Category Archives: Commentary & Analysis

Commentary & Analysis

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION IS PRIMARY PREVENTION: The Evolution of Public Health From Quarantines to Mass In Motion

Posted on June 2, 2015 by Steve Miller

Public Health has its origins in catastrophe, the realization that if an out-of-the-ordinary pestilence is suddenly sickening large numbers of people there must be a general cause rather than individual failures.  In contrast to Medicine, which traditionally is about treating an individual’s existing disease, Public Health seeks to keep large groups from getting sick.  In […] Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary & Analysis, Public Health, Road Design, TRANSPORTATION HEALTH and SAFETY, Walking | Comments Off on ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION IS PRIMARY PREVENTION: The Evolution of Public Health From Quarantines to Mass In Motion

THE PURPOSE OF TRANSIT: Neither Reform Nor Revenue are the Needed Starting Point

Posted on May 22, 2015 by Steve Miller

It’s now semi-official – everyone agrees that the MBTA needs both reform and revenue.  No one says (publicly) that the current T and Commuter Rail budget is too big for its mission.  And that’s where the agreement ends – with the question of what is the MBTA’s mission, vision, and values:  what exactly are we […] Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary & Analysis, Government Reform, MassDOT Transformation, transit, Transit & Livability | Comments Off on THE PURPOSE OF TRANSIT: Neither Reform Nor Revenue are the Needed Starting Point

QUESTIONING COMPLETE STREETS: An Open Letter to the Cambridge City Council

Posted on May 14, 2015 by Steve Miller

Having a vision of the kind of city you want is an essential foundation for purposeful and effective governance.  Some cities do a coherent overall process, such as Somerville’s SomerVision or Boston’s forthcoming Imagine Boston 2030.  Cambridge has constructed its vision together piecemeal, through policies around a variety of quantitative and qualitative issues.  In either […] Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary & Analysis, Road Design, ROAD DESIGN AND MODE CHANGE, safety, Walking | Comments Off on QUESTIONING COMPLETE STREETS: An Open Letter to the Cambridge City Council

JUMP STARTING COMPLETE STREETS: Focusing on Kids (and others) When Progress Slows

Posted on May 4, 2015 by Steve Miller

Every street should be safe for walking and bicycling.  This is an essential component of the Complete Streets design philosophy that has emerged in recent years as the “new normal” for roads – although the gap between policy and practice often remains wide.   Because the core issue is mobility, Advocates compliment this “everywhere for everyone” […] Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary & Analysis, Road Design, ROAD DESIGN AND MODE CHANGE, safety | Comments Off on JUMP STARTING COMPLETE STREETS: Focusing on Kids (and others) When Progress Slows

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, Commentary & Analysis, CREATING SUSTAINABLE CHANGE, 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

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

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

Project Selection Criteria: Public Hearing Testimony

Posted on July 29, 2014 by Steve Miller

The following was submitted to the state Project Selection Advisory Council at their 7/29/14 public hearing in Boston. Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this incredibly important topic. And thank you for all the work that you have already done on this incredibly complicated issue. My name is Steven E. Miller; I’m a […] Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary & Analysis, CREATING SUSTAINABLE CHANGE, Government Reform, MassDOT Transformation, Road Design | Comments Off on Project Selection Criteria: Public Hearing Testimony

EFFECTIVE AND DEMOCRATIC CITY (AND TRANSPORTATION) PLANNING: Neither Top-Down nor Bottom-Up Is Enough

Posted on March 11, 2014 by Steve Miller

The Human Scale is a wonderful movie based on the powerful insights and work of progressive urban planner, Jan Gehl; it’s now available in CD format.  Everyone who loves cities should see it.  In potently visual scenes, the film lays out his critique of today’s automobile-focused high-rise urban design, the dangers of top-down authoritarian planning […] Continue reading →

Posted in advocacy, Commentary & Analysis, CREATING SUSTAINABLE CHANGE, Government Reform, MassHighway/DOT | Comments Off on EFFECTIVE AND DEMOCRATIC CITY (AND TRANSPORTATION) PLANNING: Neither Top-Down nor Bottom-Up Is Enough