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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
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In article <v5knpl$ss2$1@panix2.panix.com>,
Scott Dorsey <kludge@panix.com> 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)