Author Archives: Steve Miller

OUT OF THE SNOW, INTO THE PARKING MESS

Posted on March 16, 2015 by Steve Miller

Parking is a problem. When it snows it’s a nightmare. We start looking around, getting frustrated, maybe nasty. There seem to be parking spots everywhere except where we want to go. Parking is the explosive trap door of community transportation meetings – anything that reduces the number of spots anywhere evokes outcry. This winter’s climate […] Continue reading →

Posted in Boston Transportation, CREATING SUSTAINABLE CHANGE, news, parking | Comments Off on OUT OF THE SNOW, INTO THE PARKING MESS

PARKWAYS MOVING FORWARD: DCR is Not The Highway Department

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Steve Miller

It’s a pleasure to be able to praise a government agency: civil servants who try to live up to their public service mission are over-worked and underpaid relative to private sector peers – and always under appreciated! It’s particularly a pleasure to praise the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s (DCR), a woefully underfunded agency whose […] Continue reading →

Posted in advocacy, Commentary & Analysis, Government Reform, Road Design, ROAD DESIGN AND MODE CHANGE | Comments Off on PARKWAYS MOVING FORWARD: DCR is Not The Highway Department

PARKWAYS MOVING FORWARD: DCR is Not The Highway Department

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Steve Miller

It’s a pleasure to be able to praise a government agency: civil servants who try to live up to their public service mission are over-worked and underpaid relative to private sector peers – and always under appreciated! It’s particularly a pleasure to praise the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s (DCR), a woefully underfunded agency whose […] Continue reading →

Posted in advocacy, Government Reform, news, Road Design, ROAD DESIGN AND MODE CHANGE | Comments Off on PARKWAYS MOVING FORWARD: DCR is Not The Highway Department

OLYMPIC OPPORTUNITY? — Region Gains Only If We Demand the Benefits First

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Steve Miller

The best and perhaps only argument for holding the 2024 Summer Olympics in Boston (and Cambridge) is that the deadlines and international media scrutiny will force us – meaning city, state, and federal governments as well as local universities – to make the infrastructure investments that we already know are needed but that are unlikely […] Continue reading →

Posted in Boston Transportation, Commentary & Analysis, CREATING SUSTAINABLE CHANGE | Comments Off on OLYMPIC OPPORTUNITY? — Region Gains Only If We Demand the Benefits First

OLYMPIC OPPORTUNITY? — Region Gains Only If We Demand the Benefits First

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Steve Miller

The best and perhaps only argument for holding the 2024 Summer Olympics in Boston (and Cambridge) is that the deadlines and international media scrutiny will force us – meaning city, state, and federal governments as well as local universities – to make the infrastructure investments that we already know are needed but that are unlikely […] Continue reading →

Posted in Boston Transportation, CREATING SUSTAINABLE CHANGE, news | Comments Off on OLYMPIC OPPORTUNITY? — Region Gains Only If We Demand the Benefits First

COMMONWEALTH AVENUE: Grand Boulevard, Dangerous Street

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Steve Miller

Stretching from the Public Garden out to Weston, Commonwealth Avenue meanders past sculptured medians, historic parks, heartbreaking hills, ponds and rivers, and an enormous number of residences and businesses. Although various crossings are frustratingly congested, in general the number of cars has been steadily dropping while the number of trolley passengers, bicyclists, pedestrians, and runners […] Continue reading →

Posted in news, Road Design, ROAD DESIGN AND MODE CHANGE, safety | Comments Off on COMMONWEALTH AVENUE: Grand Boulevard, Dangerous Street

COMMONWEALTH AVENUE: Grand Boulevard, Dangerous Street

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Steve Miller

Stretching from the Public Garden out to Weston, Commonwealth Avenue meanders past sculptured medians, historic parks, heartbreaking hills, ponds and rivers, and an enormous number of residences and businesses. Although various crossings are frustratingly congested, in general the number of cars has been steadily dropping while the number of trolley passengers, bicyclists, pedestrians, and runners […] Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary & Analysis, Road Design, ROAD DESIGN AND MODE CHANGE, safety | Comments Off on COMMONWEALTH AVENUE: Grand Boulevard, Dangerous Street

WALSH ADMINISTRATION NEEDS A TRANSPORTATION MAP: Which Way On Comm. Ave. Design?

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Steve Miller

Mayor Marty Walsh visibly cares about helping underserved communities. And he is aggressively promoting the continuing building boom and accompanying (construction) jobs, as expressed in his statement to the Chamber of Commerce that “we hit the ground running…in development, education, housing, public health, and infrastructure.”  Unfortunately, it appears that the Mayor currently includes transportation as […] Continue reading →

Posted in Boston Transportation, news, Road Design, ROAD DESIGN AND MODE CHANGE, safety, TRANSPORTATION HEALTH and SAFETY | Comments Off on WALSH ADMINISTRATION NEEDS A TRANSPORTATION MAP: Which Way On Comm. Ave. Design?

WALK, BIKE, RUN: Unity and Tension In Non-Motorized Alliances

Posted on December 8, 2014 by Steve Miller

It wasn’t that long ago that Boston’s walking, bicycling, and transit advocacy groups saw each other as part of the problem. Faced with the hostile fragmentation, government policy-makers moved slowly or not at all. Boston wasn’t unusual. To the extent that cities had active transportation advocacy groups, the discordance was common. Today, urban areas (and […] Continue reading →

Posted in advocacy, CREATING SUSTAINABLE CHANGE, news, Walking | Comments Off on WALK, BIKE, RUN: Unity and Tension In Non-Motorized Alliances

THE DANGERS OF SAFETY: Why Focusing on Car Accidents May Hurt Our Health

Posted on November 18, 2014 by Steve Miller

Everyone officially puts “safety first.” Everyone wants to prevent accidents. Car crashes are treated as lead stories on TV news – the images are horrific and we all fear our vulnerability. But, in fact, our roads are safer than ever. In 1956, when Interstate construction began, the national fatality rate was 6.05 per 100 million […] Continue reading →

Posted in news, Public Health, safety, TRANSPORTATION HEALTH and SAFETY | Comments Off on THE DANGERS OF SAFETY: Why Focusing on Car Accidents May Hurt Our Health