al417

This encapsulates many of the MBTA Communities law's problems - pure "malicious compliance". Marshfield has treated zoning for housing as though zoning for radioactive waste, talking only of "minimizing impact". They've structured the district to make sure the least housing gets built. #mapoli

My frustration with Markey running for re-election only grew after I saw Chuck Schumer (age 74) successfully recruited Janet Mills (age 77) to run for Senate in Maine. She will be 79 when she's seated, if she wins. The oldest freshman senator ever. Why is the party so damn old?

We all tend to be very loud when things are bad but then very quiet when they improve, don't we? Just a couple of years ago the system barely functioned.

Why the Democratic supermajority on Beacon Hill won't pass Democratic bills - CommonWealth Beacon Sooner or later, enough people will learn how democracy in Massachusetts is a lie. When they do, leadership’s iron grip will crack, not because those in power wanted to change, but because voters fina...

MA has one of the most heavily Democratic legislatures, but the lack of small "d" democracy makes progress slow. #mapoli

commonwealthbeacon.org/opinion/why-...

Cape Cod Bridge Filings Reveal MassDOT Does Not Intend to Obey State Climate Laws - Streetsblog Massachusetts MassDOT's projections of increasing car traffic to Cape Cod are incompatible with a future where the region isn't inundated by rising seas.

Cape Cod Bridge Filings Reveal @massdot.bsky.social Does Not Intend to Obey State #Climate Laws
#mapoli

mass.streetsblog.org/2025/10/09/c...

A really unfortunate thing about these at North Station is how long they take to validate a QR code ticket. Maybe a full second. That doesn’t sound like much, but it is when two trains are unloading at the same time and hundreds of people are trying to get out the gates.

They so badly need more of those CRRCs in service.

Joe Manchin Would Like a Word. (OK, Maybe Several Words.)

Even retired, Joe Manchin is still a self-deluded schmuck. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/u...

I think the Red is doomed to a certain amount of terribleness until enough CRRC trains come online. Rolling stock is just too old.

A sun-damaged polycarbonate window through which nothing can be seen.

Morning on the #MBTA commuter rail.

And to be clear, this doesn’t involve any delays on the lines. This is normal service on a Wednesday.

North Station’s waiting area can’t handle 3 rush hour trains all leaving at 5:05. It’s simply not large enough. #mbta

Anyone else remember that it took the Legislature multiple attempts to ban child marriage? It’s that bad.

Also Mariano is a dinosaur and it’s insane that he’s running again.

Yes, but it doesn’t have any funding, really. AFAIK it’s in the T’s CIP but just for studies.

Now imagine if Healey hadn’t also slashed capital gains taxes.

Amid unsettled times in Washington, Mass. collects $2b more in tax revenue than expected thanks to millionaires tax - The Boston Globe Healey administration officials said Friday that Massachusetts collected $2 billion more in tax revenue than officials originally projected in the fiscal year that ended last month.

Fair Share continues to outperform. #mapoli

www.bostonglobe.com/2025/08/08/m...

The #mapoli right wing oligarchs always want more. They are truly insatiable.

I hope that the discussion about the Revs stadium shines a light on just how badly Sullivan Square needs a complete re-think and re-do. There's no reason for that area to be the horrible car sewer that it is and it wastes the Orange Line stop located there. #mbta #bospoli

I've really come to hate the word "falsehood" as media platforms (looking at you, NYT) have cleaved to it in the Trump era. It's just a wussy form of "lie". Just say "lie". He **lies**.

The amount of parking in this plan is absolutely bonkers. Walkable to South Station. Walkable to the Red Line. And yet, thousands of parking spots.

I don't know how to drill it into the heads of planners and developers that cities can scale for people but not for cars. The geometry doesn't work.

For a site equidistant from two major transit nodes this plan is a transportation fail. Rooted in mid-20th century thinking, aggressively anti-pedestrian, no true transit orientation - the plan is a non starter. #mapoli #bospoli @leungboston.bsky.social

If Josh Kraft really cared about traffic congestion in Boston he’d focus on double parking not bike lanes. #BosPoli

YouTube video by Stoughton Media Access Corporation Stoughton Politics with... This Guy: Interview with Patrick Roath

Tomorrow at 6pm, my interview with Patrick will go live and you will be able to judge for yourself what you think of him as a candidate. I learned a lot from our talk, and I think you will too. I have invited Lynch on as well, and hope that he comes in for his own interview!
youtu.be/42j4pMWaFAo

Auchincloss is a walking argument for ranked choice voting.

He has the worst campaign consultants on God’s green earth. Which actually makes it more disappointing that he’s gotten Wu to retreat on bike lanes.

Anecdotally, it seems to me like enforcement of moving violations is still near zero in my area. I recently installed a rear-facing camera on my car because it feels pretty likely that a tailgater is going to rear-end me for going the speed limit.

Delivery apps broke our streets. New tech might fix it. Home delivery has exploded since the pandemic, and our streets can’t handle it. D.C. and other cities are trying to get those packages into smaller rides.

Maybe it’s time for Boston to try some new ideas for delivery drivers and curb management. wapo.st/4nCgi10 #bospoli

I feel sorry for the tourists strolling the Greenway. Sorry, guys, false advertising- it’s really just a multi-lane highway with an extra-nice median.

More and more I feel like the Internet is offensively low-quality. YouTube is drowning in AI slop and AI-made ads. Instagram reels are right behind. X is awash in bot and right-wing conspiracy shit. Local news sites are mostly ads. It’s easier for me to not just scroll because the content is bad.

@wutrain.bsky.social Why was the lane removed when the MBTA is swiftly moving towards automated bus lane enforcement? What traffic problem in Boston has ever been solved by allowing more cars? #bospoli