Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Zippy Wednesday Morning Commute

Good morning. What a lovely, sunny day. Albeit, for those of us from the Worcester area, today will always be a sad day. This is the 9th anniversary of the Worcester Cold Storage fire. We will always remember the Worcester 6.

My commute this morning on the P508 train was zippy. We arrived to South Station at 8:21 a.m. It seemed crowded on the train, although I still think the parking lots themselves are not as crowded as they used to be. I know I would love to have an extra $10 in my wallet instead of paying to let my car sit in the Grafton lot all day long.

The Salem News reported that the Salem Parking Board voted to increase parking from $2 to $4, just like the T decided to do. Commuters are not happy.

The main story today is the Mass Pike. The Stop the Pike Hike rally is this afternoon. WHDH-TV Channel 7 aired a story about the Pike debate today, while The Boston Globe published an article about how lawmakers may consider leasing the Pike to a private entity. WBUR aired a similar report.

While it could make sense to lease something like the commuter rail system or the subway, I'm really not sure if leasing a highway makes a whole lot of sense. It seems like everyone is just running around like crazy because we are running out of money. I'm concerned a lot of bad decisions are going to be made to cover short-term budgets.

WBUR also aired an analysis of the future of the Mass Pike.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Can I just say that I have a real issue with people invading my "personal space."

I was sitting at the end of the aisle, as I always do, because I like to exit the train faster. Anyway, once we hit West Natick, this woman stopped in front of my seat. I thought she was going to motion that she would like to sit down next to me, as the middle seat was free. Instead, she proceeded to stand RIGHT OVER ME for the next 15 mins. There was plenty of room elsewhere, on the stairs, etc. She was literally standing right over me, even leaning over my head.

I have no problem when people stand in the aisles, but standing essentially in my foot area is not cool!

By the way, last night's P523 was horrible. Apparently the 4:05 was cancelled, so when we got to Back Bay, around 400 people boarded. Didn't arrive to Worcester until 6:41.

AJ said...

I was waiting for this morning's blog to drop a comment, and low & behold your talked about parking. I've moved up 2 rows routinely in the morning, parking in spots that haven't been open since gas prices started to climb last Spring. It's nice that it's less of a hike, but shows the state of things.

I was one of 100,000 people on the 506 home last night. Apparently the 415 broken down arriving at Back Bay, so they unloaded everyone already on the train. The engine could pul, but couldn't push, so they went back to South Station empty. It looked like the subway scene ending of Crocodile Dundee by the time the 506 arrived 20 minutes late. A wall of people as far as the eye could see. They managed to crowd us into the isles and vestibules. I couldn't even stand inside a car until leaving Southboro, let alone finding a seat. It was crazy!

Train Rider said...

Kidney Stones - I'm right there with you. This morning, there was plenty of room on the train, but two people jammed themselves into my three seater with me. I stared at them in disbelief. It was uncomfortable to say the least, plus one of them reeked. Ugh.

AJ - I've never parked so close to the stairs at the Grafton stop since the $4 hike went into effect. It's very helpful, especially as I run late most mornings and I don't have to bust a lung trying to run from the end of the lot to the platform.

Sorry to hear about your bad commutes, I picked the right day to drive I guess!

Anonymous said...

AJ and Train Rider:

The same thing is apparent at the South Attleboro parking lot since the $4 fee went into effect. I get a much better (closer) parking space as I arrive for the 6:42 to South Station.

Clearly, quite a few folks must now be getting dropped off at the stations and thus avoiding the $4 fee!

Also, I am trying to stock up on dollar coins, which I think are easier to use than folding up 4 one dollar bills.

BAM in RI