I am skeptical of government spending on sports stadiums and arenas. But having studied the details of the proposal for a public-private partnership to revitalize White Stadium in Boston’s Franklin Park, I came to a conclusion you might not expect: This plan makes sense for Boston.
Chris Dempsey
Posted inOpinion
Digging into safety oversight options for MBTA
WITH HIGH-PROFILE MISHAPS and equipment failures in recent months, the MBTA is under unprecedented scrutiny for its recent safety record. The Federal Transit Administration’s Safety Management Inspection (SMI) report released in August is just the latest independent assessment to determine that the MBTA is falling short on basic safety measures, putting riders at risk and […]
Posted inOpinion
Salvaging an unsatisfying legislative session on transportation
THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE the year for the Massachusetts Legislature to deliver a major overhaul of the state’s transportation system. The stars had begun to align in early March when the House passed a pair of bills that raised revenue and authorized key transportation projects across the Commonwealth. Then came coronavirus, economic calamity, and […]
Posted inOpinion
State transportation policies fail communities of color
IF YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND the intersection of public health, transportation, and the environment, come visit Chelsea. Though just 2.5 square miles and one of the densest municipalities in the state, the community is cut in two by Route 1 and the Tobin Bridge. It hosts one of the largest fruit and vegetable distribution centers […]
Posted inTransportation
The lowly bus deserves a lot more attention
EACH WEEKDAY in Greater Boston, more than 400,000 workers, students, shoppers, seniors, and visitors board an MBTA bus. Buses serve three times as many riders as the commuter rail. But despite their importance, buses remain an underappreciated and often neglected component of our region’s transportation system. The T’s own performance dashboard sets a meager on-time […]
Posted inOpinion
We need a RGGI for transportation
AS WE CELEBRATE EARTH DAY and the worldwide movement to protect our environment, it’s heartening that sustainability and an appreciation for clean air, water, and land have become mainstream values. We have come a long way from the first Earth Day in 1970, when, too often, environmental consequences were an afterthought. And while many hurdles […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion, Transportation
The inside story of No Boston Olympics
Two years ago Boston was in the midst of an epic showdown over whether to proceed with a bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. In January 2015, Boston was designated the US entry in the international sweepstakes, and the odds of the city landing the global spectacle seemed favorable, given that no US city […]
Posted inTransportation
We may be No. 1, but not in transportation
AFTER CRUNCHING MORE than 60 metrics, U.S. News & World Report and the consulting firm McKinsey recently declared Massachusetts the #1 state in the nation. Our Commonwealth’s success is built on the strength of our education system (ranked at #1), health care (#2), and overall economy (#5). All Massachusetts residents can take pride in this […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion
Let’s think smart
let this be a wakeup call to those who dismiss the dreams of Boston’s Olympic boosters as far-fetched or improbable: Boston is currently the global front-runner to host the 2024 Summer Olympic Games. John Fish himself admitted in early September that his Boston group is the United States Olympic Committee’s inside favorite to be the […]