding can be found

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Jun 7, 2021

THE MBTA unveiled an $850 million cost estimate for connecting the Red and Blue subway lines at Charles/MGH, a project that, if funding is found, could break ground in 2025 and be completed by 2030. In a presentation to the Fiscal and Management Control Board on Monday, Eric Stoothoff, the T’s chief engineer, described how(...)

With transportation, we must not return to ‘normal’

End subsidies for driving, invest in transit, trains

By James Aloisi MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Jun 5, 2021

First of two parts Welcome back. Welcome back to the post-pandemic world. Welcome back to being with family and friends in person and without masks. Welcome back to dining in restaurants, attending a game, seeing a show, taking a friend to lunch. Welcome back to traffic congestion. With vaccination rates approaching 70 percent, most of(...)

Rate of deterioration on Turnpike called exponential

Expect lane closures at nights, on weekends for 2 years

By Bruce Mohl Transportation 0 Comments Jun 3, 2021

STATE TRANSPORTATION officials said the elevated section of the Massachusetts Turnpike between Boston University and the Charles River is deteriorating at an exponential rate. Michael O’Dowd, the Department of Transportation’s director of the I-90 Allston project, said a hands-on, six-week inspection of the roadway in February determined it is in serious trouble. To illustrate the(...)