Heresy, I know, but I find Mystic Aquarium in CT to be a much better experience than the one in Boston. I’ve always chalked it up to the fact that they have more square footage so can do more.

Two pieces here: First: Gardner isn’t even included in the MBTA zoning law. Fitchburg and Leominster are because they have actual train stations.

Second: Multifamily units provide more taxes to any municipality per sq/ft than the equivalent single family unit so the idea that any town or city “can’t afford” to build up is literally wrong. They cannot afford to NOT build up. Every single town and city in Massachusetts was built on a dense, multi-level core (usually mixed use) with more rural housing built around that center. The idea that we need to double down on the last century of loose sprawl that equates to a financial Ponzi scheme, requiring ever increasing subsidies to match it when the infrastructure supporting it breaks down, is foolish at best and criminally negligent at worst.

The elementary and secondary student population has declined by 20,000 students since its peak in 2000. more than that, the table shared also shows us that the same population has lost over 30,000 enrollees since the pandemic, a number which has not since recovered. Perhaps you were unaware of this information and/ or perhaps you are further unaware about continued declines nationwide in childbirths (post Roe v Wade data pending although Massachusetts will be different than states that have banned abortions). Regardless, your post comes across as either uninformed fear-mongering to protect the status quo (which is the base reason for NIMBY protectionism) or you’re aware of this data and are actively ignoring it to make your appeal seem reasonable.

I’m going to guess you’re just unaware and are not acting maliciously, mostly because you also made an argument about land availability which is not related to this legislation given that the law forces MBTA adjacent communities to change current zoning from 1A exclusivity and does not force them to build anything. It allows currently developed land to be redeveloped by right instead of being forced through a zoning appeal process which generally favors protectionism on the grounds of nebulous concepts such as “preserved character” which ignores that most places don’t require 6 story apartment blocks but instead something more akin to townhouses which are part of the missing middle that is illegal to build in most of the state due to current local zoning practices.

All things any developer would have to consider when deciding how to utilize a property. This is exactly why the law was created. The mindset has assumed that only single family detached homes are reasonable and so we’ve zoned for that exclusively. Developers could literary just build single family attached homes under the new zoning that would have been impossible before. The assumption that developers are going to spend a fortune building a property with 2000 units in a location where that demand doesn’t exist is silly. Now places can be upbuilt over time without NIMBYs shooting down anything that isn’t single family detached homes

All that’s changing is the zoning though. Developers will still have to determine if the market wants high density in a given location. The law only prevents towns from denying the ability to build densely if that’s the will of the market.

It would, but Needham is being sacrificed (necessarily) at the altar of bigger fish with more passengers and more room for passenger growth. An electrified Regional Rail with 15 minute frequencies is going to eat up even more slots than Amtrak had provisioned for. There is no future where Needham doesn’t become a shuttle service to Forest Hills at rush hour. If the whole line wants high frequencies to downtown, they are going to have to switch to rapid transit over the commuter rail.

Orange/Green. Amtrak already has claimed capacity max on the NEC in the next 15 years so Needham will become forced transfer at Forest Hills. Don’t take your time legislature

Guess I was too young and dumb to realize the possibility of a warranty but my all black Dakine from 2010 had the zipper stitching fail after 5-6 years and the top handle had already broken. I did use it every day but I replaced it with an EMS one where the top handle has failed but the zippers are still going strong.

Just like London