When the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority began improving the Boston University ‘T’ stops last spring, the September deadline seemed quite considerate of students’ schedules. But that deadline came and went, and so did the next one in December. Now they have set a deadline of mid-March, and they must finally stick to it.
The supposed reason for all the delays is inclement weather, which everyone has suffered through lately. However, the MBTA should have planned for bad weather when setting their deadlines because weather is fairly predictable. No one was that surprised when it got hot in July, just as no one is that shocked at the snow falling now. Plus, if the MBTA had met its first deadline, or even its second, cold weather would not have even been a problem.
As the work slowly plods forward, what began as tolerable and minor inconveniences are adding up to dangerous irritations. With only one lane of traffic open on Commonwealth Avenue, traffic congestion and accidents continue. While many pedestrians clearly failed to learn from the freshman orientation video on how to cross the street, the ‘T’ construction does also create legitimate dangers and hassles.
Luckily, students cannot complain too much about construction noise drowning out their lectures in the College of Arts and Sciences since most of the work goes on from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. when the ‘T’ does not run. However, the noise probably keeps a few Warren Towers residents up when the work actually goes on. While the weather still might be causing problems, it seems that the delays also may stem from poor planning and an unexplained lack of work on some nights.
The renovations of ‘T’ stops to meet disability requirements is important work that should and will eventually get done. However, Boston residents deserve to know how long it will take. The MBTA needs to plan better and set reasonable deadlines. The current deadline now puts the work at double the amount of time originally expected. This is no small miscalculation, but grossly inept planning.
Even better than learning from its mistakes and setting realistic deadlines, the MBTA just needs to get the work done and get it done as quickly as possible. The previous work at Harvard Avenue experienced serious delays, and the MBTA needs to complete this project so it can focus on upgrading and repairing the rest of its system in time for the Democratic National Convention in 2004. After all, John Kerry will hardly be able to make it to the White House if he is backed up in all the traffic in front of Warren Towers.