Category Archives: Commentary & Analysis

TweetStreets were once the public space between buildings – available for any purpose that people wanted to use it for:  commerce, walking, horses, playing, standing, and anything else.  But over the past decades, one of the largest physical assets owned … Continue reading →

TweetMassachusetts’ difficulty in finding ways to sustainably support its public transportation system (and its still-stuttering efforts to improve pedestrian and bicycling infrastructure) – in other words, its continuing inability to move away from overwhelming dependence on cars – is simply … Continue reading →

TweetAlthough it was nearly a half-century ago it was also the starting point for most of the transportation issues we face today.  The Interstate Highway System was poised to push into the Boston metropolitan area – crashing through Somerville, Cambridge, … Continue reading →

TweetThere was a time when the very idea of using road space for bike lanes struck most Americans both absurd and an invitation to disaster.  While some reality-challenged people still hold on to that position most people seem to have … Continue reading →

TweetIt’s totally understandable that Secretary of Transportation Richard Davey has been focusing on the MBTA fiscal crises.  Public transit – train, subway, trolley, bus, and ferry – is the backbone that supports the entire regional transportation system, and the region’s … Continue reading →

TweetIt was pretty amazing that Boston Transportation Department (BTD) Commissioner Tom Tinlin came to the annual Boston Bike program update two weeks ago.  (Nichol Freedman once again won over the audience with It was also amazing that he stayed for … Continue reading →

TweetIt was pretty amazing that Boston Transportation Department (BTD) Commissioner Tom Tinlin came to the annual Boston Bike program update two weeks ago.  (Nichol Freedman once again won over the audience with It was also amazing that he stayed for … Continue reading →

TweetIt was only a few years ago that Bicycling Magazine called Boston the nation’s worst place for cyclists.  Senior city officials were openly hostile to bicycling.  The media portrayed cyclists as wild messengers cursing at everyone and running over pedestrians. … Continue reading →

TweetIt was only a few years ago that Bicycling Magazine called Boston the nation’s worst place for cyclists.  Senior city officials were openly hostile to bicycling.  The media portrayed cyclists as wild messengers cursing at everyone and running over pedestrians. … Continue reading →

TweetI wear a bike helmet.  Always.  Every time I get on a bike.  I don’t think that the helmet will keep me from having an accident, just that it will protect me from serious head injury if I do. It’s … Continue reading →

TweetKeep It Simple.  Focus.  You can’t walk and tie your shoes at the same time.  Projects are much easier to manage, and it is easier to hold project managers accountable, if there is a single and explicit goal.  Transparency is … Continue reading →

TweetWhat will save the MBTA – and our region – from the disastrous effects of proposed service reductions and price increases?  Over the past few years, in response to the demand for “reform before revenue,” innovative T leadership has significantly … Continue reading →

TweetThe Cambridge City Council recently passed a home rule petition (HB3852)  asking the state Legislature to give it the authority to significantly increase the penalties to be paid by pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists for a wide variety of road violations.  … Continue reading →

TweetA while ago, following the fatal collapse of some ceiling panels in the Big Dig tunnels, Commonwealth magazine published interviews with local pundits about what went wrong with the management and public relations aspects of the gargantuan, 30-year project.  Some … Continue reading →

Tweet“Home is the place where, when you have to go there, They have to take you in.”   “I should have called it Something you somehow haven’t to deserve.” Death of the Hired Man, Robert Frost The two most important things … Continue reading →

TweetAfter years of effort, instead of holes in the sidewalk and pavement through which you could see the river below, the BU Bridge now has solid surfaces and (drum roll….) bike lanes!  It is a major victory for the Better … Continue reading →

TweetIt’s both a cliché and a powerful insight to remember that the solution you come up with depends on which problem you are trying to solve.  A road builder sees problems in terms of the need for movement – usually … Continue reading →

TweetThis post was meant to be about three of the old highways now falling down and the increasingly bitter policy disagreements within nearby communities over what to do about it.  But as I thought more about these debates, it became … Continue reading →

TweetQ: Why do people live in cities? A: Because that’s where all the other people are. It’s really wonderful that Mayor Menino has a special group of “urban mechanics” finding ways to put new information technologies to work for the … Continue reading →

TweetIn the two weeks since I posted Part I, discussing the role of mass movement in creating the political space for issue-oriented advocacy, some of the Occupy Wall Street groups have begun digging in for the long haul by setting … Continue reading →

Tweet (This was written in response to a challenge from MassDOT’s new chief, Transportation Secretary Richard Davey.  But it’s really about what all service, public sector, and non-profit organizations need to keep in mind when they begin a goal-setting process … Continue reading →

TweetGrass roots movements are the soil from which advocacy eventually grows.  As I write this, it’s not clear if the current wave of “Occupy Wall Street” groups will continue expanding to new cities, or if the arrests in NYC, Boston, … Continue reading →

Tweet We’ve all heard the argument: narrowing traffic lanes or removing parking will hurt local businesses.  And we’ve all read the research headlines that show the opposite is true:  widening sidewalks, adding trees, including bike lanes, expanding transit facilities, and … Continue reading →

TweetWe create ourselves and our society with what we’ve inherited from the past – from genes to hierarchies, from culture to social status.  Most important are the stories, the myths, we’ve been given that help give meaning to the physical … Continue reading →

TweetCompared with traffic engineers’ traditional focus on moving many cars as fast as possible, adoption of a “Complete Streets” policy at the state or local level is a huge improvement.  Designing streets to serve all modes and all types of … Continue reading →

Tweet“Health In Everything” is an important slogan, pointing out that personal and social well-being is impacted by every public policy and every aspect of our built and cultural environments.  Partly based on this insight, there is increasing interest in creating … Continue reading →

TweetThe state has, once again, announced a multi-year delay in completing the Green Line Extension, from 2014 to 2018 or 2020 or even later.  Somerville is already mobilizing to fight.  But they should not be fighting alone.  All of us, … Continue reading →

TweetDear All: To my surprise and pleasure, this blog has been selected as a finalist in the “Local Affairs” category of CBS Boston’s annual contest for “one of Boston’s most valuable blogs.” But to get to the next step, I … Continue reading →

Tweet It’s been fascinating and infuriating watching the Boston Herald try to conjure up anti-bicyclist hysteria.   Day after day, they throw out feelers, venomous outbursts testing the appeal of one angle after another: government waste, arrogant elites riding roughshod over … Continue reading →

TweetMassachusetts’ public mass transportation system is about to go broke.  It is being dragged down by over .6 billion of debt (including an inappropriately huge chunk of the Big Dig costs), decreasing federal aid, and the unwillingness of state government … Continue reading →