Transitmatters

Transportation guru Fred Salvucci said on the Codcast that the proposed West Station is needed now to deal with congestion in Kenmore Square and the Seaport District, not future congestion caused by Harvard University's creation of a new neighborhood in the Allston Landing area. Salvucci’s position is sharply at odds with the views of the Baker administration, which believes current ridership projections for the station are too low to justify building West Station in the near future. Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack has said it would be wise to hold off on West Station until around 2040 when Harvard's development plans for the area are more fully formulated. But Salvucci, who served 12 years as state transportation secretary under former governor Michael Dukakis and now teaches at MIT, said the transit connections offered by West Station are needed now to relieve existing congestion on the Massachusetts Turnpike.

Note: This podcast was originally broadcast on Commonwealth Magazine’s Codcast [https://soundcloud.com/massinc/the-codcast-ep-100] Fred Salvucci, one of the state’s most influential transportation officials, traces the decline of the MBTA to the early years of the administration of former governor William Weld. Salvucci, who served 12 years as secretary of transportation under former governor Michael Dukakis and now teaches at MIT, said support for transit gained momentum after former governor Frank Sargent in the early 1970s brought a halt to new highway construction inside Route 128. Under Dukakis, Salvucci said, transportation officials turned their focus to extending the Red Line to Alewife, expanding the Orange Line, and burying the expressway through downtown, a project that came to be known as the Big Dig. Throughout the 1980s, according to Salvucci, the MBTA built complicated transit projects and managed the system well. He said the successes were important. “If we had just succeeded in stopping bad things and not succeeded in getting some good things built, the bad things would have just come back,” Salvucci said during a Codcast hosted by Josh Fairchild and Jim Aloisi of TransitMatters.

The TransitMatters Podcast returns from break with a discussion on Lyft and ride sharing services with special guest Tyler George, General Manager of Lyft Boston. Tyler has a spirited discussion with hosts Josh Fairchild, Jeremy Mendelson and recurring panelist, sound engineer (and former General Manager for both Zipcar's Chicago operation and for Hubway bike share here in Boston) Scott Mullen. Our discussion focused on ride sharing services and its effect on the Taxi industry and Transit. This episode was recorded in the studios of WMBR 88.1fm Cambridge, engineered by Scott Mullen, and edited by Charleston Sarjeant. Like what you hear? Share it around, tell your friends and colleagues, and subscribe to the blog [http://www.transitmatters.info/blog/?format=rss] and podcast [http://www.transitmatters.info/blog/?category=Podcast&format=rss] — through iTunes [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/blog-transitmatters/id921390675?mt=2&uo=4] or Google Play [https://goo.gl/app/playmusic?ibi=com.google.PlayMusic&isi=691797987&ius=googleplaymusic&link=https://play.google.com/music/m/It4fpw6k3hqp5cxljdjcc63bfhi?t%3DBlog_-_TransitMatters]. Support our work by becoming a member, donating, or volunteering [http://transitmatters.info/join/]. Find out more [http://action.transitmatters.info/about_board] about Josh, Jeremy, and other board members. http://twitter.com/transitmatters http://instagram.com/transitmatters https://www.tiktok.com/@transitmatters?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc https://www.facebook.com/TransitMatters/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/transitmatters https://bsky.app/profile/transitmatters.bsky.social Send us your feedback by connecting with us on our various social media channels or contact us here [http://transitmatters.info/contact/].

Buses berth at Sullivan Square in Somerville, MA  [Photo via Flickr] For this mini-episode of the podcast, we were joined by former Massachusetts Transport Secretary and TransitMatters Board Member Jim Aloisi. We both took a trip on transit from Haymarket Station to Brass Union in Somerville's Union Square. This episode was recorded on 12 July in the lively environs of an Orange Line train, a CT2 bus, and under the I-93 overpass at Sullivan Square. During the episode we talked about: * Hillary Clinton's MetroCard Miscue [http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2016/04/07/hillary-clinton-rides-nyc-subway-metrocard-swiping-moos-erin-pkg.cnn] * The BTD Sullivan Square/Rutherford Ave [http://www.cityofboston.gov/transportation/rutherford/] study - check out the presentation [PDF] [http://www.cityofboston.gov/images_documents/community-meeting-06-30-16_tcm3-53618.pdf] from the last meeting that we couldn't personally make. Were you there? Let us know in the comments! * The various overlapping studies happening in and around Sullivan Square * Lower Mystic Regional Working Group [https://www.massdot.state.ma.us/planning/Main/CurrentStudies/LowerMysticRegionalWorkingGroup.aspx] * Everett Transit Action Plan [https://www.massdot.state.ma.us/planning/Main/CurrentStudies/EverettTransitActionPlan.aspx] * The Wynn Casino in Everett [PDF] [https://www.massdot.state.ma.us/planning/Main/CurrentStudies/EverettTransitActionPlan.aspxhttp://209.80.128.250/EEA/emepa/mepadocs/2015/090915em/sc/eir/15060%20ssfeir%20Wynn%20Everett.pdf] * We lamented the delay of Green Line Extension * We discussed concern over proactive development to counteract gentrification in Union Square and Sullivan Square * City of New York is trying to be proactive [http://www.governing.com/topics/urban/gov-nyc-gentrification-housing.html - aggressive inclusionary zoning/set-aside] - set-aside housing ordinance ensures mixed income, transparency about public benefits included in development * Gentrification is inevitable, at least in part * MBTA needs to make good on its goal for a system-wide assessment of routes - are they doing what people need today? * My work on service advisories [http://transitmatters.info/blog/2009/12/13/service-changes-but-whe] with the T, underscoring a fundamental need for attention to details of the rider experience...more on that from us soon! * Complete streets and transit priority that Jim and Boston City Council President Wu experienced (separately) in the Netherlands * NACTO has adopted in its Urban Street Design Guide [http://nacto.org/publication/urban-street-design-guide/] and Transit Street Design Guide [http://nacto.org/publication/transit-street-design-guide/] * Unified fare payment system in Netherlands - OV- [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OV-chipkaart]chipkaart [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OV-chipkaart] - MBTA/MassDOT are modelling AFC 2.0 on modern fare payment systems like this * McGrath highway grounding [http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/highway/HighlightedProjects/McGrathBoulevardProject.aspx] is also a project that we crossed during our brief trip * Similar to Casey Arborway [https://www.massdot.state.ma.us/caseyarborway/Home.aspx]boulevardisation [https://www.massdot.state.ma.us/caseyarborway/Home.aspx] * Syracuse is also…torn between rebuilding or tearing down a highway [http://usa.streetsblog.org/2014/05/01/battle-lines-drawn-over-syracuse-highway-teardown/] And finally WGBH's The Scrum episode [http://news.wgbh.org/2016/07/20/politics-government/podcast-scrum-goes-somerville-will-mbta-glx-follow] we spent 40 minutes trekking to! You can watch our live recording of The Scrum on Periscope [https://www.periscope.tv/transitmatters/1mrxmzBvrWvKy]. Like what you hear? Share it around, tell your friends and colleagues, and subscribe to the blog [http://www.transitmatters.info/blog/?format=rss] and podcast [http://www.transitmatters.info/blog/?category=Podcast&format=rss] - through iTunes [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/blog-transitmatters/id921390675?mt=2&uo=4] or Google Play [https://goo.gl/app/playmusic?ibi=com.google.PlayMusic&isi=691797987&ius=googleplaymusic&link=https://play.google.com/music/m/It4fpw6k3hqp5cxljdjcc63bfhi?t%3DBlog_-_TransitMatters]. Support our work by becoming a member, donating, or volunteering [http://transitmatters.info/join/]. Find out more [http://action.transitmatters.info/about_board] about Jim Aloisi, me, and our other board members. http://twitter.com/transitmatters http://instagram.com/transitmatters https://www.tiktok.com/@transitmatters?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc https://www.facebook.com/TransitMatters/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/transitmatters https://bsky.app/profile/transitmatters.bsky.social Send us your feedback by connecting with us on our various social media channels or contact us here [http://transitmatters.info/contact/].

[Lede Photo: Kids on transit is a tale as old as...transit — Shirley Temple Rides the 'L' via Flickr [https://www.flickr.com/photos/ctaweb/12462921215/in/photolist-jZiJgZ-61cE3C-61csRE-618qrV-61czzq-9dp3Qd-61cwkw-9xSTCc-aZhWgp-2V2uSq-7KhfDz-q6mKzd-61cv97-618cnr-61ctJQ-618hf2-61cvKd-61cA9S-2Kd77-9JYegF-aDf6gb-a1Xotf-avLm-7YMugA-7Y7wwk-cc7w2s-3Hy59P-618eA6-618mEx-6dDgT-6hS7vA-618fpv-61ckPs-9d5WGV-618rFg-61cnhQ-9JYdGM-618dTz-61cpuE-6189vn-618k4v-61882p-61cqoh-eP6sNt-fcy3rw-bUxV5M-shYgpH-o8KPxN-abLVcU-8fsWkv]] We're joined in studio by Lee Biernbaum, an economist for the U.S. Department of Transportation and author of the Kids In The Stairwell [http://products.acrossb.com/] blog.   We cover issues with kids on transit including strollers on buses and trains, having a car-free family and children using transit.  This episode was recorded on June 19th in the studios of WMBR 88.1 FM in Cambridge, engineered by Scott Mullen and edited by Charleston Sarjeant. TransitMatters advocates for fast, frequent, reliable and effective public transportation in and around Boston. As part of our vision to repair, upgrade and expand the MBTA transit network, we aim to elevate the conversation around transit issues by offering new perspectives, uniting transit advocates and promoting a level of critical analysis normally absent from other media. Like what you hear? Share it around, tell your friends and colleagues, and subscribe to the blog [http://www.transitmatters.info/blog/?format=rss] and podcast [http://www.transitmatters.info/blog/?category=Podcast&format=rss] (on iTunes [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/blog-transitmatters/id921390675?mt=2&uo=4]) to be notified of new posts and episodes. Support our work by becoming a member [http://transitmatters.info/join], making a donation [https://secure.squarespace.com/commerce/donate?donatePageId=56383d01e4b06dabba8c77de] or signing up to volunteer [http://transitmatters.info/volunteer] because we can't do this alone. Let us know what you think: connect with TransitMatters on Facebook [http://facebook.com/transitmatters] or Twitter [http://twitter.com/transitmatters]. Follow Jeremy Mendelson @Critical Transit [http://twitter.com/CriticalTransit], Josh Fairchild @hatchback31 [http://twitter.com/hatchback31], Jarred Johnson @jarjoh [http://twitter.com/jarjoh], Marc Ebuña @DigitalSciGuy [http://twitter.com/DigitalSciGuy], Scott Mullen @mixmastermully [http://twitter.com/mixmastermully] or email us here [http://transitmatters.info/contact].