Slow down: Boston is installing more than 2,000 speed humps on city streets
"Lowering the speed limit alone, unfortunately, doesn't necessarily change driver behavior," Gleason said. "Having that physical addition to the road that really forces drivers to think about how fast they're driving and slow down their speed so that they don't experience any, you know, discomfort when they're driving over it or potential damage to their vehicle."
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THE MBTA’S ‘BILLION-DOLLAR QUESTION MARK
“How much are we actually spending at the end of the day, and what are we getting out of it? This is something the T is continually unable to make clear to the public,” Thompson said. “The finance side is unnecessarily complicated, it’s hard to get answers.”
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THE MBTA’S ‘BILLION-DOLLAR QUESTION MARK’
“How much are we actually spending at the end of the day, and what are we getting out of it? This is something the T is continually unable to make clear to the public,” Thompson said. “The finance side is unnecessarily complicated, it’s hard to get answers.”
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How can new fareboxes be this expensive?
It’s work has not been without hiccups. Stacy Thompson, the executive director of LivableStreets Alliance, a transit advocacy group, said in an interview that Cubic “has a terrible track record nationally and internationally for delivering projects on time and within budget, and we’re seeing that bear out in Massachusetts and for the MBTA.”
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Boston wants food delivery services to better police their drivers
Stacy Thompson with LivableStreets Alliance says the business model for these corporations is part of the problem. “They basically don’t care if these folks have appropriate vehicles, and they have to go fast as they can to earn a buck,” she said.
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Long-promised tap-to-pay system for T finally approaching rollout
Stacy Thompson of the advocacy group Livable Streets and Chris Dempsey of the urban design firm Speck Dempsey join Radio Boston to discuss the MBTA's announcement that it will launch a long-delayed tap-to-pay fare system this summer.
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Boston Mayor Michelle Wu divides West Roxbury over Centre Street redesign
“For people who felt really strongly that bike lanes were the end of the world, it doesn’t matter what the data shows,” Thompson said. “At the end of the day, what we have to focus on is if the street is safer, and the answer is yes.”
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Dorchester residents weigh in on Columbia Road redesign
“There will be spaces like this where people can come and tell us what they want and what they like to see”
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Ride Island to present a public program on Cambridge street design for biking, walking, and transit
Former City of Cambridge employee and LivableStreets co-founder, Jeff Rosenblum, will speak on Cambridge's 2019 Cycling Safety Ordinance.
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House budget plan spends big on the T, funds shelter system at half of expected cost
Stacy Thompson, Executive Director of LivableStreets, joins WBUR's Radio Boston to discuss a budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year released by the Massachusetts House Wednesday which calls for nearly $200 million more in direct assistance to the MBTA than in the proposal put forth by Gov. Maura Healey last year.
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Lowering Boston speed limit won’t slow cars down without street redesign, transit advocate says
“I think this is a really good conversation to be had,” Thompson said. “Having said that, we also know that when you don’t change the roadway design, people will still speed.”
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Uber and Lyft are say they're leaving Minneapolis. Could it happen here?
First, Uber and Lyft are threatening to leave Minneapolis in May, saying it's because of new local rules imposed on the companies. Evan Horowitz of the Center for State Policy Analysis at Tufts University, Axios reporter Kyle Stokes and Stacy Thompson of the transportation advocacy group Livable Streets join the show to discuss.
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GBH Season 2024 Episode 45
LivableStreets Director of Policy Catherine Gleason weighs in on Boston's surging pedestrian deaths.
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MBTA to pay Chinese company another $148 million to get new Red and Orange Line cars by end of 2027
“This is not an isolated incident, it is indicative of a larger pattern of mismanagement of large procurement contracts,” Thompson said. “I hope this is a wakeup call that the governor and the T will be taking a closer look at similar contacts, especially the fare transformation project, which is also hundreds of millions of dollars over budget and years delayed.”
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4-Year-Old Dies After Being Hit By Vehicle In Seaport
"Every time this happens, I'm always struck by how preventable these fatalities are"
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Boston to spend $8 million to keep three bus routes fare-free
"Boston, Merrimack Valley, Worcester and many other communities across the country have demonstrated bold leadership in the face of strong skepticism," LivableStreets Alliance Executive Director Stacy Thompson said in a statement provided by Wu's office. "But the last few years, and thousands of happy bus riders, have proven that fare free buses are a straightforward way to increase transit ridership, ease financial burden for many, and bring a little joy back to the T. The success of Boston's fare free bus program is undeniable and we're thrilled that Boston is extending this program."
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Three T Bus Routes In Boston To Stay Fare-Free Until 2026
"Boston, Merrimack Valley, Worcester and many other communities across the country have demonstrated bold leadership in the face of strong skepticism," LivableStreets Alliance Executive Director Stacy Thompson said in a statement provided by Wu's office. "But the last few years, and thousands of happy bus riders, have proven that fare free buses are a straightforward way to increase transit ridership, ease financial burden for many, and bring a little joy back to the T. The success of Boston's fare free bus program is undeniable and we're thrilled that Boston is extending this program."
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Boston Mayor Wu extends fare-free bus pilot for two years at $8.4M
“Boston, Merrimack Valley, Worcester and many other communities across the country have demonstrated bold leadership in the face of strong skepticism,” Stacy Thompson, executive director of LivableStreets Alliance, said in a statement. “The success of Boston’s fare-free program is undeniable and we’re thrilled that Boston is extending this program.”
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Boston wants T buses to be free to ride. The T wants to charge. What happens next?
“Based on the governor’s public commitments, I thought that after municipalities used their own funds to prove this was viable, we would see this kind of leadership from the governor,” said Stacy Thompson, executive director of LivableStreets Alliance, a transportation advocacy organization.
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Senator Markey Legislation Tackles Skyrocketing Roadway Safety and Climate Crisis
“At the local level, cities and towns have been doing their part to reduce emissions and make our streets safer, greener, and more livable. However, without standard at the federal level, progress has been uneven. These bills fill that critical gap. We are so grateful for Senator Markey’s leadership and partnership and look forward to working with him to advance these important bills,” said Stacy Thompson, Executive Director at LivableStreets Alliance.
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FARE GAME
“There are still a lot of open questions around fare validation,” said Stacey Thompson, executive director of LiveableStreets Alliance, which advocates for “just and inclusive policies, processes, and public spaces that ensure all people have safe and accessible mobility and housing options.” Thompson continued, “There’s a colossal difference between well-trained ambassadors at rail or commuter rail stops where there is likely to be a gate as opposed to potentially having evaluation on buses.
“I don’t think there’s a practical way to put a T ambassador on the bus for fare validation.”
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Wu plans to extend fare free bus pilot
In a March 2021 report, the left-leaning Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center said transit advocates working with the Livable Streets Alliance concluded that eliminating fares on local buses would cost the MBTA $33.7 million in annual fare revenue. Another $6 million to $7 million would be lost if making buses free meant parallel-running paratransit had to be free, the report said.
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MBTA puts Band-Aids on an aging train fleet, seeing more delays by single-source supplier
“We need to fundamentally change the way the T procures services,” said Stacy Thompson, executive director of the LivableStreets Alliance. “We need competitive processes, and they need to be transparent.”
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Justice for All, and Roses Too: A Conversation with Reggie Ramos, the New Leader of Transportation For Massachusetts
two members of that new T4MA leadership team, Stacy Thompson and Alexis Walls, also serve as volunteer members of the StreetsblogMASS board of directors
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Can Bostonians learn to love the T?
Stacy Thompson of LivableStreets, a transit advocacy group, and Frank Lowenstein of the conservation group Rare join Radio Boston to discuss.
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Heat lamps at some T shelters keep Newton, Brookline riders toasty. Elsewhere, they just don’t work.
Stacy Thompson, executive director of LiveableStreets Alliance, said the nonfunctional heat lamps make waiting for a bus less pleasant, but they are just one factor in an overall uncomfortable system, especially around Nubian Station.
“This is part of a larger and more complex problem about how to make places where people wait for transit more comfortable,” Thompson said. Heaters are an issue right now, but “within six months it might be that it’s too hot and sunny, and there’s no shade.”
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What’s on your 2024 bingo card? 🔮
“How do we fund and resource a 21st century transit system?” That’ll be the million (ahem, $24.5 billion) question in 2024, according to Stacy Thompson, the executive director of the LivableStreets Alliance.
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As Green Line shutdown begins, MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng calls move "a game-changer"
Stacy Thompson is the executive director of LivableStreets Alliance, a metro Boston transportation advocacy organization to help riders move around the region. "This really kicks off the 2024 repair-the-slow-down blitz for the T. So this is the first of what will be many short shutdowns," Thompson said. She reminds commuters that this is not only the oldest part of the MBTA but also includes part of T that is the oldest subway system in the country.
"This section of the MBTA is what I like to say is the most congested. It's where all of the branches of the Green Line come together, and they are all using the same tracks," Thompson said. The upgrades provide some hope for commuters who look forward to get to work on time.
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Electric Bluebikes have hit the streets. Here's how they work
Stacy Thompson, the head of transit advocacy group Livable Streets, told WBUR’s John Bender the expansion will make Bluebikes more inclusive: “If you’re intimidated by a hill, if the length of a ride feels a little scary, an e-bike will be able to help those folks out.”
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