The Third Decade

Annual ArtROX! Holiday Bazaar

The artists of Roxbury will be holding their annual holiday bazaar this Saturday. Stop by Hibernian Hall, 184 Dudley Street, from 11am to 6pm for holiday gifts and original works of art.

 

Shouting at Success

I went to the Dunkin' Donuts at Dudley Station for the first time today around 9:30am. When I walked through the door, the place was hopping with people holding their hot beverages and chatting lively. But when I joined the long line of customers, it soon dawned on me that the place was going through a mini-meltdown. Customers in line looked confused about when or whether they would be able to order and the cashiers looked overwhelmed. After about 30 seconds, a woman behind the counter yelled out to the room that it was too loud for the staff to hear new customers placing orders and that people who already had their orders should leave or else (yes, the tone really was like that).

What the hell?!

Yes, it was buzzing, but it was the noise of customers enjoying each others' company and a hot drink. The youngest person was probably in her late 20s, but there were plenty of older folks, too. It's not like these were rowdy teens just getting off a bus after school. Not only that, these were customers who were using the counters and their free time without any intention of disturbing business. That had to be the poorest of poor service I've seen in a long, long time. It's one thing to ask customers to quiet down, but another to say take your stuff and git! America shouldn't be run the hell out by Dunkin' (not that anyone really took her advice).

Aren't there known calming techniques that corporate America uses to quell a crowd? Does music or TV hush up folks? There was a TV in the store, but it wasn't on. There was also no music playing. So there had to be some other technique at their disposal other than to shout like that. At least my cashier was nice, though. She looked happy to hear me say hi and ask how she was doing. Maybe that little nuggest common courtesy will spread back through the rest of the staff.

Dumpster Diving...Really?

Given the recent stories about the proliferation of rats around the area, I'm shocked that there are people who are choosing to go dumpster diving in areas where rats would most likely be scurrying about. I get that they're making a point about food waste, but what about common sense? With swine flu and bird flu floating around, do we really need people purposely exposing themselves to another potential source of infection? Someone call the parents, the Millennials are losing their damn minds!

Goodbye, Silver Line.

When I woke up this morning and read the Globe article about how the state scrapped plans for the 28X/Mattapan Silver Line, I was both happy and curious. That proposed extension of the Silver Line never really made sense to me. I've taken the existing route between Dudley Square and Downtown many times and have always found it slow, crowded, and uncomfortable. Current Silver Line service is sporadic. It's not unusual to wait at Dudley Station for over 15 minutes for a bus to depart...if it's even at the berth. Given that the extension would be about twice as long as the current route, it was surprising to see the state try to sell this project as an improvement to the bus service that already exists.

Anyway, I was curious to see what the reader comments to the article would be. Unsurprisingly, many of them are by people who don't live in the affected neighborhoods or use the Silver Line. They label area residents as "whiners" and suggest that the Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan lost out on something beneficial. Puh-leeze. Planning to spend $147 million dollars for a new, slow bus line was ridiculous. Even as an express route with a dedicated lane, the bus would've still had to deal with Blue Hill Avenue's heavy traffic and the general lack of courtesy that most drivers show to each other. The state's idea also seemed like another temporary solution to an issue needing long-term planning and coordination: how to improve transportation to an area of Boston lacking rapid rail transportation.

Looking at the past 25 years in Boston transit, there's been an unfortunate pattern of disinvesting in routes in the urban core while investing heavily in outer areas. As Washington Street lost the Orange Line and South Huntington/Centre Streets lost the E-line (to be replaced by bus service), North Cambridge gained the Red Line extension, the new Orange Line was moved to the Southwest Corridor, and the commuter rail expanded in multiple directions. In the meantime, the Somerville Green Line extension, the Indigo/Fairmount Line, the Lynn extension on the Blue Line, and the Urban Ring have been dangled in front of area residents without significant progress being achieved. Is it any wonder that residents in dense urban areas are expressing their outrage and annoyance and demanding better ideas? Besides having poor transit options, as new residents move into urban areas they're bringing more cars to compensate for the lack of adequate public transportation and adding to congestion. The feeling I sense from a lot of people (although by no means the all) is that enough is enough.

We need something better regionally. As a Roxbury resident, I'm glad to know that organizations like the Washington Street Corridor Coalition have been working for years to advocate for improved service and coordinated planning. In addition to improved transit through Dudley Square, I also hope that Somerville, Dorchester, and Lynn are included in a regional transit update that brings more of the densest parts of Metro Boston better rapid transit options. The Silver Line was a nice try, but it's time to move forward and start thinking about how to build a more comprehensive rail network with some vision.

Uptick in the economy?

The property tax revaluation assessments are out. To my surprise, my little condo has an assessed value higher this year than last year. Is this a sign that the economy/housing market is improving or did the city change its formula for assessing property taxes this year?