THE SOUTH STATION expansion plan once again is rearing its costly, business-as-usual head. The possible relocation of the Dorchester Avenue Postal Service facility presents an opportunity to drastically improve walkability, add mixed-use development, and enhance climate resilience in downtown Boston. Using much of that land to expand the number of tracks at South Station would […]
Transportation
Posted inOpinion
Maybe tolls are the way to replace Cape bridges
REPLACEMENT OF THE Sagamore and Bourne bridges has become the highest priority of state transportation leaders and the Massachusetts congressional delegation. The state has signaled an intent to double its commitment, to $700 million from $350 million, to provide a local match for hoped-for federal dollars. The bridges are a federal asset, built and owned […]
Posted inCourts, State House News Service
Feds tell automakers not to comply with Mass. law
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FEDERAL TRANSPORTATION officials dealt a major blow to a voter-approved Massachusetts law boosting access to motor vehicle telematic data, warning that the measure on the state’s books “poses significant safety concerns.” The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Tuesday effectively told major automobile manufacturers not to comply with the state’s “right […]
Posted inTransportation
Blue Line to be free during Sumner Tunnel closure
This story has been updated. WITH THE SUMNER Tunnel scheduled to close for most of July and August, state transportation officials are trying to reduce car travel in the area by making the entire Blue Line free and eliminating or reducing fares for ferries. The Blue Line in both directions will be free while the […]
Posted inTransportation
T officials urge riders to be patient
THE GENERAL MANAGER of the MBTA and two members of the agency’s board of directors indicated on Thursday that positive change is coming at the transit authority but it won’t be visible to riders any time soon. In a virtual Q&A session, MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng, T board chair Thomas Glynn, and T board […]
Posted inTransportation
Eng sees FTA letter as no big deal
ON MAY 19, the Federal Transit Administration emailed a letter to top officials at the MBTA telling them a plan the agency developed for addressing the safety of workers performing repairs in and around subway tracks was “insufficient” and had to be redone. The letter was sent to MBTA General Manager Phillips Eng, six of […]
Posted inTransportation
‘Red flags’ in budget worry MBTA Advisory Board
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE CITIES AND TOWNS that help fund the MBTA are concerned it will be “impossible” to restore pre-pandemic service levels and that the agency might need to hike fares given the growing shadow of a budget shortfall that officials so far have failed to address. The MBTA Advisory Board, a group that […]
Posted inTransportation
Commuter rail ridership, once dismal, continues to grow
COMMUTER RAIL ridership continues to grow, suggesting more people are returning to work downtown and finding on-time rail service an attractive option. Average weekday ridership on the commuter rail system at the start of the pandemic in May 2020 fell to a ghost-train level of 2,724 passengers. It started an upward trend a year later […]
Posted inTransportation
Tired of waiting for MBTA, lawmakers push Fairmount changes
ADVOCATES SAY the commuter rail’s Fairmount Line is low-hanging fruit for electrification, service improvement, and fare equity. But it’s been low-hanging fruit for many years, and some lawmakers are tired of the slow pace of action at the T. The Fairmount Line is the only commuter rail line to sit entirely within Boston, traveling between […]
Posted inTransportation
Woman struck by utility box to sue MBTA
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE 28-YEAR-OLD WOMAN who suffered injuries when she was struck by a falling utility box at the MBTA’s Harvard station this month is now suing the beleaguered transit authority. Thomas Flaws, a lawyer at Boston-based Altman Nussbaum Shunnarah Trial Attorneys, plans to file the lawsuit later Wednesday, the firm said in […]