ION Phase 2 - Cambridge's Light Rail Transit

[bravado]

Lots of chit chat from Mayor Liggett (bleh) about changing the route of Phase 2. It's a bit odd since her insane plan would cause the LRT to stop right near my house, but it's still a moronic plan to spend 10 figures on a low density suburb. The mayor thinks that spending all this money to support a future neighbourhood (that isn't currently zoned for it, nor are there more than ~5 projects planned) is a better use of money than supporting a downtown that already exists and can start using the LRT instantly - and has dozens of projects in the pipeline that depend on transit.

The Strong Towns approach says that you should stop building infrastructure before the destination exists. You need people to start using and paying for the service, otherwise you're just making new financial boondoggles. It should not need to be said that transit should go where people are, not where they will/might be.

https://archive.is/Q5QPl

https://www.therecord.com/opinion/column...259ca.html

You know, I was going to say, it's possible to serve underserved neighbourhoods and upzone with the proper density to revitalise. It would obviously be presumptuous to put it mildly of the mayor to just declare that, and I have zero faith in actual upzoning, but the concept isn't bad.

But then I looked at the map...that diversion would be grade A idiocy.

That being said, that isn't even the real cost issue, AFAIK it's all the bridging up by the river...(among other bullshit).

Honestly...I have less and less faith in our elected officials every day.

I'm all for upzoning this neighbourhood especially since I live in it. But I went to the meeting about the nearby commercial area district plan and forcing all new developments to face the street and hide their parking lots doesn't make a medium-density new neighbourhood. Banning new drive-thru businesses doesn't mean that new people are able to live here. It's just so blatantly a distraction to avoid tearing up just 1 road downtown. If these people are so concerned about costs, they wouldn't suggest such stupid distractions that distract and add more costs.