Christian MilNeil

Amtrak Allows Bikes on More Trains Throughout New England

Amtrak has added new in-car luggage racks to accommodate bicycles for more passengers on its Northeast Regional, Hartford Line, Valley Flyer and Downeaster routes. Several of these routes had previously not allowed bikes on their trains at all; the Downeaster had allowed bikes on its trains, but only if passengers were both boarding and disembarking […]

Christian MilNeil

September 16, 2020

Streetsblog Massachusetts |Promoted

Guest Column: ‘Walking School Buses’ Need To Be Part of Schools’ Reopening Plans

Student transportation is one of the largest budget expenses for the Boston Public Schools – and the expense and logistics of busing students is likely to be even more daunting this year, with increased physical distancing requirements from the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, many students who traditionally take buses live within walking distance to their assigned […]

Christian MilNeil

September 9, 2020

Streetsblog Massachusetts |Bicycling

Boston’s Bluebikes Bucks National Trend of E-Bike Share

Bikeshare systems across North America have been adding thousands of pedal-assist electric bikes to their fleets this summer, but the Bluebikes system of greater Boston won't be embracing this new technology anytime soon.

Christian MilNeil

September 8, 2020

Streetsblog Massachusetts |Bicycling

Boston Bike Counts Make the Case for Better Bike Lanes on Key Routes

Earlier this summer, the City of Boston published the results of its 2019 bike counts, an annual tally of bike traffic that’s conducted every June and September. And while the city is busy building new bike infrastructure in an effort to increase the number of bike trips people make across the city, the 2019 counts […]

Christian MilNeil

September 4, 2020

Streetsblog Massachusetts |Climate emergency

Electric Trucks and Buses Are Coming… Just Not Fast Enough to Save the Climate

Massachusetts has signed a multi-state pact to make zero-emission vehicles at least 30 percent of new bus and truck sales by 2030, and 100 percent by 2050 – but there’s considerable uncertainty about whether the pledge is ambitious enough to help Massachusetts meet its latest climate goals.

Christian MilNeil

August 31, 2020

Streetsblog Massachusetts |Transit

If the T Decriminalizes Fare Evasion, What’s Next for Its Transit Police?

While the Massachusetts State House ponders significant reforms to fare enforcement on the MBTA, and – in separate legislation – to policing in general, the MBTA’s in-house police force faces a reckoning. The Transit Police attracted intense criticism earlier this summer for their closures of downtown subway stations during Black Lives Matter protests and for […]

Christian MilNeil

August 10, 2020

Streetsblog Massachusetts |Bicycling

Guest Column: Biking With Babies

In the Netherlands, infants regularly ride in bikes. In the United States, there are mostly horror stories.

Christian MilNeil

August 5, 2020

Streetsblog Massachusetts |Environment

New Mass. Climate Bill Will Reduce Tailpipe Emissions

The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a significant new climate bill on Friday night that commits the state to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by “at least 50 percent below the 1990 level” within the next decade. The Senate passed a bill with similar goals at the end of January. The two chambers, which recently agreed […]

Christian MilNeil

August 3, 2020

Streetsblog Massachusetts |Parking

How Boston Drivers Stole a Public Playground

Like many parking lots, the dead-end alleyway on Foster Street in the North End is easy to overlook. It’s the kind of place that few people care about: a dead-end alleyway with trash collecting in its corners and about 18 cars parked haphazardly among its potholes. But unlike most parking lots, this small plot of […]

Christian MilNeil

July 30, 2020

Streetsblog Massachusetts |Equity

How Massachusetts is Reforming Fare Enforcement

In addition authorizing debt spending for hundreds of infrastructure projects across the Commonwealth, the multi-billion dollar bond package that the Massachusetts Senate passed earlier this month would also make significant reforms to how the MBTA enforces fare payments on its trains, buses, and ferries. The Commonwealth’s current fare evasion law sets large penalties for people […]

Christian MilNeil

July 28, 2020

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