Originally Posted by MassBiker
While I favor the idea of a one-fare, no transfer trip into the Boston subway from Jamaica Plain, light rail just can't be done practically on Centre or South Streets unless you take out the on-street parking, and that won't happen because the local businesses and residents will scream bloody murder.
Since that time, all those remaining rails have done is create havoc for both motorists and cyclists. With the rail only four or five feet from the parked car doors, it's almost impossible to ride outside the door zone, because if your wheel drops into that rail groove, you're going down.
Gimme a break. There wouldn't BE a business district on Centre and South Streets in JP if it weren't for the streetcar. The MBTA has done several studies showing that most people who actually LIVE in JP want the streetcar back. And lots of cyclists ride those streets every day (me included), any competent cyclist can do it. Granted, you have to be careful making turns, but it's not any harder than any other aspect of riding in traffic.
The bottom line is, that cyclists should be supportive of transportation options that get people out of their cars and cars off of the roads. "Better Transit Without Trolleys" is a group founded by a few business owners on the affected streets who think that # of customers = # of cars, clearly false in a part of Boston with one of the highest rates of non-car-ownership in the city. Don't let them fool you, most of them don't live in JP or even in Boston. They aren't interested in "Better Transit", they just want to move and park more cars.
On another note, the JP streetcar is a very specific and local issue. We should probably take any further discussion of this offline or to the political forum. Feel free to send me a private message if you like.
