ION Phase 2 - Cambridge's Light Rail Transit

[danbrotherston]

I kinda figured this would be the timeframe...honestly...but I'm a cynic.

I think a separated line doesn't make much sense. Cambridge just by itself probably doesn't justify an LRT. And without connecting to the rest of the region it doesn't serve as a regional connector/integrator. If the city was large enough, it probably would make sense, but it just isn't that big.

Honestly, I am disappointed.  I want to see politicians push back on these absurd cost projections. Chuck at Strongtowns had a good podcast recently about the problems with procurement in NA.

I didn't think of the need for a second maintenance facility, so I take back what I said. That seems like it would be needlessly redundant. The cynic in me says that Cambridge may actually prefer to have their own system, since they don't seem to want to share resources with the rest of the Region. Considering the article says that this will be 100% provincially and federally funded, it doesn't matter as much to me if they want to spend a little extra on the new facility instead of on a bridge over the Grand.

I do disagree with the idea that Cambridge doesn't warrant an LRT by itself. In the Canadian context, sure, it shouldn't have one. But we've all seen enough NJB videos to know that we shouldn't be striving to meet "Canadian" standards. I think having some sort of robust transit backbone could do wonders for the city.

I mean, the problem is that it isn't just transit. But if the city council wants to build an overpriced LRT with federal/provincial funds at the same time as unilaterally overruling every NIMBY in the city, 10Xing density by wrote across the entire city, eliminate parking restrictions, and most other zoning restrictions, and narrow every street to make room for bike lanes...

Well, I will gladly support it (and eat my hat if it helps).