StreetNEWS (September 8)

Broadway esplanade in New York City
(Photo courtesy New York Times)

• T crisis, controversies sully Mr. Fix-it image of Grabauskas (Boston Globe)
  By Noah Bierman -- Daniel A. Grabauskas arrived at the MBTA as the guy who could fix the unfixable. He had transformed the state's Registry of Motor Vehicles, a pit that held drivers virtually hostage for two or three hours when they renewed their licenses, into a place with Wal-Mart-style greeters at the door, a modern computer system, and 15-minute waiting times.
  
  
• MBTA May Text Commuters Updates (WCVB)
  System Still Years From Implementation
  The MBTA said it hopes to take the guessing game out of commutes soon by providing riders with a new system that will tell them when the next train or bus will arrive. NewsCenter 5's Steve Lacy reported that the aim is to drive more people to public transportation by taking the guesswork out of travel times. Some of the ideas include LED signs at bus and subway stations, similar to those already in use on the Silver Line, or a system that sends text messages to riders' cell phones.
  
  
• A Greenway Opportunity (Tom Palmer's Journal)
  The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway will celebrate its inauguration on Sat., Oct. 4 - though it's certainly not complete and will likely evolve and improve for years. The parks themselves are done, for the most part, but progress on the development parcels seems to be slowing, not increasing. Those are the three blocks with highway ramps on them.
  
  
• Front-Row Seats on Broadway, if You Dare (New York Times)
  By William Neuman -- NEW YORK -- As if New York wasn’t stimulating enough already, the city has provided a new kind of thrill right in the heart of Midtown: an esplanade carved into Broadway where people can sit and relax as cars and trucks whiz by. And while the esplanade seems to have become an instant hit with office workers and tourists — the metal benches, tables and chairs (some under red umbrellas) were rarely empty on Monday morning, even though they have been out for only a few days — many eyed the traffic warily.
  
  
• Acela trains may expand to meet demand (Boston Globe)
  WASHINGTON - Amtrak may add cars to its Acela, the fastest US passenger train, and raise fares as riders fill coaches on the Washington-to-Boston route, chief executive officer Alexander Kummant said. Demand for the high-speed service also may spur Amtrak to levy a surcharge to help buy additional equipment, Kummant said in an interview at the Washington headquarters of the national passenger railroad.
  
  
• For Bicyclists, a Widening Patchwork World (Washington Post)
  U.S. Lags Behind Two-Wheeled Boom
  By Blaine Harden -- TACHIA, Taiwan -- Antony Lo is one happy biker. He is 60 but looks younger, with a body buffed by commuting 130 miles a week on his bike. He is also president of Taiwan-based Giant, the world's largest bicycle company, where sales are soaring, helped along by global anxiety over oil prices. With undisguised glee, Lo says: "High-priced gasoline is here to stay. I tell my people we are just at the beginning of a very big cycling boom."

• Traffic: Route 9 and Beyond (Brookline Perspective)
• Made in the shade (Boston Globe)
• Crack on Big Dig bridge limits trucks (Boston Globe)
• Lane reopens on Longfellow Bridge (Boston Globe)
• McGrath Highway repairs not all-inclusive (Boston Globe)

• City bike racks are starting to appear in Dot! (Dot Bike)
• As bikes multiply, so do thefts (Boston Globe)
• Letter: Another spin on thwarting bike thieves (Boston Globe)
• Boston cyclists keep an eye out for doors (Daily Free Press)
• Cambridge market uses pedal power to push produce (Daily News Tribune)

• T crisis, controversies sully Mr. Fix-it image of Grabauskas (Boston Globe)
• State takes over Lechmere station relocation (Cambridge Chronicle)
• Editorial: Ferry service at risk (Boston Globe)
• Putting it all 'on the line' (Boston Metro)
• Green Line extension sought near Route 16 (Boston Herald)
• MBTA May Text Commuters Updates (WCVB)
• Gas prices fuel interest in alternatives (Boston Globe)
• T to hold planning meetings (Boston Metro)
• T fights MIT 'hackers' over CharlieCard breach (Daily Free Press)
• Green Line Development (Tom Palmer's Journal)
• MBTA boosts subway, bus service (Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Boston Metro)
• Not in My Yard 8: Neighbors against state plan to put shed next door (Somerville Journal)

• Rail Trail funding restored (Hamilton-Wehman Chronicle)
• Bike path assaults shake square (Boston Globe)
• Grant-seekers see oysters, trails, grills in Mystic's future (Boston Globe)
• A Greenway Opportunity (Tom Palmer's Journal)

• Forest Hills land use guidelines scaled back (Jamaica Plain Gazette)
• Spreading out in the suburbs (Boston Globe)
• For the first time in 35 years, Lesley University builds (Cambridge Chronicle)
• Harvard Embarks Upon Revision of Campus Expansion Plan (Harvard Crimson)
• 'Making' Kenmore Square (Daily Free Press)
• Columbus Center may get a lifeline (Boston Globe)

• Official who faulted T raises backed some himself (WHDH)
• Time extended for Big Dig prosecution (Boston Globe)

• Transit, Traffic Do Better Than Expected at DNC (Denver Post)
• Manchester-Boston runs boosted to six a day (New Hampshire Union Leader)
• Leasing of Landmark Turnpike Puts State at Policy Crossroads (Wall Street Journal)
• Front-Row Seats on Broadway, if You Dare (New York Times)
• Bike-sharing at the DNC exceeds expectations (BikePortland)
• Charges Against Shoved Cyclist Are Dropped (New York Times)
• San Francisco Debuts Car-Free "Sunday Streets" (Streetsblog)

• A Different Kind of Bike Tour (Wall Street Journal)
• New bike commuters hit the classroom, then the road (Christian Science Monitor)
• Will Bus Travel Be the Answer to Higher Airfare? (Smarter Travel)
• Car Talk interviews best-selling author Tom Vanderbilt (Car Talk)
• Pew Poll: Most Americans Want More Transit Investment (Streetsblog)
• Acela trains may expand to meet demand (Boston Globe)
• Zipcar: So Far, Profits Are Zip (BusinessWeek)
• Transit gets the nod (MassTransit)
• City Curbs on Cars: Now Accelerating (CitiWire)
• Editorial: Oil is too valuable to drill (Boston Globe)

• Canadian 'bicycle thief' arrested (BBC News)
• For Bicyclists, a Widening Patchwork World (Washington Post)