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I think the Big Dig delivered immense benefits to the urban space in Boston. So many US cities are ruined from having urban highways through the core. But on t

I think the Big Dig delivered immense benefits to the urban space in Boston. So many US cities are ruined from having urban highways through the core. But on the other hand, really that's just righting the wrong of building them in the first place. On the other hand, imagine what $20bn could have done to the public transit infrastructure in Boston, which is dying out for a Crossrail/RER style project to link the two main commuter rail terminals to allow through trains. I also don't agree with the article about the silver line service to Logan. It's insanely slow (stopping to change over from electric to LNG, traffic in the shared sections and worst of all the buses are just not designed for airports with the luggage and the bunching caused by traffic means some buses are really busy with ones running behind nearly empty. That doesn't happen on proper segregated right of way. BRT is generally a terrible solution, delivering most of the costs of light rail with few of the benefits.

carbocation 11y ago
In general, I favor the T over driving in Boston because of the reduced variance in travel time. This is not true, however, of the green line above ground or of the Silver Line. The silver line's struggle through traffic (and various airport and non-airport stops on the way to South Station) makes it up to 5x slower to use the T to get to/from the airport compared to just taking an Uber.
- colanderman 11y ago
  The secret is to use the Blue Line to get to the airport, not the Silver Line. So long as you're either on the Orange Line or don't have too many bags it's much faster.
  - jghn 11y ago
    Depends on where you live. If you live on the red line (I do) taking the blue line is almost always slower than the silver lie (sic). Remember that there's no red-blue connector, in fact the govt claimed that the silver lie was the red-blue connector because it went to the airport!
    - p_eter_p 11y ago
      They have made noise about running the blue line to the Charles m.g.h. station, which would solve a number of problems. It would require a stretch of elevated line on Cambridge street right in front of Mass General, so no idea if it will ever happen.
      - jghn 11y ago
        A while back I saw a discussion about them running the current head space past Bowdoin down under Charles/MGH but the problem there was that the required head space would take it under the Charles and that'd end up being pretty costly due to the conditions there.
Anechoic 11y ago
On the other hand, imagine what $20bn could have done to the public transit infrastructure in Boston, which is dying out for a Crossrail/RER style project to link the two main commuter rail terminals to allow through trains. For what it's worth, the slurry walls constructed for the Big Dig tunnels were built to also accommate the North/South rail link if the state ever decides to fund it. That said the link is such a complex undertaking, I sincerely doubt it will happen in our lifetimes.
- brlewis 11y ago
  It would make a big difference. It takes 27 minutes for me to get from North Station to the Fitbit office in the Seaport district whether I walk or take the T (subway). Directly linking North and South Station would be a big advantage. Right now bicycle is the only efficient commute.
  - g8oz 11y ago
    Or hoverboard!
blisterpeanuts 11y ago
The Silver Line is typical of the public transportation system in Boston: almost good enough, but frustrating in its compromises that passengers have to live with every day. For people west of town, it's a great convenience to park or be dropped at Alewife station, ride the Red Line to South Station, then the Silver Line to the airport. This is versus the old system where you had to change twice. We're thankful for small things. And yes, the lengthy stop to change over from electric to diesel is logical yet seems poorly implemented. Many times I've watched the driver climb out to manually operate the electrodes. Surely it's possible to better automate this process, given that people headed toward the airport are usually in a huge hurry? Maybe eventually they can just make the Silver Line buses completely electrical; batteries propel them above ground, the third rail propels them and recharges them underground, perhaps with hybrid-diesel supplemental power.
zanny 11y ago
Generally from my observations it just seems that when you have traffic congestion its best to just fix it anywhere its happening, because after any thoughts to environmentalism, when you run out of infrastructure capacity your growth is crippled. A city with good public and private transit will see continuous growth. A city that does not invest in it, maintain it, or fix it will suffocate itself. Thats not to say you should write blank checks or do impossible feats of engineering, but if you want to live somewhere that has a bright future rather than one that remains stagnant, you don't want to see your transit systems fall behind.

carbocation 11y ago

In general, I favor the T over driving in Boston because of the reduced variance in travel time. This is not true, however, of the green line above ground or of the Silver Line. The silver line's struggle through traffic (and various airport and non-airport stops on the way to South Station) makes it up to 5x slower to use the T to get to/from the airport compared to just taking an Uber.

colanderman 11y ago
The secret is to use the Blue Line to get to the airport, not the Silver Line. So long as you're either on the Orange Line or don't have too many bags it's much faster.
- jghn 11y ago
  Depends on where you live. If you live on the red line (I do) taking the blue line is almost always slower than the silver lie (sic). Remember that there's no red-blue connector, in fact the govt claimed that the silver lie was the red-blue connector because it went to the airport!
  - p_eter_p 11y ago
    They have made noise about running the blue line to the Charles m.g.h. station, which would solve a number of problems. It would require a stretch of elevated line on Cambridge street right in front of Mass General, so no idea if it will ever happen.
    - jghn 11y ago
      A while back I saw a discussion about them running the current head space past Bowdoin down under Charles/MGH but the problem there was that the required head space would take it under the Charles and that'd end up being pretty costly due to the conditions there.

Anechoic 11y ago

On the other hand, imagine what $20bn could have done to the public transit infrastructure in Boston, which is dying out for a Crossrail/RER style project to link the two main commuter rail terminals to allow through trains. For what it's worth, the slurry walls constructed for the Big Dig tunnels were built to also accommate the North/South rail link if the state ever decides to fund it. That said the link is such a complex undertaking, I sincerely doubt it will happen in our lifetimes.

brlewis 11y ago
It would make a big difference. It takes 27 minutes for me to get from North Station to the Fitbit office in the Seaport district whether I walk or take the T (subway). Directly linking North and South Station would be a big advantage. Right now bicycle is the only efficient commute.
- g8oz 11y ago
  Or hoverboard!

blisterpeanuts 11y ago

The Silver Line is typical of the public transportation system in Boston: almost good enough, but frustrating in its compromises that passengers have to live with every day. For people west of town, it's a great convenience to park or be dropped at Alewife station, ride the Red Line to South Station, then the Silver Line to the airport. This is versus the old system where you had to change twice. We're thankful for small things. And yes, the lengthy stop to change over from electric to diesel is logical yet seems poorly implemented. Many times I've watched the driver climb out to manually operate the electrodes. Surely it's possible to better automate this process, given that people headed toward the airport are usually in a huge hurry? Maybe eventually they can just make the Silver Line buses completely electrical; batteries propel them above ground, the third rail propels them and recharges them underground, perhaps with hybrid-diesel supplemental power.

zanny 11y ago

Generally from my observations it just seems that when you have traffic congestion its best to just fix it anywhere its happening, because after any thoughts to environmentalism, when you run out of infrastructure capacity your growth is crippled. A city with good public and private transit will see continuous growth. A city that does not invest in it, maintain it, or fix it will suffocate itself. Thats not to say you should write blank checks or do impossible feats of engineering, but if you want to live somewhere that has a bright future rather than one that remains stagnant, you don't want to see your transit systems fall behind.