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Boston Public Radio full show: Dec. 1, 2021

Jim Aloisi and Stacy Thompson talked about Baker’s decision to pull Massachusetts out of a multi-state compact aimed at reducing carbon emissions in the transportation sector. Continue reading

Boston Mayor pushes for more fare-free buses

Stacy Thompson, Executive Director of community group the Livable Streets Alliance, said: “We are thrilled to hear about the expansion and extension of the free buses pilot in Boston – and we are proud that Boston has become a national leader in the free transit movement. Continue reading

Road-safety advocates push Massachusetts lawmakers to pass road safety bills as fatalities pile up

“This is the sixth year the Vision Zero Coalition has called on the Legislature to pass life-saving legislation on World Day of Remembrance. Every moment of delay adds to the devastating statewide toll of preventable traffic crashes,” said Emily Stein of Safe Roads Alliance, one of a handful of safe-streets organizations that make up the Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition. Continue reading

Wu quickly expanding reach of fare-free transit

“This is not pie-in-the-sky. These are reasonable, achievable, affordable steps to improve transit service and make us a national leader in transit,” Thompson said. “We need to dispel the myth that we need to choose between free service and great service. We can have both and we are implementing both.” Continue reading

On first full day as mayor, Michelle Wu asks City Council for $8 million to make three bus lines free for two years

A 2019 report from the transportation advocacy group LivableStreets found that more than 59 percent of riders on the 23, 28, and 29 buses were low income and more than 96 percent were people of color. Continue reading

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu Eyes Free Fares On 3 MBTA Bus Routes

“The ridership on that route is almost up to pre-pandemic levels and is now the most popular bus route in the entire MBTA system,” said Stacy Thompson of the Liveable Street Alliance. Continue reading

The latest Green Line extension delay is testing patience for locals – Boston University News Service – Boston, Massachusetts

Thompson, Executive Director of the Livable Streets Alliance, said: “As a knowledgeable advocate who knows the details of this project, I was able to get the project on track during COVID, so I don’t have to worry about this delay.” Continue reading

The latest green line extension delay is testing patience for locals

“Every project has someone complaining about something, and I don’t really see anything particularly glaring about this project,” said Thompson, an executive director at Livable Streets Alliance. “As a knowledgeable advocate, who knows the ins and outs of this project, I’m not worried about this delay because they were able to keep the project on track during COVID.” Continue reading

Boston Public Radio full show: 11/9/21

Jim Aloisi and Stacy Thompson talked all things transportation, including Beacon Hill’s response to Mayor-elect Michelle Wu’s plan for free ridership on the MBTA. Continue reading

MBTA and City of Boston Cut Ribbon on New England’s First Center-Running Bus Lane on Columbus Avenue

“This project has been a major step forward for the MBTA and Boston when it comes to closing our system’s transit equity gap,” said LivableStreets Alliance Executive Director Stacy Thompson. Continue reading

Columbus Avenue bus routes have first center-running lane in New England

LivableStreets Alliance Executive Director Stacy Thompson said 90% of Route 22 riders are people of color, a group that has had disproportionately longer commutes for decades. “Every minute” the MBTA saves riders closes that gap, she added. Continue reading

Making Society Better One Street at a Time

For Stacy Thompson of Boston’s LivableStreets Alliance, a successful street is one that you can use safely and enjoyably, without even having to think about it, just like you get running water from the tap or access to reliable weather on your phone. Continue reading

Riding Boston's New Fare-Free Bus — What Riders and the MBTA Say

It was successful, said Stacy Thompson, the executive director of the group LivableStreets. "The data is proving our assumptions correct." She said ridership is up 20% since the pilot started, and the MBTA confirms ridership on the 28 is up. Continue reading

Both Boston mayoral candidates want ‘transit equity.’ Here’s where they differ on how to achieve it

Wu has remained fairly consistent on her transportation policy stances over the last five years, while Essaibi George’s stances have evolved, according to a review of 2017, 2019, and 2021 candidate questionnaires from the Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition, which advocates for policies that reduce traffic-related deaths. Continue reading

Advocates Express ‘Cautious’ Optimism for Baker’s T Board Picks

Stacy Thompson, executive director of the LivableStreets Alliance, said she is “cautiously optimistic” that the new board will be up to the task despite no members of the Fiscal and Administrative Control Board and a gap of months between the final meeting of that predecessor panel. and the first yet to be scheduled meeting of the new board. Continue reading

Boston Councilors Delay Vote On Order To Nix Parking Requirements At Affordable Housing Projects

Livable Streets Alliance Executive Director Stacy Thompson cited St. Paul, Minnesota, and Raleigh, North Carolina, as parking reform examples for Boston to follow. St. Paul in August eliminated parking minimums at real estate developments, while Raleigh in June voted to begin the process of eliminating parking requirements at new projects. Continue reading

Baker appoints 5 to new MBTA board of directors after delay

“The appointment of the new board is a really important first step,” said Stacy Thompson, executive director of the LivableStreets Alliance. “What we need is that first board meeting to happen as soon as possible and see what their actions are going to be as board members.” Continue reading

Baker Names Slate of MBTA Board Members

"Given that there are no board members who served on the previous board and the reasonably long gap, that means that this board has a lot of catch-up to do and a lot of work to do and basically no time to do it," Thompson said in an interview. "It's not that it's an impossible feat, but it's going to be tough and it's going to take a lot of time." Continue reading

Boston Public Radio Full Show: 10/6/21

Jim Aloisi and Stacy Thompson discussed why they think the MBTA is safe, how much they think the city should spend on transportation and the plan for the Mass. Pike development project in Allston. Continue reading

Can The T Be Fixed?

“It’s safer to get on the T than it is to get in a car and go on the highway,” Thompson said. “By and large, the T is safe. But that does not excuse preventable accidents on the system. We can and need to do more.” Continue reading

Justice sought for child victims of hit-and-run crashes in Boston

Livable Streets Executive Director Stacy Thompson said in the city of Boston, there are thousands of injury crashes every year. The street-safety advocacy group has been working with cities like Boston to approach infrastructure with strategies to slow cars down. Continue reading

Advocates call for transit improvements in wake of MBTA issues

“We are here to build back trust,” said Stacy Thompson, executive director of the LivableStreets Alliance, at the briefing, adding that the coalition needs resources, support, and “governance” in its fight for better public transit. Continue reading

Public Transit Rally Held On Beacon Hill

Stacy Thompson was among the organizers and said changes need to be made. “We need our elected officials to take accountability, safety and funding seriously so that we can get the ‘t’ back on track,” she said. “Most importantly bring trust back, which we had been building with the previous control board.” Continue reading

MBTA Woes Trigger Calls For Revenue, Board Appointments

Outside the State House, Stacy Thompson, executive director of the LivableStreets Alliance, said she agreed with Baker's assertion that his predecessors should have made bigger investments in the T and showcased 30 reports assembled over the past 20 years that pointed to "chronic disinvestment." Continue reading

MBTA ridership rebounds, somewhat, from pandemic

“So, why aren’t we running as much transit service as possible, why aren’t we building as much infrastructure as humanly possible, because we already have the information that we know that people want to use those modes.” Continue reading

Advocates For More T Funding And Oversight Rally On Beacon Hill

“We have the tools,” said Stacy Thompson, executive director of LivableStreets Alliance. “We have the solutions. Now it is the opportunity of our elected officials and the State House and the governor to build back trust and to use the tools they already have in their toolkit to get it done.” Continue reading

Transportation advocates rally at State House for more funding for MBTA

“When we had a control board, every single Monday we heard from leadership, every single week we had a body that was supposed to look into incidents like this,” said Stacy Thompson of LivableStreets Alliance. Continue reading

Regularly scheduled service resumes on MBTA Red Line after train derails

Stacy Thompson: A lot in the advocacy community have been saying, look, we’ve told you. So it is never ok when a person is injured or traumatized because of a preventable maintenance issue. Continue reading

Frustrated by Yet Another MBTA Derailment, Transit Advocates Push for Change

"A huge amount of the workforce depends on the T, and if it's not safe and it's not reliable, our economy is not going to come back out of COVID, and that's going to have a ripple effect across the region and the state," Thompson said. Continue reading

Oversight of potential safety risks at MBTA stations under question after BU professor dies in fall from staircase

“It’s these kinds of intersections, roads, and staircases where we still see really bad things happen,” said Stacy Thompson, executive director of the advocacy group LivableStreets Alliance. She pointed to several other properties, including bridges over the Charles River that have shifted owners or maintenance over the years. “That is not a sustainable way to manage assets between agencies.” Continue reading