CALLS FOR STATE transportation officials to slow down the process of selling the rights to a narrow strip of land parallel to a congested East Boston roadway have found a receptive ear in the chairman of the MBTA’s oversight board, who has put the issue on the agenda for discussion at the panel’s weekly scheduled […]
Massachusetts Department of Transportation
Posted inTransportation
New option for Pike redesign
THE PANEL OF experts tasked with redesigning a 1,500 foot stretch of the Massachusetts Turnpike and rail tracks running along the Charles River has thrown a new wrinkle into the plans, coming up with a concept that would keep the highway and trains traveling along the ground while elevating a section of Soldiers Field Road. […]
Posted inTransportation
West Station wrangling
IT’S PLAYING OUT as a classic chicken and egg situation. State officials say calls for a commuter rail station in the area of Allston being developed by Harvard as a major life sciences research hub are premature. They want to leave room for a station at the site, but are eyeing a possible opening in […]
Posted inThe Download
West Station wrangling
It’s playing out as a classic chicken and egg situation. State officials say calls for a commuter rail station in the area of Allston being developed by Harvard as a major life sciences research hub are premature. They want to leave room for a station at the site, but are eyeing a possible opening in […]
Posted inThe Download
Chandler backs regional rail, more RTA funds
Senate President Harriette Chandler indicated on Monday that she intends to use her new, temporary clout on Beacon Hill to push a transportation agenda that focuses attention on communities outside of Boston. Chandler, a Democrat from Worcester who is serving as Senate president until early next year, said she wants more money for struggling regional […]
Posted inOpinion
A question of access: Shifting the transportation conversation
TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY matters to everyone who commutes, travels, or runs errands on a daily basis, and these everyday trips create a sense that we are all experts on transportation. For creative problem solvers, every traffic jam, transit delay, confusing intersection, or missing bike lane connection provides an opportunity to brainstorm possible solutions. But what […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download, Transportation
The Codcast: Plotting the future at DOT
Scott Hamwey’s job is figuring out the state’s transportation future. As the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s manager of long-range planning, he is charged with trying to plot a course for the next 25 years. In a Codcast talk with Josh Fairchild and James Aloisi of TransitMatters, Hamwey focuses on both the short and long term. […]
Posted inPolitics, Transportation
Boston says it’s studying whether to rebuild Long Island Bridge
A SPOKESWOMAN FOR Boston Mayor Marty Walsh issued a statement saying the city is doing a cost-benefit analysis on rebuilding the Long Island Bridge, which is a shift from the mayor’s earlier stance that the city would definitely rebuild the span. Walsh’s statement came in the wake of a CommonWealth story reporting that the mayor […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story, Transportation
Boston abandons Long Island Bridge
A correction has been added to this story. BOSTON MAYOR MARTY WALSH appears to be backing away from plans to rebuild the bridge to Long Island, partly because of opposition from the city of Quincy and partly because all the homeless and drug treatment services on the island have successfully been relocated to the mainland. […]
Posted inPolitics, Transportation
The evolution of Stephanie Pollack
Photographs by Frank Curran STEPHANIE POLLACK AND Charlie Baker are the odd couple of Massachusetts politics. Pollack is short and Baker is tall. She’s a lifelong Democrat and he’s a lifelong Republican. She supported Deval Patrick in 2010; Baker was running against Patrick during that race. She’s a progressive with a history of pushing higher […]