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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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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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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This MBTA prediction came true 👀🚇
🚇 It was the year of the shutdown. LiveableStreets Alliance executive director Stacy Thompson expected more MBTA shutdowns in 2023, and between the CVS-receipt length list of mini diversions, the Ashmont/Mattapan branch closure, and the start of 20-plus planned shutdowns through 2024, she nailed it. But she noticed a marked difference between the partial Red Line closure in October and last year’s Orange Line closure: it actually ended in better service. “The tools are going to be the same, but under new leadership, we got better results,” she said, shouting out new MBTA general manager Phillip Eng.
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Our national addiction to super-sized SUVs is killing us
“It’s why implementing protected bike lanes is so good for traffic safety, even if you never bike,” Thompson says. “If you have a road where people speed, putting in a bike lane — and, by default, narrowing the travel lane — makes cars move more slowly.”
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Advocates say Green Line closure is a sign MBTA is "getting better"
"I would say that Phil Eng is using a scalpel instead of a sledgehammer," Thompson explained.
"So, under his leadership, they are doing small sections of track at a time. Maybe it's a 3 day or 5 day or 10 day shutdown, really focusing, making sure the work is done well, and then you see immediate improvements."
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Vigils Across Massachusetts This Weekend Will Memorialize Victims of Traffic Violence
"We have straightforward ways to make our roads safer," said Catherine Gleason of LivableStreets Alliance in a press statement. "Focusing on improving road conditions and infrastructure will have a marked improvement on everyone’s experience and safety, including drivers’.”
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MBTA says it needs $24.5 billion to repair transit system
"Really for the first time in a decade, we have a sense of where we are at with the state of good repair, what needs to be fixed and how much it will cost," said Thompson. "It's a lot of work but we finally have a starting point."
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The MBTA Faces a $24.5 Billion Repair Crisis Due to Decades of Underinvestment in Boston's Transit System
Thompson underlines the significance of transparent reporting on repair needs, emphasizing that such transparency is key to the future sustainability and reliability of the public transit system.
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Monica Tibbits-Nutt permanently appointed MassDOT secretary 14:02
Thompson said Tibbits-Nutt "has a lot of respect from the environmental justice communities, frontline communities and the business community, and that is, really tough to balance."
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MBTA makes safety upgrades at Commuter Rail crossings after ongoing incidents
"These are the kinds of things we like to see the T doing," she said.
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MBTA unveils plan to eliminate all T slow zones
Stacy Thompson of the advocacy group Livable Streets and Brian Kane of the MBTA Advisory Board join Radio Boston to discuss the new plan.
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MBTA plans to eliminate slow zones by incrementally shutting down stretches of subway for repairs
“This is exactly what the riding public has been calling for for years now,” said Stacy Thompson, executive director of LivableStreets Alliance. “It’s not a sexy plan, but it’s a very practical, reasonable way to go about repairing tracks.”
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MBTA web update means riders can no longer add value to cards online
"I think a lot of people mid-November are going to be shocked that they can't do this online. And I really wish that there had been a stronger effort to get the word out."
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Pilot eyed to introduce traffic enforcement by camera in Massachusetts
"Generally, we feel that the bill that you have before you is designed to ensure that this type of camera enforcement is first and foremost used as a tool to reduce dangerous driving behavior and has several good provisions to reduce any potential harms or abuses that we have seen in other communities that use cameras,"
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Legislature’s Latest Attempt for Automated Traffic Enforcement Is Missing the Bus
"There are cameras that send people bills in the mail for their highway tolls," said Thompson. "We have automated toll enforcement, but this bill does a much better job of protecting privacy."
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Boston pedestrian deaths down, emissions lagging goal, says report
Boston has made “promising, but uneven” progress toward its 2030 mobility goals, according to a report released by nonprofit organization LivableStreets.
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