Is $10 billion enough?

including the T, that didn't add any real capacity? 50 billion to put that elevated stretch of the artery downtown underground...yes, it was a beautification project that's resulted in a strip of parkland that almost nobody uses because it's stuck between two heavily trafficked streets, and one extra traffic lane in the underground highway. 50 billion dollars.

The MBTA:

Why was the blue line built and then just ended at Bowdoin and Wonderland? Why was the greenline stopped at Lechmere instead of extended as a transit line into East Cambridge and Somerville? If you get on a greenline train today most the trains end at Government Center! Never mind the fact many people go on to North Station and Lechmere [I go on to N. Station so often must wait to go a few more stops], and they can't even manage to get that right. I guess they assume 95% of the tourist are getting off at Government Center so F it. Why hasn't the orange line made it's logically extension to Hyde Park/Readville, West Roxbury, etc., with room to run express trains? It's the reason why F.Hills and Washington St. is such a clusterF and 'kids' hang out causing trouble. I understand why this wasn't done in the past, but the past is long gone. It's silly that a major transit line just ends at F. Hills and was never extended as population and neighborhoods grew. People in H.P., Roslindale, W. Roxbury might also be able to stop paying $176. a month or more for commuter rail zone 1 and 2 passes and settle on a simple 70 buck combo pass like everyone else in the city limits. The streets are also too crowded for all the buses. Why hasn't the Fairmont Line been turned into a regular transit line to service the heart of the city? Boston's transit lines look like they simply stopped logically expanding 75-50 years ago, and every transit project since then has been about making things look prettier, more 'green' or complaint with the federal disabilities act.

And there's a simple disconnect and lack of logical coordination between the independent municipalities within Greater Boston, even within the inner urban area like Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Somerville, Malden, Revere, Everett, Chelsea, Quincy, etc., If this were almost anywhere else, they would have been combined into one big city [like Toronto and Montreal did a decade or so ago up in Canada, like Houston down in Texas has done a million times]. Do people realize how geographically small the City of Boston is compared to comparable cities? Baltimore is over 60 sq miles in land area, Washington DC almost 60, Atlanta [which has a much smaller population vs Boston, 430,000 vs 625,000] is 130 sq miles in land area, Louisville,KY, Memphis,TN both well over 100 sq miles in land area, the list is endless...and Boston stopped at 48 sq miles in land area, Hyde Park being the last surrounding town incorporated into the city. Seattle is like 90 sq miles in land area, roughly twice the size geographically of Boston. Imagine All of Boston, Brighon/Allston, H.P., Roslindale, West Roxbury, J.P., Dorchester,Roxbury,S. Boston, south end, North end, Back Bay, Charlestown, etc., being twice the size geographically as it is now, with the same population...you just imagined Seattle. Only S.F. is comparable to Boston or vice-versa as far as big cities go in America, in fact San Francisco is slightly smaller geographically than Boston.

Our road system is a clusterF, and should have been logically modernized and extended where necessary to add capacity, not just to beautify things and comply with this or that federal 'green' legislation [then of course the federal funding would have evaporated, I understand].

Our transit system is a clusterF primarily, IMO, because it stopped logically expanding [minus commuter rail] and add more capacity to deal with increased demand as the population of metro Boston grew and grows. All transit projects seem to be about solely complying with the federal disabilities act [literally millions of $ so maybe a few dozen people can use a transit station more comfortably] or essentially beautification projects. No money to actually expand and add capacity to the system, especially the core. Now compare the MBTA to the D.C. Metro...that's a system that's designed for a modern late 20th-21st century city. We're stuck with a early to mid 20th century designed system.

And our roads aren't much better. And the $ cost of really improving and God forbid expanding is prohibitive primarily because of all the red tape and regulations at both federal and state level. I understand engineers, accountants, lawyers and unions make big $ off the status quo. I understand 'advocates' for this or that get their brownie points and pad their resume every time a 'green' project or 'disabilities' project gets built. I understand the typical politician is owned by these various special interest groups. But the average citizen gets screwed, per usual.

Can we at least wait till Congress sorts out the debt ceiling? Please.

"New MBTA Red and Orange Line Cars ($1.5 billion)...Green Line Cars ($732 million) – The cars will be made in Massachusetts, supporting the local economy."

Uh oh. Didn't the T learn their lesson from the Hyundai-Rotem commuter rail coach debacle? When companies have to reinvent the wheel and tool a factory from scratch, it's no surprise when it leads to huge delays and cost overruns.

Yet instead of buying off-the-shelf rail cars from trusted manufacturing plants, the T is going to insist that someone build a brand new railcar factory in Massachusetts?