Some in JP grumble over lack of meetings about new Hubway stations

Get over yourself. The anti-car self-righteousness is so tired around here. You never ride in a cab, take a bus or go anywhere in a vehicle? The hypocrisy astounds me! Universal Hub should be renamed Universal Spoke... everything revolves around hatred for motorized vehicles and a weirdly holy reverence for bicycles.

Classism. Particularly acute in the Boston area. If you're white, actually grew up in the city [not just Boston, could be in reference to Cambridge, Somerville, etc.], and are 'lower class' [anything precieved to be non 'professional', which in 2013 translates into anything non-white collar office / academia], you're 'trash'. If you God forbid have an accent different from that spoken in wealthy suburban Connectitcut, or Weston, Newton, etc. [especially the dreaded non-rhotic Boston or NYC accents], you're un-cultured and un-educated. If you get a coffee at Dunkin Donuts or God forbid 7-11, you're obviously lower class and un-hip. Get a coffee usually made from overly burnt coffee beans, or coffee 'drink' at Starbucks or an approved local coffee establishment [if they have organic tofu muffins made by a lesbian owned and operated Vermont farm, they are automatically approved], you're 'cultured'.

South Boston epitomizes to a certain class of people all that is un-PC about Boston; it's a traditionally mostly white 'ethnic' [unfortunately it has many of the un-chic kind of white ethnics, Irish and Polish] inner-city neighborhood. This obviously can't stand. Obviously those local white 'trash' are racist, homophobic, sexist, and have horrible, uncouth accents. How dare they complain. Now the folks complaining in JP are probably [from my experience] 'new commers', 'gentrifiers', 'professionals' ; they are cultured, 'speak well' [i.e., they don't have an accent, or think they don't], come from somewhere else [i.e., they aren't a dreaded 'local'].

The Boston Architectual Center [or whatever their name is today] were once sued for actively descriminating against white 'locals' from the Boston area, Irish and Italian descended locals were in particular referenced. And they lost in court. The court agreed they did actively descriminate against locals in their admissions process, appaarantly desiring a high degree of 'diversity', especially students from outside Greater Boston, the state. The locals are not exotic enough. Classism is alive and well in America, it's just unlike for example the UK [where it's very much openly discusssed and acknowledged], we Americans like to pretend we don't engage in such descrimination, we're above all that. No we aren't. I've lived in various parts of the U.S., and over-seas in Europe. It's an issue everywhere I've lived. Doesn't matter if you're in Los Angeles, Paris, or Boston.

Now if people with a Boston or NYC accent think they get shit on, try dealing with a strong southern accent, regardless of how educated and cultured you are.

Just saying.

I think Hubway is great. Can't wait until they make it to Roslindale. I plan on biking to and from Forest Hills as much as possible, maybe even beyond. Still, one of the basic rules of local government is to have a meeting about a plan. From the story, it looks like they skipped that step. I don't see the station going in in front of the post office to say the least.

I did just visit the courbanize website, and from what I can figure, they are sticking a hubway spot on top of the Casey overpass and another one in the Middle of Hyde Park Ave.

Seriously, though, the site does not show the locations of the planned spots. (My guess is that they will be to the north of the Orange Line entrance.)

Nicole Freeman looks bad on this. Not only did she not have the meeting that everyone wants (well, the people who gripe about these things, at least) but she didn't want to talk to the local newspaper, you know, the one who should have published the silly "go to this website if you're interested" notice.

Remember, I'm not anti-Hubway. The process in this case was a steaming pile of something. Schedule a meeting, get a space, send a notice to the Gazette (and, and, there's someone else, right) put the notice on web pages, Boston Bikes, and so on. This isn't the Casey overpass. Some tweaks could have calmed people. The process works when it is followed. It really does. Unless it's something like the Casey Overpass or Green Line restoration, but come on, this is a bike station.

I don't understand why people who ride a bike are more important than everyone else.