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damus

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Posts posted by damus

  1. GOD! I hope Lamont doesn't win. Lieiberman is so much more classier than that guy. I hope CT voters tell Lamont and Destefano thanks, but no thanks.

    Sorry, Tycoon. I can't believe there is a majority of right leaning individuals in this forum. What don't you like about Destafano? Other than his universal health care plan, I could live with him. He's apparantly big on transit.

  2. Tossing out the 2000 Democratic VP canidate and one of the few Dems in the senate that actually gets listened to by republican majority is a politcially dumb move. Lamont will have zero seniority and put Connecticut firmly on the back burner in fights for funds and power in the senate.

    Only in Connecticut could the voters be so politically tone deaf they throw out a powerful senator for a meaningless gesture on the war --which Lamont will be powerless to do anything about.

    Truly amazing.

    I agree with you here. All they're doing is potentially opening up an opportunity for a Republican to win (which I'd support) or Liberman (who I also support) to win as an independent. Ned doesn't rub off right with me at all. He seems like that annoying kid in class that no one likes because he feels like he's better than everyone. I hate how Lamont started with the attack ads then as soon as Lieberman responded in kind Ned said on a commercial that he will not stoop to his opponent's level.

  3. The Commonwealth has been working furiously to bail out Springfield. If they cannot get their own house in order I hardly see why the rest of the Commonwealth should have to fund them.

    Their portion of the line would only be $30 million. Wouldn't this commuter line make Springfield a more attractive place to do business, with direct access to Hartford and more importantly Bradley? How much does it cost to operate and maintain a commuter line?

  4. I'm curious about something. A new member came along and he's gay, which I don't really care about. I just can't help but notice that SO MANY of the posters on UP are gay. Why do gay men tend to gravitate around urbanism? Is it something in their brains? I don't mean to ruffle any feathers here. It's just kinda odd that such a small demographic makes up such a large portion of those interested enough in urban discussion to post here.

  5. Once we have a nice little Commuter run through the I-91 corridor, do you guys think that would finally merge the Hartford/Springfield areas in the eyes of the Government (or whoever does those statistics), or is it not even possible?

    It should be possible. Does Springfield want to be in the same metro or are they hung up on their individuality? Baltimore and Washington, Dallas and Fort Worth, Saint Paul and Minneapolis all share metros. It would absolutely make sense to me if these cities were lumped together into one metro. Moreso New Haven mostly due to the shared media market.

    The commuter rail is definately a step in the right direction.

  6. Rome doesn't have a subway system? Do they have light rail?

    According to this site it does...

    http://www.urbanrail.net/eu/rom/roma.htm

    The 2-line system has an X shape, with both lines meeting at the Central Railway Station Termini. The first line, line B south, was built from Termini to Laurentina for the World Exhibition in 1955 (11 km, 6 km underground). Many years later, in 1990, the northern branch to Rebibbia was finally opened (8 km, 7 km underground).

  7. The Rt. 11 completion is pretty important. Greater Hartford needs a more direct connection with Downtown New London so that people will feel like it's less of a hassle to get from here to there.

    It would benefit the entire state to finish this road and redo the flawed 95/395 interchange. They should be completing routes 2 and 6, too, but when you see this 8 mile stretch getting so much EPA criticism over a bunch of rabbits, it doesn't look like the others will be built any time soon even though I feel the others are far more important...

  8. What Atlanta needs are lines connecting the varoius suburbs. Right now, you have to take MATRA downtown and change trains if you are working in a different area. The world's truely successful lines don't rely on one focal interchange.

    Well Boston and Chicago each have sort of central hubs. While you may have more than one central interchange point, it's just as inconvenient as having a single central interchange. If you want to go from Braintree on the red line to Heath on the green line in Boston you're still going way out of the way to transfer. Boston's system is pretty successful.

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  9. Those are all wonderful renders. I hope they all get built, London's architecture quite a bit better than what we see here in the USA. Not as many "out of the box" designs, though I have seen a few. Hopefully all these towers could draw some attention away from the "egg" tower.

  10. Why ask why? Just accept the ass-backwards mentality like we do and take the lumps. I'm just kidding by-the-way, it's a question we've all asked numerous times. We've pretty much all supported light-rail, whether it's east of the city, north along the Griffin-Line to Bradley, or wherever, it just seems like those in power have different ideas than we do...

    Well the busways are cheaper to implement and have that "flexibility" that is always touted. That "flexibility" is also its downfall. Transit Oriented Development, as was already stated in this thread, thrives on permanance, not flexibility. The whole state needs to start laying the foundation for a future network, the commuter rail is a good start. I think a flashy light rail system from New Britain to Hartford would be a huge success and there would be more lines built in the future. A failed busway system would reinforce the "people don't like transit" idea that many people have.

    www.lightrailnow.org is pretty good source of information, though obviously biased and in need of a web designer.

  11. I think a New London-Mystic-Newport ferry could work.

    With the area increasingly becoming a tourist destination, I could see ferry service along the Thames River several years from now, too. I wonder if a high speed ferry would work given the twists and turns of the River and the potential frequency of ferry stops.

    Day - Transit Center Design Thrills Norwich Officials

    The new design for the parking garage of 220 to 250 spaces features large, arched openings with bars that resemble window panes. The plaza in front is a compass rose design. The front entrance would lead patrons into a ticket-purchasing area, lobby and perhaps retail shops. The entrance for Southeast Area Transit buses would be at the rear, along with the entrance to the parking garage.

    ...

    City and state officials have argued over the cost, location and features of the center over the years, settling on the site at the junction of West Main Street and Falls Avenue, across West Main Street from the marina and across Falls Avenue from Thayer's Marine & RV.

    The site would allow for future ferry or rail transportation services, if the need arises.

    The state legislature this spring approved adding $7.2 million

    ...

    The site would allow for future ferry or rail transportation services, if the need arises.

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  12. I had great pics taken from on top of the "superman" building, but lost them when my hard drive was wiped... If I pay a visit to Providence I'll be sure to see if I can see my old security buddies in 1 Financial to see if I can snag some great pics from the roof there...

    BTW, I remember when I worked security there and some guy off the street asked to go to the top floor for some pictures, and I broke the rules and brought him up to the 28th floor to take pictures of the East Side. This was over a year ago. Perhaps this was someone here?

  13. It's a sad fact if you believe that suburbanization has expedited greenhouse gasses and reliance on oil as well as taking away large tracts of public greenspace. It's a sad fact if you believe that society is becoming more solitary in nature where people isolate themselves from everyone. It's my opinion that those things are sad (although I'm no tree-hugger on the greenhouse gas issue).

    Also, er, this is an Urban website, so the intimation of me saying that it is sad would mean that it runs counter to the ideals of most people on the website.

    I agree 100%... Now and then I'll notice an SUV with some sort of environmentalist bumper sticker, it's infuriating.

    As for the "safer" argument, aren't we overprotecting our kids? Kids are sooooo cushioned today it's crazy. My generation was spoiled and cushioned, but not nearly the way these kids are. When I was growing up (and I'm only 22) kids didn't wear bicycle helmets and were allowed to walk more than 15 feet to and from their bus stop (I walked probably 1,000 feet and some people walked over a half mile to my bus stop), and many kids walked to school (even the young ones). We survived.

    In terms of cleanliness, we overprotect, too. I've read that the "cleaner" kids' immune systems are weaker than kids who played in dirt or picked their nose and ate it, and that the stronger immune systems carried onto adulthood.

    City life is only as dangerous as society allows. In the 1930s people got fed up with the violence over turf during prohibition (just like today!), and got rid of the root of the problem: prohibition. The easy thing, which most people do nowadays, is to just isolate themselves from the problems and act like they don't exist.

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