Path: ...!weretis.net!feeder8.news.weretis.net!news.szaf.org!nntp-feed.chiark.greenend.org.uk!ewrotcd!maths.tcd.ie!usenet.csail.mit.edu!.POSTED.hergotha.csail.mit.edu!not-for-mail From: wollman@hergotha.csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written Subject: Re: The insane progress nobody is talking about Date: Fri, 28 Jun 2024 03:59:22 -0000 (UTC) Organization: MIT Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab Message-ID: References: Injection-Date: Fri, 28 Jun 2024 03:59:22 -0000 (UTC) Injection-Info: usenet.csail.mit.edu; posting-host="hergotha.csail.mit.edu:207.180.169.34"; logging-data="80935"; mail-complaints-to="security@csail.mit.edu" X-Newsreader: trn 4.0-test77 (Sep 1, 2010) Originator: wollman@hergotha.csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Lines: 34 Bytes: 2807 In article , Scott Dorsey wrote: >Boston and DC both have systems built that way, with no rings at all, and >it is increasingly limiting their usefulness as fewer and fewer people are >working in the city center. Except that's not true for Boston: it's in the suburbs where the real commercial real estate crash has taken place, lots of empty space in office parks in the 495 belt because it's just too inconvenient, especially for RE that was historically dominated by industries that are still largely work-from-home compatible. Kendall, Longwood, the Back Bay, and the Seaport are all well leased and have most of the wet-lab space beloved of our principal industry. Now it would be great if the MBTA's construction costs weren't insane and they were capable of doing design and engineering work in-house so they weren't hiring outside contractors for the simplest projects. Then maybe they could actually build the North-South Rail Link at an internationally competitive price rather than trying to give New York and London a run for the Guinness world record for most expensive mile of tunnel. That might actually make some of those more suburban office locations worthwhile, if they're reasonably close to a commuter-rail line. (Many of them still aren't, but could be if the MBTA had the slightest amount of strategy.) -GAWollman (who as you can tell is quite frosty about this) -- Garrett A. Wollman | "Act to avoid constraining the future; if you can, wollman@bimajority.org| act to remove constraint from the future. This is Opinions not shared by| a thing you can do, are able to do, to do together." my employers. | - Graydon Saunders, _A Succession of Bad Days_ (2015)