MGNA: Medford Green Line Neighborhood Alliance

Lizzi Weyant, a staff attorney who works on transportation policy for the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group, writes in an op-ed column:

“More than one hundred years ago, we established the first public transportation system in the country. It was amazing foresight, considering that in 2009, a thriving transportation system is the hallmark of a thriving metropolitan center. Public transportation gets traffic off of the roads and decreases congestion, cuts air pollution emitted from cars, decreases our dependence on oil, and gives everyone from students to working people to the elderly a safe way to get around.

“In short, whether you ride the T twice a day or twice a decade, it serves all of us. To keep the T on the right track, we need a smart, long-term investment in this system.”

Read the column here.

Why doesn’t our country have a better rail system?  Why are we so dependent on private cars?  It didn’t just happen — it was deliberately done. 

‘Taken for a Ride’, an award-winning documentary by Jim Klein, tells the story of how the automobile industry hastened a shift from public transportation to private cars through tactics ranging from cultural propaganda to ripping up tracks.

Klein gives a deeply engaging perspective on the process, using archival material, interviews, and lots of great photography.

It’s definitely a film worth seeing in this period where our own state seems unable to find the funds to pay for its own public transportation needs.

The Livable Streets Alliance will present a free screening of the film at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, August 26, at the Livable Streets office, 100 Sidney St, Cambridge.

The film is part of the Livable Streets Alliance’s StreetTalk series. Click here for more information.

Thomas Garvey of East Boston is pleasantly surprised by the new Maverick Station on the MBTA Blue Line.

He writes:

“At a time when the MBTA seems to be falling a little bit further apart every day, I thought it would be nice to give a little credit where credit is due. The new Maverick Square Station on the Blue Line has just opened in my neighborhood, and it’s pretty wonderful - far better than anyone had a right to believe it could be (the modernist bunker it replaced looks like something that crawled out of Government Center). How was this allowed to happen?

“It’s incredible how much the designers got right - even the traffic flow in the square has been improved by the new curb and crosswalk designs. Why didn’t some committee within the MBTA shoot this down? How come neighborhood input didn’t ruin the design? Clearly someone was not doing their job! ”

Read Mr. Garvey’s post and see his photos.