Buses berth at Sullivan Square in Somerville, MA [Photo via Flickr]
For this mini-episode of the podcast, we were joined by former Massachusetts Transport Secretary and TransitMatters Board Member Jim Aloisi. We both took a trip on transit from Haymarket Station to Brass Union in Somerville's Union Square.
This episode was recorded on 12 July in the lively environs of an Orange Line train, a CT2 bus, and under the I-93 overpass at Sullivan Square.
During the episode we talked about:
- Hillary Clinton's MetroCard Miscue
- The BTD Sullivan Square/Rutherford Ave study - check out the presentation [PDF] from the last meeting that we couldn't personally make. Were you there? Let us know in the comments!
- The various overlapping studies happening in and around Sullivan Square
- We lamented the delay of Green Line Extension
- We discussed concern over proactive development to counteract gentrification in Union Square and Sullivan Square
- City of New York is trying to be proactive - set-aside housing ordinance ensures mixed income, transparency about public benefits included in development
- Gentrification is inevitable, at least in part
- MBTA needs to make good on its goal for a system-wide assessment of routes - are they doing what people need today?
- My work on service advisories with the T, underscoring a fundamental need for attention to details of the rider experience...more on that from us soon!
- Complete streets and transit priority that Jim and Boston City Council President Wu experienced (separately) in the Netherlands
- NACTO has adopted in its Urban Street Design Guide and Transit Street Design Guide
- Unified fare payment system in Netherlands - OV-chipkaart - MBTA/MassDOT are modelling AFC 2.0 on modern fare payment systems like this
- McGrath highway grounding is also a project that we crossed during our brief trip
- Similar to Casey Arborway boulevardisation
- Syracuse is also…torn between rebuilding or tearing down a highway
And finally WGBH's The Scrum episode we spent 40 minutes trekking to! You can watch our live recording of The Scrum on Periscope.
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