{"items": [{"author": "Jonah", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeff-kaufman/friday-september-10-2010-/427104746212/?comment_id=427126846212", "anchor": "fb-427126846212", "service": "fb", "text": "Whoops, I deleted the thing I posted, and the link didn't work anyway. Oh well. How are you Jeff?", "timestamp": "1284137553"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeff-kaufman/friday-september-10-2010-/427104746212/?comment_id=427135416212", "anchor": "fb-427135416212", "service": "fb", "text": "@Jonah: I think this is what you wrote the second time:

\"\"\"
I learned recently that the New York City rapid transit system was also much more extensive in the 30s and 40s, and that since then line after line has been closed down with only a handful of new stations built. This is mostly because many of the lines were elevated, which is hugely ugly to have right in the middle of a city, and also redundant because the city had more recently built subway lines that directly competed. Jeff, I don't know if your knowledge/interest covers NYC, but if it does then here's a map from 1939:

www.nycsubway.org/perl/caption.pl?/img/maps/system_1939.jpg

When are the MBTA extensions you mentioned due? Will they run four times as many buses? That would be nice.
\"\"\"\"", "timestamp": "1284139576"}, {"author": "Anna", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeff-kaufman/friday-september-10-2010-/427104746212/?comment_id=427135921212", "anchor": "fb-427135921212", "service": "fb", "text": "They turned the one that goes through Bedford and Lexington into a bike path that goes all the way into Boston!", "timestamp": "1284139652"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeff-kaufman/friday-september-10-2010-/427104746212/?comment_id=427137681212", "anchor": "fb-427137681212", "service": "fb", "text": "@Anna: the minuteman bikepath mostly just goes to alewife. From there it technically continues a ways past davis (though not all the way to boston) but it's much slower and not really worth it. For the bit between alewife and lexington, though, it's very good and very fast.

My hypothetical extension, and also the mbta's plan if they do a red line extension, is to dig up the bike path, put in a tunnel, then rebuild the path. From the mbta's pmt, chp6 p28 http://www.ctps.org/.../1_studies/3_transit/pmt/PMT_Ch6.pdf:

\"\"\"\"
An extension of the Red Line beyond Alewife is
another potential rapid transit expansion in the
Northwest Corridor. This expansion has been
the subject of periodic review since it was removed
from the Red Line extension project in
the 1970s. This would be an 8.3-mile extension
from Alewife Station in Cambridge to Route 128
via the former Lexington Branch railroad alignment
(now the route of the Minuteman Bikeway).
It would include five new stations in Arlington and
Lexington, with a major park-and-ride facility at
the outer terminal. It is envisioned that this line
would be below grade, and the recreational trail
would be reconstructed over the tunnel roof.
\"\"\"\"", "timestamp": "1284140071"}, {"author": "Anna", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeff-kaufman/friday-september-10-2010-/427104746212/?comment_id=427138966212", "anchor": "fb-427138966212", "service": "fb", "text": "To us, alewife is pretty much boston, hahahahah but it would be really cool if they extended the T! A lot of people living in Arlington and Lexington take the bus to alewife and the T into boston for work, so it would definitely be used!", "timestamp": "1284140280"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeff-kaufman/friday-september-10-2010-/427104746212/?comment_id=427143931212", "anchor": "fb-427143931212", "service": "fb", "text": "@Jonah: boston has also abandoned a lot of elevated lines. There used to be an elevated line on atlantic av, that is now entirely gone. The orange line used to be elevated along most of it's route, and when they tore down the elevated portions they rerouted it to be along existing rail lines, abandoning several areas of high ridership, notably dudley sq. see: http://upload.wikimedia.org/.../2/2f/BERy_1925_map.jpg

The only extension that I've talked about that has a firm timetable is the green line extension to medford. That's supposed to be built out to college av by 2015. The blue line extension to lynn has been under consideration for about 60 years, but may be picking up steam again. 2020 at the earliest. Right now they say they're \"focusing on the green line extension\". There's also a 0.4 mile blue line extension planned in downtown boston to connect to the red line at charles/mgh.", "timestamp": "1284140923"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeff-kaufman/friday-september-10-2010-/427104746212/?comment_id=427146481212", "anchor": "fb-427146481212", "service": "fb", "text": "@Anna: The 79, 77, 76, 62 buses all could be substantially replaced by subway service along the bikepath route.

Along the watertown/waltham route you'd be roughly replacing the 558, 556, 70, 70A, 71.", "timestamp": "1284141426"}, {"author": "Rick", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeff-kaufman/friday-september-10-2010-/427104746212/?comment_id=427380671212", "anchor": "fb-427380671212", "service": "fb", "text": "The story I heard about why the red line wasn't extended to Arlington Lexington when it was majorly upgraded in the 70s is that the residents of those", "timestamp": "1284212023"}, {"author": "Rick", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeff-kaufman/friday-september-10-2010-/427104746212/?comment_id=427381401212", "anchor": "fb-427381401212", "service": "fb", "text": "The story I heard about why the red line wasn't extended to Arlington and Lexington when it was majorly upgraded in the 70s is that the residents voted it down because they didn't want undesirables popping up in the middle of their towns. Can we please turn on the \"If\" machine to see what things would look like now if the vote had gone the other way?", "timestamp": "1284212239"}, {"author": "Anna", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeff-kaufman/friday-september-10-2010-/427104746212/?comment_id=427389166212", "anchor": "fb-427389166212", "service": "fb", "text": "I completely agree. Anyone can take the bus and anyone can take the subway. Plus the subway is more permanent so it would attract a more permanent economy in the area!", "timestamp": "1284214448"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeff-kaufman/friday-september-10-2010-/427104746212/?comment_id=427764626212", "anchor": "fb-427764626212", "service": "fb", "text": "@Rick: that's roughly what I've heard too", "timestamp": "1284314271"}]}