Chris Cassa

[Chris Cassa @ccassa]

@Sjacobs2020 @atrupar https://t.co/nF8HInCwww

[Chris Cassa @ccassa]

@jonathanfg97120 @atrupar Came here to say this -- our tax system allows the ultra wealthy to pay essentially no taxes https://t.co/nF8HInCwww

[Chris Cassa @ccassa]

@atrupar Technically he's right, doubling what is essentially ~$0 in tax burden wouldn't make an impact. But we could actually change the tax laws to have him pay his fair share. https://t.co/nF8HInCwww

[Chris Cassa @ccassa]

@noisecapella 🥑

[Chris Cassa @ccassa]

@noisecapella

[Kelton Minor @keltonminor]

There are days in life that shake you.

I’m shattered 💔 to share that I just found out that the US Government terminated my 2024 NIH Director’s Early Independence Award (~$2 million), threatening my long-promised assistant professor job at @Columbia & academic career... 1/🧵

[Chris Cassa @ccassa]

@noisecapella Excited to see this area get improved!

[Andy Boenau @Boenau]

Every city or county with a commitment to Vision Zero should have an ad like this playing in their local market.

[Michael Baym @baym]

I don’t understand why you object to me burning your house down, you admit it isn’t perfect. Isn’t this a chance to rebuild it better?

[Steven Salzberg 💙💛 @StevenSalzberg1]

98% of NIH grants that should have gone out this month, didn't. Despite court orders 'unfreezing' the funds, they are frozen. Biomedical research will grind to a halt. Clinical trials will end. All for no reason: the total impact on the US budget is miniscule

[Chris Cassa @ccassa]

@macroRoc1 @transitmatters MassDOTs portal shows 6,000 people biking daily on the Mass Ave bridge in Fall, and 2,300 daily last Winter. Would you like to venture a guess for how many people take the 1 bus daily, along the entire route? Hint: it's fewer. Is the bus a niche mode of transportation?

[Chris Cassa @ccassa]

@macroRoc1 @transitmatters When was the last time you were there? It's pretty different now, and bikes are not a niche mode there. Plus they work together with transit to help solve the last mile. https://t.co/wa1lxvTCXY

[Chris Cassa @ccassa]

@macroRoc1 @transitmatters This really doesn't have anything to do with bikes. I can't make Mass Ave wider. You have 44', how are you going to allocate it?

[Chris Cassa @ccassa]

@macroRoc1 @transitmatters Unfortunately they do not fit. 44' is only enough room for the four 11 foot travel lanes. It leaves no room for passenger or commercial loading/unloading, no buffer to make it 'BRT', and no space for bus stops. It also removes bikes from our transportation ecosystem.

[Chris Cassa @ccassa]

@macroRoc1 @transitmatters The changes added bus priority to both sides of the bridge, allowing buses to skip traffic at both lights. Most bus (and car) delay happens at intersections. BRT would probably make a minimal difference on the bridge unless there were a crash, where the bus would get stuck again.

[Chris Cassa @ccassa]

@macroRoc1 @transitmatters Central, Harvard, and Porter are on Mass Ave, and we do have a rapidly improving transit system. Speaking of Paris... their massive investment in the bike network has been a massive boost to their mobility and urban connectivity.

[Chris Cassa @ccassa]

@macroRoc1 @transitmatters These would be great, but unfortunately major segments of Mass Ave are not that wide in Cambridge - big chunks right after you get into Cambridge are ~44ft. Center running bus lanes need two 11' bus lanes, and ~8' for safe loading/pedestrian refuge, plus width for buffers

[Chris Cassa @ccassa]

@macroRoc1 @transitmatters Also can we dig into "we can’t realistically increase housing density"? There are lots of 1 story buildings near central square, so with Cambridge's 20% inclusionary requirement and AHO, its a great place to build affordable housing