Our Legislature is a plodding, ineffectual beast. A Democratic supermajority that acts like a formless, centrist blob. Maybe the fact that it’s lead by a pair of septuagenarians has something to do with it.

Wu backed off bike lanes last year. Now what? - The Boston Globe It would be unfortunate if the mayor allows rancor over speed humps and bike lanes to block the kind of safety upgrades that are still needed across the city.

Very impressive OpEd by @bostonglobe.com noting that @wutrain.bsky.social ran on long overdue street safety updates, delivered on her promises with road diets, better bike laces, and dedicated bus lanes and then decided to stop

She won in a landslide, now what?

www.bostonglobe.com/2026/03/09/o...

🚨🚨🚨State Senator Jason Lewis will not run for re-election! #mapoli

Ever since the January storm the Haverhill Line is a total mess. Regular issues with the crossings. Equipment shortages. Delays. Trains to and from Reading are particularly getting shafted by regular cancellations. I think my morning train’s cancellation rate is something like 20%. #mbta

95 fewer homes in the name of neighborhood character.

You wouldn’t know it to look at the MA Legislature though. They seem to view the MBTA Communities law as “mission accomplished”.

Also, the wheel flats are dreadful. The train sounds like a machine gun.

I think the Legislature and the MA government is under-estimating and out-of-touch with just how much grassroots anger there is about energy prices. People are ready to burn National Grid to the ground. #mapoli

Well…Ed Flynn.

The Legislature-related ballot questions are a great measure of how irritated and disaffected MA is with its Legislature. How Spilka and Mariano think they’re deserving of continuing to serve, I’ll never know.

The braking on the Orange line is something. We’re all rocking in our seats. #mbta

100 arrests, 82 warrants, and 40 traffic citations. That's unreal.

🗣️ Boston: Your voice is needed!
On Dec 9 at 2 PM, the City Council is holding a hearing on removing parking minimums for new housing.

This is your chance to weigh in on Boston’s future. 🏙️
More info 👉 www.abundanthousingma.org/action-alert...

#bospoli #mapoli #housing #Boston

A core part of the Democratic platform is that government can improve citizens’ lives. Taking 6 years to redesign a road makes a mockery of that, and exemplifies everything the Republican platform would tell you about government’s dysfunction. We need to do better.

Paying With Their Time: Increasing Traffic Congestion Erodes Benefits of Boston's Fare-Free Buses - Streetsblog Massachusetts Mayor Wu's press office avoided several inquiries from StreetsblogMASS to discuss the worsening delays in MBTA bus service over the course of her first term.

Worsening traffic congestion and the removal of critical bus lanes means that @mbta.com bus trips on Boston's highest-ridership routes take, on average, 15 percent longer than they did when @mayorwu.boston.gov took office 4 years ago.
#mapoli

mass.streetsblog.org/2025/11/19/p...

If that’s not an indictment of US driving culture I don’t know what is. “Drivers may not like these cars because they drive safely”.

I hadn't thought about Senator Angus King in a long time before this cave, and then I looked up that he just won re-election in 2024 and the guy's 81 years old. I'm so purely frustrated at the gerontocracy - the whole cadre of them too big to list here. They won't give up and yet keep not dying.

I swear, some CR trains’ wheels are so rough that it feels like you’re riding over gravel. #mbta

We can tackle climate change… as long as doing so has zero economic impact and doesn’t inconvenience us whatsoever. It better not cost more than a Spotify subscription.

Editorial: Bike Lane Haters Keep On Losing - Streetsblog Massachusetts As it turns out, a considerable number of informed voters understand that if we actually want less traffic, we need to design streets that favor more efficient modes of transportation.

Editorial: Bike Lane Hating Politicians Keep On Losing -
As it turns out, a considerable number of informed voters understand that if we actually want less traffic, we need to design streets that favor more efficient modes of transportation.
#mapoli
mass.streetsblog.org/2025/11/05/e...

It’s time for new blood. Spilka is 72, Mariano is 78. They’ve been in the Legislature for 60 years between them. They’ve done their bit and now it’s time to pass the baton for a new era that seems beyond them. #mapoli

This encapsulates many of the MBTA Communities law's problems - pure "malicious compliance". Marshfield has treated zoning for housing as though zoning for radioactive waste, talking only of "minimizing impact". They've structured the district to make sure the least housing gets built. #mapoli

My frustration with Markey running for re-election only grew after I saw Chuck Schumer (age 74) successfully recruited Janet Mills (age 77) to run for Senate in Maine. She will be 79 when she's seated, if she wins. The oldest freshman senator ever. Why is the party so damn old?

We all tend to be very loud when things are bad but then very quiet when they improve, don't we? Just a couple of years ago the system barely functioned.

Why the Democratic supermajority on Beacon Hill won't pass Democratic bills - CommonWealth Beacon Sooner or later, enough people will learn how democracy in Massachusetts is a lie. When they do, leadership’s iron grip will crack, not because those in power wanted to change, but because voters fina...

MA has one of the most heavily Democratic legislatures, but the lack of small "d" democracy makes progress slow. #mapoli

commonwealthbeacon.org/opinion/why-...

Cape Cod Bridge Filings Reveal MassDOT Does Not Intend to Obey State Climate Laws - Streetsblog Massachusetts MassDOT's projections of increasing car traffic to Cape Cod are incompatible with a future where the region isn't inundated by rising seas.

Cape Cod Bridge Filings Reveal @massdot.bsky.social Does Not Intend to Obey State #Climate Laws
#mapoli

mass.streetsblog.org/2025/10/09/c...

A really unfortunate thing about these at North Station is how long they take to validate a QR code ticket. Maybe a full second. That doesn’t sound like much, but it is when two trains are unloading at the same time and hundreds of people are trying to get out the gates.

They so badly need more of those CRRCs in service.

Joe Manchin Would Like a Word. (OK, Maybe Several Words.)

Even retired, Joe Manchin is still a self-deluded schmuck. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/u...

I think the Red is doomed to a certain amount of terribleness until enough CRRC trains come online. Rolling stock is just too old.