Better Transit without Trolleys

According to the Jamaica Plain Gazette, the project to pave Centre and South Streets starts April 22. The first part will be the sidewalks between Forest Hills and the Monument; 4 to 6 weeks later the road reconstruction will start in that section. Only after that will work begin on Centre Street.

The plan is to cover over the tracks, as was done in 2000 for South Huntington Avenue.

The cost of the road work is only $350,000. The sidewalks will cost $650,000. I think that the curb cuts on South Street will be fixed. When they were previously designed, some genius decided they should be 20 feet back from the intersection instead of lined up with the crosswalks.

I’ve often heard people say that people just don’t like buses and won’t ride them no matter how hard you try. Or at least people who own cars won’t take the bus. Or at least rich people won’t. This is from today’s Boston Globe:

In Chicago, Megabus chief operating officer Dale Moser said bus travel has been a big hit as the demographics have changed. Once, it was for those who couldn’t afford airfare. But now, “We’re getting affluent travelers who are leaving their $45,000 SUV at home,” he said. Continue Reading »

Last month the MBTA posted route maps for the entire 39 route inside all (or maybe most?) buses on the route. The route is divided into two panels, one showing Forest Hills to Huntington Avenue, and the other showing the remainder of the route to Back Bay Station. The maps include both a list of stops and a to-scale street maps. As such they have better information than the maps on the subway lines (including the Silver Line). The only similar maps are those on the MBTA’s electric trolleybus routes serving Harvard Square. BTWT first proposed these types of maps to the MBTA in 2003, as part of the now-defunct 39 Bus Task Force.

Click on these thumbnails to see large versions of the two panels:

Yesterday’s Jamaica Plain Gazette had a very long front-page article by John Ruch about the 39 bus improvement meeting that took place on the February 25th. Here are my reactions to the article:
Franklyn Salimbene of the pro-trolley Arborway Committee said he liked parts of the proposal that essentially repeat ideas from trolley restoration planning several years ago. “I supported them when we were talking about them as streetcar improvements,” Salimbene said.

Thank you, Franklyn, for helpful suggestions! Continue Reading »