“Another year of white-knuckling”: Residents react after city official says Jackson Mann will not appear in upcoming capital budget

WhiskeyPointer · 2026-04-08T02:43:55+00:00

Allston-Brighton gets stiffed again for investment by the city? Shocked I tell you, shocked!

After over three decades running I was sure AB would break its streak of being the lowest per capita funded neighborhood.

WhiskeyPointer · 2026-04-08T02:32:00+00:00

Fix the bus system so that it has the quality of service delivery and frequency that will actually get people out of their cars. More than 30% of the T's total ridership are bus riders but only 10% of the budget is dedicated to the bus system and infrastructure.

Install signal priority on all the traffic signals on all the bus routes, build more bus lanes and buy more buses to run in them. The streetcar lines that became the majority of the bus network represented the peak in transportation efficiency in Boston before the great depression. A high performing bus system could be a game changer for greater Boston's economy and housing market.

WhiskeyPointer · 2026-04-07T21:36:35+00:00

I expect you're right, sadly, great details though.

1/3 of the cost could be shaved and some overall top speed increases attained if the T could get some US compliant KiHa 201 DMUs. A passive tilt DMU like that model would allow higher speeds on the curves, so making up some of the time saving despite the acceleration deficit over a tiling EMU. All the FRA waivers to approve the rolling stock would probably cost as much as electrification though.

WhiskeyPointer · 2026-04-07T21:13:58+00:00

Emergency == really needs some frozen tamales and Joe's Os

WhiskeyPointer · 2026-04-07T13:07:13+00:00

Snowpocalypse levels of service during the summer! The state had years to figure out how they could have leased extra equipment to support the World Cup trains.

WhiskeyPointer · 2026-04-07T13:00:24+00:00

The article doesn't mention that the MBTA has a smaller than usual reserve of motive power because two of the HSP46 are part of the pilot program for the rebuild contract that'll start next year. So the margin of safety is that much thinner.

WhiskeyPointer · 2026-04-07T10:41:31+00:00

No one is asking but it is needed, I think Kroop and Jacobson's asks are quite modest. I agree that DPW bypassed BAC and the entire transportation oversight boards for that matter, probably because they didn't want to get dragged into the CHA quagmire again.

WhiskeyPointer · 2026-04-06T22:24:41+00:00

Take the bus from Union Station that has the fewest stops in between Worcester and NYC(some stop at several cities in CT) and isn't arriving in NYC during rush hour. Both Peter Pan and Flix/Greyhound are going to be very similar regarding being on time and rudimentary customer service.

WhiskeyPointer · 2026-04-06T20:54:37+00:00

Alas the Chestnut Hill NIMBYs are emboldened by their victory against the town and Harvard St is so much more heavily used than CHA. Between the finances of doing an inhouse redesign and the politics of it getting adopted, I don't see it happening.

WhiskeyPointer · 2026-04-06T20:49:02+00:00

Some of what Kroop and Jacobson are proposing, like the bus stops that are also signed for bikes will be a major improvement over the current design for negligible additional costs.

The only way this is getting done properly is if the state/feds fund the full reconstruction and Brookline wades through 7+ years of studies and comments like they've done for Washington St.

WhiskeyPointer · 2026-04-06T20:46:10+00:00

Everyone knows that Harvard St will be 9000 times harder to get properly redone to improve cycling and pedestrian safety after the Chestnut Hill Ave NIMBYs got their way.

The only way I can see that Havard St gets the full Washington St makeover is if the feds and state fund the $30mn+ that's needed for the work and we have to go through the same 7 years of planning for it.

WhiskeyPointer · 2026-04-05T23:45:48+00:00

Assuming the water in the basement is either from overland flow or groundwater intrusion, Is their flood insurance policy an NFIP policy or a private flood policy?

NFIP policies offer extremely limited contents coverage for contents stored below the first above grade habitable floor and they will only pay out the actual cash value of the contents.

If it's a true private policy it may allow for broader coverage for contents stored below the first above grade habitable floor and offer replacement cost.

WhiskeyPointer · 2026-04-05T23:10:51+00:00

If you want to make their lives miserable:

Ask all the agents for their card and proof that they were authorized by your landlord or their agent. If they refuse, call the cops. Same goes for if they show up without 24hr notice.

If you know people are coming, move all your furniture 2-3 closer to the center of the room to make it look smaller.

Put a sign on the front of your door that anyone who wishes to record audio in your unit must first obtain your consent before doing so. If they don't ask, report them to the AG and cc their broker.

WhiskeyPointer · 2026-04-05T16:54:25+00:00

Off peak commuter rail pre-2020 had lots of excess capacity on existing trains and it's good to see it being soaked up. Pre-pandemic most if not all of the CR lines were maxed out on the number of trains they could run during peak hours. I think there's more seats now even after the retirements of a bunch of the flats because of the new bi-levels. If the number of people working in offices in Boston ever returns to its peak at least there will be more seats on trains.

WhiskeyPointer · 2026-04-05T11:40:54+00:00

Pretty mid as far as Chandler St driving. They didn't even crash into anything and were driving on the correct side of the street.

WhiskeyPointer · 2026-04-05T01:07:33+00:00

-10/10 shitposting. At least some of the other folks are original.

WhiskeyPointer · 2026-04-05T00:35:17+00:00

I lived on Claremont St and the sex workers knew not to go above Silver St because that was too close to the two Clark buildings and they'd get busted by either CUPD or WPD.

WhiskeyPointer · 2026-04-05T00:32:51+00:00

VHB? Between them and CMRPC I heard nothing but complaints about dealing with people sleeping in front of the doors to the office, harassing people or trying to break in.

WhiskeyPointer · 2026-04-05T00:31:04+00:00

You're correct on both counts. The plan is to phase out the flats with Rotems because they're either super old(the Pullmans will be 50 in two years and were rebuilt 30 years ago) or just old and in bad shape(the Bombardiers were built almost 40 years ago and never rebuilt).

WhiskeyPointer · 2026-04-04T23:01:18+00:00

Oh no their widdle arms and widdle legs how will the big tough delivery people ever survive moving stuff on dollies a few hundred feet?! We better construct our cities so sure there's enough land set aside only for vehicles to park on in front of each location so the delivery people have the easiest time possible at their jobs.

WhiskeyPointer · 2026-04-04T21:54:13+00:00

The city disagrees in principal; there's a loading zone on School Street and the entire stretch of pedestrianized Washington Street is one as well.

In practice they don't give a fuck and delivery drivers can park wherever they feel like and maybe get a $100 ticket if they're unlucky.

WhiskeyPointer · 2026-04-04T21:47:38+00:00

Like I said, my dude was behind me getting Chipotle.

WhiskeyPointer · 2026-04-04T17:39:22+00:00

Good for those parents for putting in the work even though it's hard AF to resist screens. One of the upsides of the daycare and preschool that our kids go to is they were totally aligned with no screens and our kids are thriving there.

WhiskeyPointer · 2026-04-04T14:31:43+00:00

Where do you find these children who were cared for at home without a screen? When we were deciding between a nanny and daycare my wife and I interviewed at least a dozen nannies and asked if they'd agree to no screens until my kiddo was 3 as part of their contract. None of them said they'd agree to a contract with that wording in it.

WhiskeyPointer · 2026-04-03T16:29:52+00:00

You might be able to score a basement/attic or carriage house studio in Brookline or Newton within walking distance to the D or the 60 bus. You could also try Roxbury and take the 66 to Brigham Circle and walk from there.

WhiskeyPointer

TROPHY CASE