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Boston's Morning Newsletter
Here's the Red Line work the T is (and isn't) planning this fall
Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from WBUR's daily morning newsletter, WBUR Today. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here.
TGIF! While I'm happy to have a bit more sun back in our lives, I did appreciate everyone’s spooky fog photos this week, from downtown Boston to the Mass. Ave bridge to the Public Garden.
Speaking of spooky, our latest local celebrities in Halloween costumes are the New England Patriots, featuring plenty of animal onesies and wide receiver Nelson Agholor as a somewhat creepy mime.
Another weekend Red Line diversion? Yup, shuttle buses will again be replacing train service on the line's Ashmont branch Saturday and Sunday — and the closure will extend up the main line to Broadway. Trains will still run on the Red Line's Braintree branch, but riders will have to switch onto shuttle buses between JFK/UMass and Broadway.
- By the way: Remember when the MBTA briefly posted a plan in August to shut down parts of the northern end of the Red Line this fall for a bit? That's officially no longer happening. MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo confirmed to me that there won't be any "larger scale" diversions on the Red Line — at least not this year.
- The Red Line does need some work: In fact, tracking data show that speed restrictions are actually now causing more delays on the Red Line than on the Orange Line. According to Pesaturo, crews have begun work during limited overnight hours to replace rail on some particularly slow stretches through Cambridge.
- Progress? It's unclear how long that will take to complete. But TransitMatters data suggest the T did just remove a stubbornly bad slow zone Thursday between Central and Harvard.
In other MBTA news, the agency released its new bus route redesign plan Thursday after getting feedback from local residents. MBTA officials say tweaks to the initial version were made to improve access to hospitals and senior centers, reduce walking distances for older adults and preserve existing one-seat rides.
- The T also put out a really helpful interactive map of the proposed network, which illustrates the routes' hours and frequency. Even if you don't take the bus, it's a pretty cool visual to explore.
- Getting there is the problem. The T has had to roll back bus service over the past year due to a shortage of drivers, and the agency says it will need 750 more to make this plan a reality.
Sorry, DraftKings. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission isn't wavering from its plan to roll out in-person sports betting in January, followed by online and mobile sports betting in early March.
- The Boston-based mobile betting giant had asked regulators to reconsider their staggered launch plan, arguing it would give a leg up to casinos. But commissioners swiftly batted down that idea during their meeting Thursday. Given that mobile platforms dominate the sports betting market in other states, they dismissed DraftKings' competition concerns. They also said changing the timeline now could throw off the whole process.
- Also not happening: that proposed horse racetrack in Hardwick. The Telegram & Gazette reports that the town's Board of Selectman unanimously voted down the plan last night, amid vocal opposition by some residents.
This week, Cambridge became the fifth — and largest —community in Massachusetts to pass a ban on new fur sales, in the hopes of pushing residents toward more "cruelty-free" products. And supporters are hoping it's only the beginning of a bigger movement in the state.
- The details: Cambridge's ban takes effect in January. It also has exceptions for nonprofits, secondhand stores and fur used for religious purposes. According to the MSPCA, similar bans already exist in Wellesley, Weston, Brookline, and Plymouth.
- These local bans are also mostly preemptive. For example, in Cambridge, City Councilor Marc McGovern told The Boston Globe that there aren't any existing places in the city that sell fur. Still, the MSPCA says fur is surprisingly prevalent in winter clothing (think: hoods), and it's not hard to find fur stores in nearby Massachusetts communities if you Google them.
- What's next? The MSPCA says it isn't currently aware of any other places in Massachusetts actively considering a fur ban. But they say any residents interested in working on a fur ban in their community should reach out to them or to the group Fur-Free MA. There's also a bill with broad bipartisan support to enact a statewide fur sales ban, though it stalled this past session.
P.S.— Chelsea officials are trying a new strategy to reduce heat in their city. Do you know what it is? Then take our Boston News Quiz!
