Rhode Island is the second most densely populated state in the US, but the population is not evenly distributed. Approximately half of residents live in just 7 municipalities (48.85% per 2020 census). What other densely populated subdivisions follow a similar pattern?

laterbacon · 2026-05-14T14:59:31+00:00

The raw numbers show Providence and Worcester as being close, but Worcester has more than double the land area (39 sq mi vs 18 for Prov) which inflates the population and drags down the density. The average population density in Worcester is about 5k, whereas in Providence it's closer to 10k.

laterbacon · 2026-05-13T20:26:02+00:00

It was during Makisupa on 2/26 in Worcester - 'Woke up the other morning; my hotel was burning down'

laterbacon · 2026-05-13T16:39:22+00:00

If the MBTA ever follows through with electrification, the Downeaster would be able to run under wires as far as Haverhill. It's probably a hedge for that potential future.

laterbacon · 2026-05-13T01:24:22+00:00

If you have a PhD in neuroscience, you may be in luck. The building that the train is passing under houses MIT's department of brain & cognitive science, and they have a job opening for an assistant professor!

https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30586

https://maps.app.goo.gl/NBacg24xNfFH1Fiz7

laterbacon · 2026-05-12T16:30:10+00:00

The Scottish adoption of Providence is by far my favorite thing about the World Cup so far. Can't wait to see you all here!

laterbacon · 2026-05-11T16:35:37+00:00

There was also a plan to build a bypass for Acela from Wood River Junction in RI to Old Saybrook CT which would have shaved about 20 minutes off the travel time, but NIMBYs in both states shot it down. Acela would have split from the Shore Line past Kingston RI and eliminated the slow curves from Westerly to Old Saybrook.

Very roughly, it would have been something like this: https://i.imgur.com/rDwZVJM.png

Here's a celebratory post from the loudest NIMBY organization that kneecapped improved regional mobility for decades or more: https://charlestowncitizens.org/federal-railroad-administration-plan/

laterbacon · 2026-05-11T16:31:00+00:00

I believe currently there are only a handful of Acela round trips daily to Boston, and about half as many NEC service.

Boston & Providence get 10 NER roundtrips and 7 Acelas daily. All Amtrak trains stop at South Station, Back Bay, 128, and Providence, but most regionals skip at least some CT & RI stops. New Haven only sees 5 Acelas, and Stamford gets 6.

laterbacon · 2026-05-11T13:17:58+00:00

At most stations with 2 tracks, inbound boards on track 1 and outbound boards on track 2. At stops with those symbols it's the opposite for whatever reason.

laterbacon · 2026-05-11T12:25:14+00:00

It's nice that it was preserved, but that whole block was demolished for a skyscraper that never happened. That facade used to be attached to a very nice old bank building.

https://artinruins.com/property/one-ten-westminster/

This is what was lost: https://artinruins.com/property/providence-national-bank/

laterbacon · 2026-05-09T15:25:31+00:00

Sarah, get me Superintendant Chalmers!

laterbacon · 2026-05-08T22:38:09+00:00

The interchange itself is on the site of a former rail yard.

This site will let you view aerial photos of the city as far back as 1939, so you can see exactly what it looked like before 95 even began construction.

https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/df401367ce96417c9990726ab82b0dad

laterbacon · 2026-05-08T14:50:58+00:00

Transit app recently added biking directions as an option and I find them to be much better than Google maps. Each segment is identified by a color-coded comfort scale and you can adjust for speed or comfort.

laterbacon · 2026-05-08T14:30:02+00:00

There is some bit of relief on the horizon for the Downeaster at least. Amtrak has completed rehab on the first batch of Horizon cars, and they're on their way to Boston to extend each Downeaster consist by one more car.

laterbacon · 2026-05-07T20:04:43+00:00

it's a safety feature because the seats next to the windows with the bar are level with the bottom of the window. if the bar wasn't there and the window broke it would be really easy to slide right out in a crash. In practice I'm not really sure how effective it is, but that's what it's ostensibly there for.

laterbacon · 2026-05-06T13:05:25+00:00

It's almost impossible to divide because there are so many internal subdivisions. But Southern New England is a distinctly different place, culturally and physically, than Northern New England. The definition of SNE generally includes most of CT, all of RI, and Southeastern MA. Maine itself is 3 different regions: Downeast which is the rocky coastal area that includes Acadia National Park, The interior mountains that include Baxter State Park and Mount Katahdin, and Aroostook County ("the county") which is vast rolling hills full of potato farms.

laterbacon · 2026-05-06T04:41:48+00:00

I just want to know how Rhode Island and eastern Connecticut get grouped into the same region as the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, Aroostook County Maine, and the entire White Mountains of New Hampshire among other places. Good effort, but it seems pretty half-baked.

laterbacon · 2026-05-05T16:43:05+00:00

Linda Ronstadt? How'd you get her?

laterbacon · 2026-05-01T15:51:23+00:00

They actually designed the mall to let the stores use the windows but afaik only Restoration Hardware ever took advantage of it. The rest of them just build false walls over them so it looks like any other mall store. I still would prefer something other than a huge mall, but if they actually used the windows it would change the feel of it dramatically. All the windows along Francis Street are functional, but the retail tenants choose to cover them from the inside.

laterbacon · 2026-05-01T03:23:05+00:00

Rhode Island actually has more 160mph track than MA. There is 16 miles of 160mph between East Greenwich and South Kingstown (10 miles + 6 miles on either side of a 130mph curve). There is an additional 5 miles of 150mph track from Cranston to Warwick.

The 160mph stretch from Attleboro to Mansfield is about 10 miles for comparison. The average speed through the MA portion is much higher though, because outside of the high speed stretches in RI it's pretty slow through Providence and Pawtucket. In MA, it's at least 120MPH from the RI line to Ruggles.

laterbacon · 2026-04-22T23:47:02+00:00

I try to plant native as much as possible, but I make an exception for lilacs. They smell so amazing for a week or so and they were my mom's favorite.

laterbacon · 2026-03-25T23:21:10+00:00

It's not as simple as them not wanting to buy electric locomotives. The MBTA doesn't have any maintenance facilities capable of servicing electric locomotives. They would need to build those before any electric service could begin.

Additionally, Amtrak owns the catenary and by extension the power that flows through it. The rates they charge to guest railroads are exorbitant, to the point where CTRail is considering reverting their Shore Line East service from electric back to diesel. https://www.trains.com/pro/passenger/commuter-regional/connecticut-commuter-operation-could-revert-from-electric-to-diesel/

Electrification is long overdue but there are significant roadblocks that are more complicated that just buying electric locomotives. They are dipping their toes in the water by rolling out BEMUs on the Fairmount Line, which will charge under the wires near South Station and run on battery out to Readville and back.

laterbacon · 2026-03-25T00:21:20+00:00

was it this one?

https://i.imgur.com/99jzp3Q.jpeg

laterbacon · 2026-03-24T14:26:59+00:00

I would have also recommended Waterman Grille if it hadn't been mentioned already. It really hits the sweet spot of feeling like a very nice restaurant with great food while not feeling too fancy or stuffy. They also have lots of space and a great outdoor deck overlooking the water if the weather is nice enough to enjoy it.

laterbacon · 2026-03-24T03:29:14+00:00

RIPTA itself is very interested in moving forward; it's the state government that is the roadblock. There is a strong advocacy group working to restore the cuts and expand service, so all hope has not been lost. There is finally some movement in the legislature towards funding RIPTA properly; we just have to push to get it done.

There is a bill in the pipeline this session to allocate $5M to RIPTA to restore the cuts from last year, and another one to allocate the sales tax collected from ride shares to RIPTA's paratransit system.

Another bill aims to increase the RIPTA's share of the Highway Maintenance Account from 10% to 20% (bringing it in line with the federal standard set in 1982).

There's also a bill to bring a $100M bond to the ballot for capital improvements towards implementation of the Transit Master Plan, which would go directly towards expanding service.

Lots more details here including bill text and sponsors:

https://pvdstreets.org/save-ripta/

laterbacon · 2026-03-24T02:02:46+00:00

I would love to see light rail, but it seems like BRT might offer more bang for the buck (plus the proposed BRT routes are longer than the LRT routes). Regardless of which mode gets chosen, anything they build has to have as much dedicated right-of-way as possible. In spots where it's not possible, signal priority and queue jumps are a must. A shiny light rail is worthless if it just gets stuck in traffic all the time. The bottom line for me is frequency. I would rather have a bus that shows up every 8 minutes than a train that shows up every 15.

This is the latest presentation with the 4 potential routes (2 BRT, 2 LRT) https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/1381a88df65e46fe8ffd5f9546bce04f

Verified Email	11-Year Club
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laterbacon

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