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The governor who rode the T to work gets his own train station
By adamg on Tue, 11/11/2014 - 8:28am
WBUR reports on the ceremony yesterday formally renaming South Station as the Governor Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center at South Station.
In addition to riding the Green Line, Dukakis also served on Amtrak's board. And when the BRA, which owned South Station, was about to have the whole thing torn down after years of neglect, Dukakis, as governor, stepped in and blocked the move. The BRA finally gave up and sold the station to the MBTA, which began the work to revitalize it.
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Comments
You know, I noticed that
new signage in front of the cab stand on Atlantic Ave the other day. I also noticed the junkie throwing up in front of it.
" I also noticed the junkie throwing up in front of it."
Because he read the sign?
Congratulations
You win the pointless and gratuitous prize for today.
And
why is that, pray tell?
Because you're the proverbial
Because you're the proverbial jackass who can only kick down a barn, that's why. Now tell yourself that on you, it looks good.
Uh-huh
Whatever that means...
Isn't it kind of insulting to
Isn't it kind of insulting to name something after someone who said they didn't want it?
The name's not gonna stick anyway. It'll be the 128 of train stations.
No,
The 128 of train stations is in Westwood.
I think you meant "the anti-128 of train stations", since 128 is a designation that is still widely used to refer to a section of road that officially hasn't been called that since the early '90s.
I think the point is that
I think the point is that everyone will continue calling it "South Station", regardless of the official name, exactly the same as with Rt. 128.
This explains all the map
This explains all the map signs in every Mbta station have been replaced last week..
Not called 128?
Maybe I misunderstood your comment, but since when is 128 not referred to as 128? What do you call it?
I don't call the road 95 (or
I don't call the road 95 (or 93), but some people do.
Route 128 vs. 95
It may be a generational thing. My son is in his late 20's and refers to the circular route around Boston as Route 95. The first few times he said it I said something like: "Wait, you were going to Dedham. How did you wind up heading for New Hampshire?"
I've never called it anything other than 128. And he never has.
128 used to start in
128 used to start in Braintree at its southern end. Now it starts in Canton, so designated in the mid-'90s. However, most people who've lived here since before then still refer to it as "128". Traffic reports on the radio still mention "128 in Braintree" all the time.
And if media reporters
in any other specality but traffic continued to use an outdated designation (like sports reporters still calling Foxboro as Schafer Stadium), they would be looking for other work.
Traffic reporters use the
Traffic reporters use the name "128" because it makes it obvious which part of I-95 or I-93 they're talking about. If they used designations that were confusing to their listeners just because they were "technically correct", they'd be looking for other work.
And what's wrong with
saying "the lower end of I-93" to refer to the Braintree to Canton section. Or stating "I-95 between Peabody and Waltham".
"Because people still call it 128" is a poor excuse to justify the laziness of our local traffic reporters. And if "tradition" is a reason to continue using an outdated designation (and one that no longer appears on the large green signs between Braintree and Peabody), then consider the "WInchester Highlands" exit on I-93. Since the exit was properly re-named Park Street when MassDOT recently updated the signing, the traffic reporters have called it just that - Park Street.
There's no LEGITIMATE reason why they can't do the same for the outdated '128' designation.
It's not tradition, it's
It's not tradition, it's precision. It means that if they're talking about Reading or Waltham they say "128" and if they're talking about Danvers or Walpole they say "95". It makes it easier for the listener to hear when the traffic reporter, speaking a mile-a-minute, is talking about the area of the highway system that affects them, rather than hearing as many as four references to "95".
Signs say I-95 (or I-93)
Mile markers reference I-95 (or I-93). All the exit numbers reference I-95 (or I-93). Therefore, precision (and common sense) dictates that the highway should be referenced by its proper numbers, instead of an outdated designation.
That makes perfect sense.
That makes perfect sense. Nobody calls that road 'Route 128' anymore. Because of the mile markers.
Way to miss my point
The signs, mile markers, and exits are all based on the current and correct I-95 and I-93 designations, which were estabilshed almost 40 years ago.
Just because people are too self-centered, lazy, ignorant, or whatever to adapt to a different designation is no legitimate reason to keep it. And idiotic traffic reporters who insist on perpetuating this are simply a part of the problem.
Way to miss MY point
Traffic reporters use the name because people use the name. That's simple economics: they are serving their market in the most efficient way possible.
People use the name because it's useful. It distinguishes between a semi-circular beltline and a north-south highway. If people are still using the name after (BOLD!) (ITALICS!) FORTY YEARS!!!, that might indicate to the disinterested observer that the name has some value. I'll value the opinion of millions of MA residents over four decades over one guy who thinks it's stupid.
South Station is now "Duke
South Station is now "Duke Depot?" It's not going to stick.
It's too bad they couldn't have named a trolley after him, or something. I think he might have like it better than this.
ugh
I liked Dukakis.. nice guy. I've met him on a number of occasions.
But seriously.. did he need South Station named after him?!? He doesn't even like it. It's not like it'll be called that anyways. I still buy my bus tickets home as "From Boston, South Station"...
As I say.. Massachusetts, where every g-d street, rotary, alley, square, tree, grassy median is named after someone.
Tourists
The locals will always call it South Station, but unfortunately the usual hordes of tourists will call it Dukakis Transportation Center, because that is what they will read or be told it is called. It will be annoying to have tourists come up and ask where Dukakis Station is.
Missing link
Interesting to note (for the umpteenth time) that the link between North and South Stations is the ONLY missing link between Maine and Florida!
Depends how you define
Depends how you define "missing". In the national rail network there is no missing link. Freight from Maine and the Maritimes moves south via Worcester, Springfield, etc. There just hasn't been a passenger train on such a route in many decades.
And Florida might be a bit of an exaggeration, considering Amtrak doesn't own any track south of DC, only runs a handful of trains (none of which come farther north than NYP), and uses the tracks of freight railroads, rather than its own like between DC and Boston. (Amtrak doesn't own anything north of Boston either, it's all the T, Pan Am, and the State of Maine).
Finally, it's not really a missing link when you can do a one-seat transfer via the subway, taking only 10 minutes.
I'm a staunch supporter of the N-S Rail Link, but the justification for it has very little to do with intercity trains, and everything to do with the T.
"taking only 10 minutes."
"one-seat transfer via the subway, taking only 10 minutes."
When do you ride, I'd love to come along... 10 minutes would require perfectly timing trains with no one in the station, and ignoring the time to get into and out of the station. Usually 20 minutes, more with any delays. When I walk fast, I can do it in 28 minutes - door-to-door. A person on foot shouldn't keep up with rapid transit over those distances.
Sure, some times you might
Sure, some times you might have to wait longer than that, but the scheduled trip time is about 8 minutes between Back Bay and North Station. It takes significantly longer during rush hour, but off peak you could easily hop off a train at Back Bay, and be at North Station 10 minutes later if you happen to catch the orange line just arriving.
Of course the irony is that
Of course the irony is that Dukakis had that North-South Rail Link in the plans of the original Big Dig. When Weld took over he killed it. I read an interview in the Globe recently where he finally agreed with Dukakis that it needed to be done. I won't hold my breath waiting for Baker to get this going again though, his answers to environmental groups seemed pretty anti public transportation.
How does it work?
How does it work when a man request to not be named after something (and he posed it as beyond reasons of modesty) get named anyways? Honoring someone who didn't want to be honored for reasons beyond modesty is ironically dishonoring him.
The biggest issue is the probability this will actually catch on. South Station is a pretty awesome name. It kinda self-defeating the honor if it every ignored by everyone in daily usage and stays only on a plaque.
It would be better if it was used something like a some kind of new Central Station (tough admittedly an opportunity like that probably won't come around for decades if at all). Well... at least it's not like how the legislature named Storrow Drive after James and Helen Storrow who spent their living days advocating against it. This feels dumb and a tinge of insult. From all I can read of that event, that was pure insult.
They should have sold the
They should have sold the naming rights to the highest bidder. That's totally the cool thing to do nowadays. Leaving things with old names that don't generate any revenue is totally lame. Weak sauce. Just think, we could be calling it the Beacon Hill Staffing Group Station. How cool would that be?
We should sell all our public places
After all, it isn't like we should expect necessary public services to be fully funded without corporate input, profits, and control being involved, amirite?
I loved what Dukakis said about
not naming things after politicians. He seemed to pretty much nail it. I think they should just name the C Line after him instead--we can just call it the Duke Line.