Tracking Transportation

Keeping track of transportation

A partnership of sorts is transforming, recovering Allston

The pieces of the transportation puzzle are starting to fall into place

By Fred Salvucci and Anthony D'Isidoro Transportation 0 Comments Nov 7, 2022

Second of three parts. IN THE PAST two decades, a partnership of sorts has emerged between the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the city of Boston, a variety of non-profit business and citizen groups, and Harvard University. This partnership rests on a congruence of interests – MassDOT’s need to replace functionally obsolete and structurally unsound viaducts, a(...)

How not to build a highway

No one thought of the damage the Turnpike would do to Allston, Brighton

By Fred Salvucci and Anthony D'Isidoro Transportation 0 Comments Nov 5, 2022

First of three parts THE CONSTRUCTION of the Mass Turnpike through Allston, Brighton, and Newton in the late 1950s and early 1960s was a textbook example of the community, environmental, and social destructiveness of the highway construction of the era. This interstate highway segment was built without federal funds, before the National Environmental Policy Act(...)

Poftak says he is stepping down at T on Jan. 3

General manager shouldered much of blame for safety issues

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Nov 1, 2022

STEVE POFTAK, the embattled general manager of the MBTA who shouldered much of the blame for recent safety incidents at the transit authority, announced on Tuesday that he will resign his post on January 3, two days before the next governor takes office. Poftak’s departure, while expected, accelerates the timetable for the next governor to(...)

Key lawmaker calls for restructuring MBTA

Suggests narrowing focus to just bus, subway

By Bruce Mohl Massachusetts Legislature, MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Oct 30, 2022

TO JUMP-START a discussion about the future of the MBTA, the House chair of the Legislature’s Transportation Committee is calling for a fairly radical restructuring of the transit authority to narrow its responsibilities. Rep. William Straus of Mattapoisett said the intense focus on safety issues at the MBTA and the upcoming change in gubernatorial administrations(...)

T notes: Low-income fares back on agenda

$79m cost to relocate commuter rail safety function underground

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Oct 27, 2022

MBTA OFFICIALS presented new, lower cost estimates for introducing low-income fares on Thursday, but it was unclear when or if the T board will move ahead with the proposal. At a meeting of the MBTA board, T staff estimated the cost of cutting fares in half on all transportation modes for riders earning less than(...)

MBTA unveils redesigned bus redesign

Overhaul of route system will take 5 years to implement

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Oct 27, 2022

THE MBTA on Thursday unveiled a redesign of its initial redesign of its bus network, incorporating feedback from 20,000 commenters and changing 85 of the 133 routes in the original proposal. Testifying before the MBTA board, T officials said the latest plan expands service by 25 percent and doubles from 15 to 30 the number(...)

LaHood: T’s Poftak on right track with safety until COVID hit

Former US transportation secretary makes safety culture recommendations

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Oct 25, 2022

A correction has been made to this story. STEVE POFTAK, the MBTA’s beleaguered general manager, received some praise on Tuesday from former US transportation secretary Ray LaHood and Sen. Brendan Crighton, the co-chair of the Legislature’s Transportation Committee. LaHood headed a panel that releases a report in December 2019 that was highly critical of the(...)

Boston, businesses to pay for employee bus, subway rides

New 2-year pilot with MBTA patterned after MIT initiative launched in 2016

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Oct 24, 2022

EMPLOYEES WORKING for the city of Boston, Google, Sanofi, and retailers at Assembly Row in Somerville will be able to ride the MBTA subways and buses for free under a two-year pilot program paid for by the employers. The new initiative, announced on Monday, is an extension of an existing program run by MIT that(...)

MBTA problems not affecting Baker popularity

Poll indicates governor not held responsible

By Bruce Mohl Charlie Baker, MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Oct 20, 2022

GOV. CHARLIE BAKER’S popularity is not being affected by the ongoing problems at the MBTA, according to a new poll. The survey of 987 likely voters indicates 67 percent view Baker favorably, much higher than President Biden (49 percent) and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Maura Healey (44 percent). Specifically on transportation, Baker gets pretty high marks.(...)

Cracked welds delay new N. Washington St. Bridge a year

State officials say new span will not open until 2025

By Bruce Mohl Transportation 0 Comments Oct 19, 2022

COMPLETION OF A NEW North Washington Bridge in Boston will take at least a year longer than expected because of mysterious cracks that developed in welds at steel connection points. Jonathan Gulliver, the Massachusetts highway commissioner, said the tiny cracks were first discovered by state inspectors about a year ago. Works was halted and an(...)