Someone in New England upset Mother Nature, but in the aftermath of 72.5 inches of snow over an 18-day period, she’s not the only frustrated one.
The third significant snowstorm in nearly two weeks hit Boston from Sunday night to Monday night, bringing 23.8 inches of snow to the region, weather.com reported, and forcing the Boston University Charles River and Medical Campuses to close Monday and Tuesday.
But perhaps the most impactful of closures across the city and the Commonwealth was the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, which shut down its Commuter Rail, trolley and subway lines on Tuesday, leaving open only limited bus routes.
MBTA General Manager Beverly Scott held a press conference Tuesday, emphatically defending the decision to close the transit system, despite backlash from state leaders including Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker. She said they took into account the enormity of the situation before closing down the majority of the MBTA systems.
“We are running an extremely aged system that is getting a pounding every single day, and we love it because we love our public, but I’m telling you, this is not a spring chicken system by any stretch of the imagination,” she said.
Scott was questioned about the schedule for reopening MBTA services, which were all reopened on a limited basis on Wednesday. In response, she said only time could tell.
“I wish I could tell you that I have a crystal ball. I don’t have a crystal ball,” she said. “These things are dynamic, and we just have to do the best that we can, working together.”
Baker, though, doesn’t see the decision as so crystal clear, calling the MBTA performance “simply not acceptable” in a Monday press conference and announcing plans to have a “long conversation” with MBTA officials.
As college students who are lucky enough to have BU Facilities shoveling sidewalks and keeping residence halls operating during major snow storms, the BU student body can’t begin to understand the clean-up efforts necessary to keep a city running when it’s covered with 6 feet of snow.
For that reason, it’s hard to doubt Scott’s decision to shut down the MBTA Tuesday. Students are slipping and sliding over the Green Line tracks running down Commonwealth Avenue. How can we expect the T to magically — and more importantly, safely — ride over that same sheet of ice?
Moreover, shutting down the MBTA was a huge financial burden. Though profit was not being made through their trolley, shuttle and Commuter Rail lines, employees were still being paid to clear off the tracks and accomplish all other snow clean-up tasks. Without a doubt, Scott’s decision could not have been an easy one.
The issue at hand, however, is not the closure of the T. It’s how the officials are choosing to speak about the decision to the public.
Both in a later Monday press conference held by Baker and in Scott’s Tuesday press conference, the leaders were clear about one item: They haven’t met to discuss the situation.
“I have had no conversation with the governor throughout the three weeks of what’s been going on,” Scott said in the conference.
In Baker’s conference, he described the MBTA as an “independent enterprise,” emphasizing the lack of involvement he’s had in the MBTA’s decision-making process in recent weeks.
Let’s face it — no one would want to be in Baker’s shoes right now. His state is facing record-breaking piles of snow, and Massachusetts residents are waiting for him poof it all away.
But regardless of his frustration, nothing will get fixed without communication.
In talking to the press over the last several days, Scott and Baker have both emphasized the need for a conversation about MBTA performance, yet it hasn’t happened.
Everyone seems to be equally stumped. These transportation systems aren’t designed to deal with these unprecedented amounts of snow. But rather than put their heads together and find a solution through teamwork and communication, the state’s leaders are pointing fingers, telling the media what they expect from the other party but not sharing what they’ll do to help those expectations come to fruition.
Residents across the Commonwealth are relying on these leaders to get the state through an unprecedented winter, and without collaboration, there won’t be results. Massachusetts leaders can continue to dig themselves out from the piles of blame, or instead, they can work together to dig the state out of the piles of snow. Maybe then, they’ll realize everyone is working toward the same destination: spring.
