Readers get their say on the column

Readers have some gripes about us in this week's Starts & Stops.

Every Sunday for years and years we've tried to fix their problems. But sometimes, it's true, they turn their ire on us. We lead off with a couple of doozies.

Margaret of parts unknown was disappointed with last week's item on the Winter Street overpass on Route 128, where construction has been plagued by delays.

"Although it's nice that the Executive Office of Transportation said that work will begin early next month, that doesn't really answer the complaint (other than literally). I don't really care when it starts. What I (and the other folks) want to know is when is this construction going to be completed. By September? By mid-2008? By when? And when they give a date, please ask them the probability that this is the REAL date. Do they have funding to finish it?"

Taking Margaret's point to heart, we asked the state the key question -- and we got an answer she won't like.

Erik Abell, spokesman for the Executive Office of Transportation, said that thus far there is no completion date. "When the new contractor was selected they reviewed the site and are now in the process of developing a completion timetable for the project," he said. Margaret is probably now sticking pins in a Starts & Stops voodoo doll.

Which brings us to our second gripe from Jon of Boston, who is dissatisfied with our reporting.

"I'm starting to wonder where the teeth are in your articles. In [last week's] Starts & Stops, you mention three people who complained to the T, but whose complaints the T has no record of. A new customer service system 'may' be the issue for having, it would seem, systematically tossed complaint letters in the trash? Why let it go at that? Why not ask the next five or 10 questions that naturally follow on?

"It seems that of all the local travesties, the T is handled with the 'kiddest' of gloves. Massport, the Turnpike Authority, and others all get a good grilling, but the T is let off with their spokespeople saying, 'Oh, good point, we'll look into it.' I think the Globe really needs to turn its eye to some of the fundamental issues at the T."

Thanks for writing, and we're sorry to disappoint. We take the MBTA to task plenty in our daily reporting, which was never this column's mission. Starts & Stops is a write-to-the-top column to help fix problems and let riders and drivers complain to the powers that be, usually about everyday foibles that make commutes frustrating or dangerous. Still, we'll try harder to be tougher.

Paul of Milford, N.H., wrote to complain that the phrase "terminal velocity" isn't such a bad name for an airport radio station.

"I am writing in reaction to the complaint of Hallie of Cambridge in the Starts & Stops column [last week]. For starters, Hallie's definition of terminal velocity is wrong. The correct definition is 'the speed, when falling, where the drag of the air matches the force of gravity.' When falling from a great height, this speed (or velocity, if you prefer) will be reached long before the object reaches the ground. In fact, the speed of the object will decrease as it approaches the ground because the air becomes denser at lower altitude. More importantly, an object traveling at terminal velocity does not always crash into the ground. For example, a sky diver travels at terminal velocity until he or she pulls the ripcord. So, terminal velocity is not a horrible concept and is, in my opinion, a clever name for the programming in the airline terminal."

Guillaume of Canada said he works as a tour guide in Boston, "so your articles are very useful to me, so I don't put the bus driver in trouble."

"Just wanted to let you know that I laugh my [rear ] off every time you write that someone is from parts unknown. Are you (or were you) a wrestling fan? For some reason, parts unknown is a very popular birthplace for wrestlers!"

No, we actually aren't fans of wrestling. We try to remind readers to include their name and hometown in their e-mails. When our e-mails and phone calls go unanswered, the person in question ends up being from parts unknown.

Dorchester, rejoice! It will now cost you just $1.70 to take commuter rail downtown.

The MBTA is promoting commuter rail service between the newly renovated Uphams Corner station on the Fairmount Line and South Station by allowing riders to pay $1.70 cash to conductors for the 10-minute train ride downtown.

Riders of the No. 15 and 41 bus routes, which stop at the station, can also take advantage of the new fare. No, you won't be penalized for paying cash because commuter rail still doesn't accept CharlieCards. If you are penalized, write to us.

Morning and evening rush-hour service has six inbound and five outbound trips: 6:42 a.m., 7:12 a.m., 7:57 a.m., 8:15 a.m., 8:41 a.m., and 9:12 a.m. The evening trains leave South Station at 4 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 5:03 p.m., 5:33 p.m., and 6:06 p.m.

Today is the St. Patrick's Day parade, and traffic is expected to be heavy in South Boston and the surrounding area. Take the T, recommends the city. The parade kicks off at 1 p.m. and participants are expected to reach 20,000. That's the participants, not the crowd.

Obviously, there's no parking along the parade route.

In addition, the South Boston Boys and Girls Clubs' St. Patrick's Day Road Race will begin at 10 a.m. at the intersection of F Street and West Sixth Street, with 500 to 700 runners trotting through South Boston, hopefully sober.

AND, traffic delays are expected throughout the weekend on the Southeast Expressway and Morrissey Boulevard as the annual Spring Flower Show opens at the Bayside Exposition Center. Visitors to the Flower Show are urged to use public transportation.

Don't be alarmed. The MBTA and Boston safety officials will hold an emergency exercise at Andrew Station next Sunday, March 25, from 8:30 a.m. to about noon. The scenario involves a simulated explosion with significant smoke and injured passengers. Most importantly, Red Line service will be replaced by bus service in both directions between Park Street and JFK/UMass from the start of service Sunday until smoke clears around noon. There will also be busing on the Orange Line between Haymarket and Sullivan stations from the start of service Saturday, March 24, to the end of service Sunday, March 25. The center and right lanes on the lower deck of the Tobin Bridge will close Sunday, March 25, from 4 to 10 a.m. for the installation of an overhead message sign. The installation will require a rolling roadblock from the Loop Ramp to Rutherford Avenue, resulting in a 10- to 15-minute closure of all lanes. The state will hold a public informational meeting on the I-93/I-95 interchange study from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at Woburn High School, 88 Montvale Ave. The meeting will begin as an open house at 6 p.m., with exhibits of existing and future conditions. A presentation and question- and-answer session follows at 7 p.m. Call 617-973-7449 for more information.

The Pike east between Exit 22 (Pru/Copley) and South Boston will close 11:30 p.m. tomorrow to 5 a.m. Tuesday. Direct access to the Ted Williams Tunnel from Frontage Road Northbound and South Boston will remain open.

Two to three lanes of I-93 north through downtown and Charlestown will close 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow to Saturday morning.

The Sumner Tunnel onramp to I-93 north will close 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow to Saturday morning.

The Haymarket onramp to I-93 north will close 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Wednesday to Saturday morning.

The underpass from Storrow Drive eastbound, and the ramp from Leverett Circle to I-93 north and the Tobin Bridge will close 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Thursday to Saturday morning.

The Atlantic Avenue onramp to I-93 north will close 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow to Wednesday morning.

The Essex Street onramp to I-93 north will close 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow to Saturday morning.

Route 1A north near Logan International Airport will close 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. tomorrow to Friday.

Route 1A south near Logan will close 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. tomorrow to Friday.

The Sumner Tunnel onramp to Government Center and Haymarket will close 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow to Wednesday morning.

The Congress Street onramp to I-93 south and the Pike west will close 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow to Friday morning.

Herald Street between Harrison Avenue and Albany Street will close 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow to Saturday morning.

Two to four lanes of I-93 south approaching and through downtown and South Bay will close 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. Tuesday to Saturday morning.

I-93 south around Sullivan Square will close 11:30 p.m. tomorrow to 5 a.m. Tuesday. The onramps to I-93 south from Mystic Avenue will also close.

The ramps from the Tobin Bridge and Rutherford Avenue/City Square to I-93 south will close 11:30 p.m. tomorrow to 5 a.m. Tuesday.

The Haymarket onramp to I-93 south and the Callahan Tunnel will close 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Tuesday to Thursday morning.

The Storrow Drive onramp to I-93 south will close 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow to Thursday morning.

Exit 23 (Purchase Street) off I-93 south will close 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow to Thursday morning.

Exit 20B (Pike west/Albany Street) off I-93 south will close 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow to Thursday morning.

The Essex Street onramp to I-93 south will close 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Thursday to Saturday morning.

The Herald Street onramp to I-93 south will close 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow to Thursday morning.

The ramp at Exit 20 (Pike west) off I-93 north will close 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Thursday to Saturday morning. Access from Exit 20 to the Pike east and South Station will remain open.

The Frontage Road Northbound onramp to the Pike west will close 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Thursday to Saturday morning.

The high-occupancy vehicle ramp from the Pike west to South Station will close 11:59 p.m. to 5 a.m. Thursday to Saturday morning.

Complain to us at starts@globe.com. Don't forget to send us your hometown. Outside the paper, the column can be found at boston.com/starts with daily updates on the Starts & Stops Blog at boston.com/starts/blog. Our mailing address is Starts & Stops, P.O. Box 55819, Boston, MA 02205-5819.