Gov. Patrick Wants $40M In Unused Snow Funds to Go to MBTA
Should the money go to the MBTA as Governor Deval Patrick proposes, or do you have other ideas for it?
Gov. Deval Patrick joins Lt. Governor Tim Murray at the groundbreaking ceremony for the CSX Transportation Intermodal Terminal in Worcester on Monday, June 6.
Matt Bennett/Governor's Office
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With a winter of record high temperatures at least partially behind Massachusetts, the state government has only used about $10 million of the $50 million set aside for snow and ice removal, according to a Fox News article.
Governor Deval Patrick wants to give that money to the MBTA, as mentioned in this Boston CBS article.
The fix he is referring to is the MBTA's estimated $161 million projected budget deficit for fiscal year 2013, but we at Patch are wondering if you see other things that need fixing. Where do you think the money saved this year should go, and why? Leave a comment and let us know.
Joe Murphy
11:57 am on Saturday, February 25, 2012
This would be a total waste of funds. That money should be earmarked for elderly services and/or education. The T should be privatized, as it is a lame duck organzation that will never ever pull itself out of the hole it is constantly in. The services continually go down and the cost goes up. Put the money where it hasd a chance to work properly
Adam J. Kessel
4:14 pm on Saturday, February 25, 2012
Absolutely it should be given to the T. Cutting service (or raising fares, which will similarly cause people to shift from transit to driving) will have major negative effects on our economy. Traffic and pollution both drag down productivity and reduce quality of life.
For what it's worth, I disagree entirely with Joe -- to my knowledge, no mass transit system has ever been successfully privatized, and there is no economic evidence to support the proposal. The T is saddled with big-dig related debt that it shouldn't be carrying, and struggles with pension obligations that are also a major drag on current operations. But for these factors, it would be in a position to provide excellent, efficient service at low cost.
donal murphy
6:15 pm on Sunday, February 26, 2012
winter is not over yet ??????
sandra
2:08 pm on Thursday, March 1, 2012
Sandra P
I think Gov. Patrick should give the MBTA $10 million, $10 million to Education, $10 million to Elderly, and like Mr. Murphy said "winter is not over yet".
Kelly
3:26 pm on Thursday, March 1, 2012
Another MBTA bailout!!!
Angela Nuss
12:06 pm on Monday, March 5, 2012
Are you freaking kidding me?!?! Leave the money for NEXT year's snow budget. The T needs to better manage itself.... and be quieter after 11pm and before 7am (8 on the weekends)!!!! Those who live near the tracks know what I am saying... half the time I don't know if there's a storm brewing, if a neighbor is going a little crazy or if the T is screeching or rumbling into the station. Oh, and the announcements do NOT need to be made as you pull into the Braintree T next to the residential areas; you can make them all before leaving Quincy Adams. If they don't know it's the last stop then they are either drunk or dumb. Stop the bailouts! Send the money back to the taxpayers!