I’d think Jeff Mullan would be up next as sucker — I mean secretary.
joessays
of how to integrate all forms of transportation throughout the State to evolve into an effective system. The objective should be to move people, or their capabilities, not just automobiles.
I don’t think people will sit back and remember how the transportation department thrived and had a vision under his stewardship.
kaj314says
From what I heard Cohen was shuttling back and forth to New York and never made himself a presence here. Might have been a good choice on paper, but execution and commitment seemed lacking IMO.
scoutsays
Nice Friday news dump, Mr. Secretary. Keepin’ it classy ’till the end…
p>hey guys, if i resign on fri necn will probably not be able to cover my ignominious tenure as Secretary as much…cause of all the 9/11 families and stuff they probably have booked. What do you think?
<
p>PS. I have met my Waterloo, and the bell TOLLS for me…;)
<
p>
markbsays
At least there are no more problems at the MBTA, now that Dan Graubauskas is gone.
frankskeffingtonsays
…as critical as I’ve been in the past and happy to see him leave…now we have absolutely no one driving this huge transportation bus and it’s heading down a cliff…
So he’s not “quitting” as much as he’s leaving 11/1/09 when the consolidation happens. Probably as good a time as any from his perspective, and it gives someone the opportunity to make the new entity his/her own.
<
p>I can totally see why he’d leave now since it’s a natural breaking point and it gives him a good cover story.
<
p>If Mullan comes in, it seems he’s not as controversial (although I don’t know much about him) and could have some credibility. I recall that there was blood in the water from the time Aloisi arrived; dunno if Mullan gets the same treatment.
<
p>This is also potentially (but far from certainly) good for Deval. Why? Because if the new chief is below the radar screen, that’s a political plus for Deval because he can claim “I reformed it!” and there won’t be the Aloisi distraction. And it gives Deval the ability to respond to any transport allegations with “Big Dig Charlie” assertions.
<
p>Should be interesting.
shillelaghlawsays
cater68says
Did Aloisi walk out of Ten Park Plaza or slither out on his belly?
johndsays
If we look a the other states, what type of person makes the best transportation secretary?
stomvsays
We need the combination of vision and salesman, with the ability to hire management who shares his vision and has the appropriate financial, engineering, and personnel expertise.
<
p>The vision: for improved flow of people, it is essential that we reduce the one-man-one-auto method. With a leader who believes that to his core, and a management team on board, each manager uses the tools at his or her disposal to move in that direction. For highway, anything from HOV to HOT to HOFET* to park-and-ride. For local streets, reducing the supply and increasing the price of parking. For buses, it’s all about BRT, implemented intersection by intersection, segment by segment. For street cars, signal prioritization. For subway, improved QOS means lower variance on interarrival time. Commuter rails: run on time, more often, with fewer empty seats. Throw in improved bicycle and pedestrian facilities, and reduced or eliminated minimum parking requirements in zoning and you find there’s lots of tools. Mix in a little telecommuting, off-peak scheduling, higher speed rail on Acela, a Boston to Albany route, a route northbound, a North-South Rail Link, moving more freight by rail instead of highway, increased gas tax, and we’re in business.
<
p>It’s not going to happen all at once, but vision and salesmanship, good management, and the ability to coordinate with municipalities to share the responsibility is essential — as is being in the department long enough to see the vision through.
<
p>
<
p> * A stomv invention to be detailed some other time
somervilletomsays
Whatever else, the new executive needs to be a frequent, regular rider.
somervilletomsays
Whoever replaces Mr. Aloisi — temporarily or permanently — must depend on public transportation to get to and from his or her office and the many events and meetings they attend.
<
p>No car allowance. No special vehicles, no matter how energy-efficient. If a security detail is needed, provide one. If the new secretary had to rely on a bus or train to get from one downtown meeting to another — or to get from a suburb to a morning meeting — then he or she might argue more persuasively about public transit needs.
<
p>I am convinced that if the top brass of the transportation agency had to use the MBTA every day, a welcome change in attitude, culture, and performance would result.
<
p>I note, because I remember, that MBTA performance in general and the Green Line operations in particular (especially the D and C lines) were dramatically better while Mike Dukakis (who lives in Brookline and used the MBTA whenever possible) was Governor.
<
p>Does anybody know how often Governor Patrick uses public transit? At least for the moment, the monkey seems to have landed on his back — perhaps this is a good time for the Governor to get some first-hand MBTA ridership experience.
stomvsays
I think it was probably a bad idea to refer to Governor Patrick as a monkey.
somervilletomsays
“The monkey” is the burden of running solving the MBTA crisis. If I had meant to refer to Governor Patrick, I would have written “on his own back”.
I’d think Jeff Mullan would be up next as sucker — I mean secretary.
of how to integrate all forms of transportation throughout the State to evolve into an effective system. The objective should be to move people, or their capabilities, not just automobiles.
I don’t think people will sit back and remember how the transportation department thrived and had a vision under his stewardship.
From what I heard Cohen was shuttling back and forth to New York and never made himself a presence here. Might have been a good choice on paper, but execution and commitment seemed lacking IMO.
Nice Friday news dump, Mr. Secretary. Keepin’ it classy ’till the end…
re: SecTRAN step down
<
p>hey guys, if i resign on fri necn will probably not be able to cover my ignominious tenure as Secretary as much…cause of all the 9/11 families and stuff they probably have booked. What do you think?
<
p>PS. I have met my Waterloo, and the bell TOLLS for me…;)
<
p>
At least there are no more problems at the MBTA, now that Dan Graubauskas is gone.
…as critical as I’ve been in the past and happy to see him leave…now we have absolutely no one driving this huge transportation bus and it’s heading down a cliff…
I guess Deval is at the wheels now?
So he’s not “quitting” as much as he’s leaving 11/1/09 when the consolidation happens. Probably as good a time as any from his perspective, and it gives someone the opportunity to make the new entity his/her own.
<
p>I can totally see why he’d leave now since it’s a natural breaking point and it gives him a good cover story.
<
p>If Mullan comes in, it seems he’s not as controversial (although I don’t know much about him) and could have some credibility. I recall that there was blood in the water from the time Aloisi arrived; dunno if Mullan gets the same treatment.
<
p>This is also potentially (but far from certainly) good for Deval. Why? Because if the new chief is below the radar screen, that’s a political plus for Deval because he can claim “I reformed it!” and there won’t be the Aloisi distraction. And it gives Deval the ability to respond to any transport allegations with “Big Dig Charlie” assertions.
<
p>Should be interesting.
Did Aloisi walk out of Ten Park Plaza or slither out on his belly?
If we look a the other states, what type of person makes the best transportation secretary?
We need the combination of vision and salesman, with the ability to hire management who shares his vision and has the appropriate financial, engineering, and personnel expertise.
<
p>The vision: for improved flow of people, it is essential that we reduce the one-man-one-auto method. With a leader who believes that to his core, and a management team on board, each manager uses the tools at his or her disposal to move in that direction. For highway, anything from HOV to HOT to HOFET* to park-and-ride. For local streets, reducing the supply and increasing the price of parking. For buses, it’s all about BRT, implemented intersection by intersection, segment by segment. For street cars, signal prioritization. For subway, improved QOS means lower variance on interarrival time. Commuter rails: run on time, more often, with fewer empty seats. Throw in improved bicycle and pedestrian facilities, and reduced or eliminated minimum parking requirements in zoning and you find there’s lots of tools. Mix in a little telecommuting, off-peak scheduling, higher speed rail on Acela, a Boston to Albany route, a route northbound, a North-South Rail Link, moving more freight by rail instead of highway, increased gas tax, and we’re in business.
<
p>It’s not going to happen all at once, but vision and salesmanship, good management, and the ability to coordinate with municipalities to share the responsibility is essential — as is being in the department long enough to see the vision through.
<
p>
<
p> * A stomv invention to be detailed some other time
Whatever else, the new executive needs to be a frequent, regular rider.
Whoever replaces Mr. Aloisi — temporarily or permanently — must depend on public transportation to get to and from his or her office and the many events and meetings they attend.
<
p>No car allowance. No special vehicles, no matter how energy-efficient. If a security detail is needed, provide one. If the new secretary had to rely on a bus or train to get from one downtown meeting to another — or to get from a suburb to a morning meeting — then he or she might argue more persuasively about public transit needs.
<
p>I am convinced that if the top brass of the transportation agency had to use the MBTA every day, a welcome change in attitude, culture, and performance would result.
<
p>I note, because I remember, that MBTA performance in general and the Green Line operations in particular (especially the D and C lines) were dramatically better while Mike Dukakis (who lives in Brookline and used the MBTA whenever possible) was Governor.
<
p>Does anybody know how often Governor Patrick uses public transit? At least for the moment, the monkey seems to have landed on his back — perhaps this is a good time for the Governor to get some first-hand MBTA ridership experience.
I think it was probably a bad idea to refer to Governor Patrick as a monkey.
“The monkey” is the burden of running solving the MBTA crisis. If I had meant to refer to Governor Patrick, I would have written “on his own back”.
<
p>Isn’t this like “lipstick on a pig”?