The transit rights-of-way page has been updated with some great railroad and trolley maps circa 1910 and earlier. The trolley map is particularly striking; today we are told that rail electrification is infeasible, but the map shows that nearly every main street in eastern Massachusetts had an electric trolley in 1910. Amazing.
Inactive railway
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New Historical Railroad and Trolley Maps Added to Resources Page
Saturday, June 26th, 2010You call this a commuter bikeway?
Sunday, March 8th, 2009The Minuteman Bikeway is an 11-mile, “year round” asphalt pathway occupying a former rail line in Cambridge, Arlington, Lexington, and Bedford. It is supposed to provide “an easy way for bicyclists and pedestrians to travel to subway and bus lines, serving to reduce automobile traffic in the area.” How does that translate to reality?
Minuteman Bikeway, under snow
In some ways, not so well. “Year round?” This being New England, if there is no snow removal then the path is useless four months out of the year. Arlington only started removing snow last year. And Lexington? That’s still beyond Lexington’s abilities. Lexington residents would be outraged if a single automobile road went unplowed for even a day. But for some reason different rules apply to the bikeway, which has not been plowed for years. So much for “year round” bicycle transportation.
No riding on sidewalks, dangerous traffic, no lane setoffs.
Not to let Arlington off too lightly, what were they thinking with the route through Arlington Center? Or more to the point, what route through Arlington Center? The signs prominently warn against riding on sidewalks. Okay, no riding on sidewalks. The traffic pattern makes it dangerous, cumbersome, and illegal to ride on the road with a bicycle to continue the trail. To reach the western trailhead riders have to go on the sidewalk or ride against traffic. And there are no fog lines or bike lanes to provide a buffer against traffic. In short Arlington Center pretends that there is no bikeway. The blue sign at the top of the picture appears to instruct that riders levitate through shrubs and buildings rather than follow any path or roadway. What is “easy” about this setup for bicyclists?
Not even close to “year round;” in Arlington Center in particular, far from “easy.” It’s super recreation, but is this really an example of our transit future?
When one really is better than two.
Sunday, February 22nd, 2009The South Coast rail project was discussed in January in the Boston Business Journal. The Commonwealth is considering reactivating some combination of rail lines from Boston to two cities on the south coast, Fall River and New Bedford. Some homeowners who live near railroads that potentially will be reactivated would prefer the project die a quiet death. But the project seems too have a critical mass of support in government.
South Coast Rail Proposals (from EOT)
There are several different alternate proposals for the road to Taunton. But only one proposal south of that, which is a two-pronged route. The colored lines on the map represent the different alternatives; the green route is a portion that is common to all of the proposals. The common portion is a fork-end with one fork serving New Bedford and the other serving Fall River.
The funny thing about this project is that it is being designed as a hub-and-spoke system, with the terminal cities isolated on separate lines and the hub, Boston, forty miles away to the north. Why not use the opportunity to connect the south coast cities to one another and to their much-nearer neighbor to the west, Providence?
A single line connecting two or three of the cities all together would have the virtues of more frequent service and greater usefulness over shorter distances. It would be an interstate rail route that would increase the potential for federal and interstate cooperation. Massachusetts might not need to “go it alone.”
The unified alignment would present construction and placement challenges; right of way would need to be rebuilt or reclaimed in some urban sections, particularly where it is occupied by highways. But the end result could be a more effective transportation project, serving more and more densely populated areas. Isn’t that what we’re really after?
Forgotten Tunnels
Sunday, January 11th, 2009
Broadway Trolley Tunnel
Boston has been scrubbed clean over the years of its miscellaneous unused transit infrastructure. In particular, the elevated railroads nearly all are gone. Most recently, the sun shined on Causeway Street. In the summer I stumbled onto one of the pieces of unused transit infrastructure that hasn’t been removed.
This tunnel entrance is located just southeast of the Fort Point Channel, facing the Red Line railyards. It could be a lot of things. I have a hunch that it is a trolley access for a disused upper level in Broadway Station. Apparently several of the Red Line stations were built with trolley mezzenines that since have been abandoned. If that was the tunnel’s use, then it wouldn’t ever have had a direct link into the Red Line tracks.
Transit Rights of Way Project Updated
Saturday, November 15th, 2008The transit right or way project page has been updated. Click here or use the tabs at the top to check it out!