Watertown+Electric Buses=Yes; No To Belmont Plan
Belmont Selectmen's blueprint to replace trackless trolly with green buses going no where in H2Otown.
Two Town Council Subcommittees in Watertown gave a resounding “no” to the idea of replacing the trackless trolleys on the MBTA’s 71 and 73 bus routes with other kinds of buses Tuesday night, May 18. The idea came from the Belmont Board of Selectmen who in January wanted to remove the poles along Belmont Street and Trapelo Road, the route the 73 bus takes to Waverley Square. The Committee on State, Federal and Regional Government and the Public Works Committee met in Watertown's Town Hall to learn more about the proposal. Belmont Town Administrator Thomas Younger said the idea came when town officials asked the MBTA if the electric lines for the trolleys could be moved to the town’s light poles. “They said that would pose a danger,” Younger…
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Transit Jeff
8:43 pm on Wednesday, May 18, 2011
It's nice to see that sanity has returned to Belmont, Mass. With fuel prices what they are these days, the MBTA should be glad it has trackless trolleys in its fleet, albeit far too few. Boston once had an extensive trackless trolley system. It was largely replaced by Diesel buses in the name of progress. But was it progress? Many of us back then said that it was a great mistake, but back in the … more ›