Allston & The Grand Junction option

[mbk2013]

Since they are rethinking the massive Allston Yard interchange, shouldn't a rebuilt Grand Junction option from North Station be on the table?

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/02/18/ ... terchange/

[Backshophoss]

Article PAYWALLED,Globe now forcing adware as well

[ceo]

I still say it's a far better candidate for light rail conversion than commuter rail, unless you want to spend a ridiculous amount of money grade-separating the line through Kendall Square.

[BandA]

1) can no longer easily bypass Boston Glob paywall - text appears then disappears. Annoying. Corollary - Washington Post requires accepting parent Amazon's adware which is a very bad idea.

2) These authors of the article are morons. What ever we bake in now we have to live with for the next 100 years OR MORE, since it will include air rights buildings!! They want to reduce traffic lanes, which are already inadequate, and they want to slow down roadways which will further reduce capacity. What will the population be 100 years from now? Will they have magic carpets instead of automobiles? How will their food get to them? Our decendents will probably not be driving gasoline autos 100 years from now, but passenger trains probably won't have steel wheels either. Need more capacity and faster, they will thank us later.

3) Need a balloon track so that trains can run from BBY to Kendall without reversing. Why am I the only person suggesting this?

4) Train station - should be paid for by Harvard University and whomever is doing the development. Boston Landing is less than a mile away, use that or pay the full cost.

5) Billions to realign the Mass Pike. Repairing the existing alignment or something like it is the cheapest option and should be considered. Creating new developable space? If so the development should more than pay for the extra costs otherwise it is a ripoff for taxpayers.

6) Can't entertain light rail conversion until N-S rail link is built. Where would light rail go to, Lechmere? The Central Subway will no doubt be overcrowded with GLX passengers. If you are going to convert the Grand Junction to light rail, might as well convert the inner Framingham Line to light rail out to Wellesley & connect Framingham-Worcester to the Fitchburg Line at 128.

[rethcir]

1) can no longer easily bypass Boston Glob paywall - text appears then disappears. Annoying. Corollary - Washington Post requires accepting parent Amazon's adware which is a very bad idea.

God forbid we pay our journalists for putting in hard work.

[Backshophoss]

Adware just takes over,making articles unreadable,if they just stayed with simple print stylle ADS.fine,but they went to the interactive crap
that gums the site up!

[johnpbarlow]

I wonder if it wouldn't be sufficient to run a rail-based rush-hour oriented shuttle service up the Grand Jct branch that terminated before Mass Ave (as opposed to North Station)? This would avoid the whole question of how to avoid blocking Mass Ave and other Cambridge thoroughfares and would put Central Square and Kendall Square destinations within an easy half mile 15 minute walk for Metrowest commuters. Such shuttles could originate at Boston Landing (2.5 miles from Mass Ave) or Boston West at Beacon Park(1.5 miles from Mass Ave). Wouldn't cost a ton of money for the RoW.

[rethcir]

Frankly, I doubt the City of Cambridge cares if trains block up traffic over there. Aside from emergency responders, I think they are content to screw over motorists.

[bostontrainguy]

3) Need a balloon track so that trains can run from BBY to Kendall without reversing. Why am I the only person suggesting this?

The new plan should have lowered the Mass Pike through the entire throat area. In that way a N/E leg of a new wye could have been constructed under the BU bridge.

That would have also allowed a new Storrow Drive to be built at ground level over the lowered westbound Mass Pike lanes. This would have been so much more attractive than the current plan that replaces one ugly viaduct with another one.

I have been advocating for this for years. This is a true one-in-a-lifetime chance to create this important connection.

[eustis22]

>God forbid we pay our journalists for putting in hard work.

I don't believe they are paying the journos the cash from ads.

[BandA]

>God forbid we pay our journalists for putting in hard work.

I don't believe they are paying the journos the cash from ads.

^^ Very little is trickling down to the journalists.

I'm basically interested in blocking 2nd party javascripts, popups, popunders, malware, viruses, tracking cookies, beacons, etc. I would love to see ads from local (hobby shops?) merchants and (railroad themed?) restaurants, or the same ads that appear in the print edition. Maybe if newspapers sold and served their own ads instead of syndicating them from google or amazon they wouldn't be wondering why they're losing money.

Operating their newspapers instead of loading up on debt buying and selling each other.