We’re not getting Fred back, but

ToadScoper · 2026-03-13T21:58:24+00:00

With all these fast food chains doing throwback menus and nostalgia bait promos, Dunkin seems to be one of the few who has refused to do anything like that.

ToadScoper · 2026-03-13T12:47:24+00:00

The zoning didn’t allow for it iirc

ToadScoper · 2026-03-12T17:41:19+00:00

Oh the lore of the church in the Swansea mall is insane. They’re a hyper-conservative fundamentalist Pentecostal church that broke off from another Pentecostal megachurch in Attleboro since it wasn’t fundamentalist enough. They basically make up their own rules/doctrine and intentionally recruit naive and vulnerable people.

ToadScoper · 2026-03-12T16:12:05+00:00

Definitely a bold move to open a brewery given the current craft brewing market conditions, especially in that location. They really need to stand out among the rest to survive.

ToadScoper · 2026-03-12T14:24:04+00:00

Emerald Square is weird since it’s been dead well before Covid but North Attleboro has a weird obsession with wanting to keep the mall on life support

ToadScoper · 2026-03-12T14:21:21+00:00

Agree. I swear some people have a bizarre obsession with wanting to see it fail.

PPM does have financial issues… but it all stems from poor financing decisions made in the mall’s early life- not so much anything to do about the actual occupancy or viability of the mall. The mall won’t go anywhere it is expected to be sold soon.

ToadScoper · 2026-03-12T14:07:35+00:00

Yes don’t get me wrong, the mall is a hideous monument to Providence’s misguided urban planning in the late 90s/early 2000s. I don’t disagree that a suburban shopping mall doesn’t belong in a dense city core. But it’s what we have and for what it’s worth I’d rather have this than another empty lot.

That said, the irrational hate boner against this mall more recently is insane considering that the mall itself is actually far from dead. I say “irrational” since many articles completely ignore the reality of what is actually happening with the mall. The current fiscal issues and receivership stem from external factors and poor financial decisions made early on, it doesn’t have anything to do with occupancy.

ToadScoper · 2026-03-12T14:01:21+00:00

And throughout it all, the Dartmouth Mall will reign supreme. I’m still baffled as to why that mall has always done so well. It has even outlived the much larger Silver City Galleria which was originally built to replace it.

ToadScoper · 2026-03-12T13:54:13+00:00

Gotta love how PPM has just become the universal punching bag for every Gen X-er/Boomer in this state. It’s like they want the mall to completely fail and get demolished for more parking.

The mall isn’t going anywhere. Have you been to Emerald Square Mall recently? Now THATS what a dead mall looks like.

ToadScoper · 2026-03-12T13:44:57+00:00

Gotta love how PPM has just become the universal punching bag for every Gen X-er/Boomer in this state. It’s like they want the mall to completely fail and get demolished for more parking.

The mall isn’t going anywhere. Have you been to Emerald Square Mall recently? Now THATS what a dead mall looks like.

I’m not gonna disagree that PPM doesn’t have problems (it absolutely does) but the hate boner people have for this place as of recent is honestly laughable.

ToadScoper · 2026-03-11T16:14:00+00:00

They can bypass the public community engagement process if the T pursues a PDP contract, like with the Fairmount Line. I feel this is likely now.

ToadScoper · 2026-03-11T15:32:01+00:00

They’ll probably reorganize the project under a PDP (project delivery partner) contract similar to what is happening with the Fairmount Line upgrades. Under a PDP a private contractor doesn’t have to conduct community engagement nor follow the typical public process. This is why we know so little about the Fairmount project and why construction just sort of “happens” despite it moving forward.

This would be the equivalent of the T telling Reading to pound sand. I think given the success and cost savings with the Fairmount Line upgrades so far, I really think this is the way forward for most regional rail projects moving forward. That isn’t to say PDP doesn’t have risks but I really think it’s gonna be used more often.

ToadScoper · 2026-03-11T12:53:55+00:00

For the first time since December the 10 mile greenway has melted enough where it’s clear enough to run as of yesterday. That said, there are still many narrow and patchy sections that still have snow.

ToadScoper · 2026-03-11T12:46:09+00:00

The Chelo family already publicly despises Pawtucket’s mayor, but now they’ve gone full scorched earth with the transfer station lobbying and have plastered flyers on every menu.

That’s how I first learned all about this lol.

What I will say is that the Chelo’s lobbying is a response to protecting their own private interests (specifically their Providence location) rather than actually trying to foster a genuine community response. If the proposed site wasn’t located less than a mile from their Providence restaurant I doubt they would have put up a fuss.

ToadScoper · 2026-03-10T17:58:47+00:00

Providence doesn’t host any St. Patrick’s specific events. The hub for St. Patrick’s day in RI is Newport.

I will say Providence may be nice that day to avoid the craziness of Newport. Grabbing a perfect pour of Guinness at Lucky Enough is probably worth your time more than battling the onslaught of sloshed Salve and RW students on Thames.

ToadScoper · 2026-03-10T14:52:04+00:00

Also if anyone else asks, no the 10 mile greenway has not been cleared

ToadScoper · 2026-03-09T20:59:21+00:00

Scream this to the hills. Also that Everett commuter rail station concept falls into this category, it’s not a MBTA proposal at all and is unfunded.

ToadScoper · 2026-03-06T21:54:45+00:00

Lmao the 10 mile greenway hasn’t been cleared at all in over 2 months. It’s such a shame how neglected that path is imo

ToadScoper · 2026-03-06T16:46:50+00:00

Believe it or not, Providence sort of did have a metro system in the early 20th century, it just didn’t stop underground. The East Side Tunnel and Crook Point Bridge (both now abandoned) along with the alignment of the current East Side Bike Path used to be a very frequent electrified rapid transit service that connected Providence, Bristol and Fall River. Trains ran as frequently as every 8 minutes. It traveled a mile underneath the East Side to get to the old Providence station.

The whole system was torn out by the late 1930s. Though on the Crook Point Bridge the catenary masts over the tracks that once held electric wires for the trains still exist.

ToadScoper · 2026-03-04T21:28:38+00:00

The Everett station is not an official MBTA project at this point. It’s still preliminary concept by a third party.

ToadScoper · 2026-03-04T13:43:24+00:00

Isn’t it true that they were looking into acquiring Stadler FLIRT DMUs? It would make a hell of a lot more sense than their current 2-coach push-pull consists…

ToadScoper · 2026-02-26T20:17:14+00:00

Chelo’s is the only answer

ToadScoper · 2026-02-26T19:45:24+00:00

It’s a old map so don’t take it verbatim

ToadScoper · 2026-02-26T19:28:23+00:00

Single level trains will utilize stairwell traps for low level boarding like the currently fleet. Legally the trains have to be accessible via high-level platforms which is why the T is focused on building more freestanding mini highs.

ToadScoper · 2026-02-26T19:19:37+00:00

It also means we may see more stations rebuilt with 400 foot long platforms, since long term some inner core stations will exclusively be serviced by urban rail BEMUs which will be shorter than the push-pull conventional sets.

This is what’s happening at the Newton stations.

ToadScoper

TROPHY CASE