Those ads about a giant expansion of the MBTA – the red line into Lexington, the green line to Woburn and so on – are accurate enough in presenting the intentions of the Coolidge Commission.
It’s just that the commission led by lieutenant governor Arthur Coolidge did that work in 1947.
Its presentation on 109 billboards in T stations across Cambridge, Somerville and Medford on Wednesday is the latest April Fools’ Day joke from Cambridge vice mayor Burhan Azeem, who has issued pranks with intent every year since being elected in 2021.
Most have promoted regional cooperation by making people think Cambridge is growing into MegaCambridge by annexing communities around it such as Somerville or Boston. Last year, the joke was free, in the form of a resolution presented by Azeem to fellow councillors. (It appeared on the March 31 agenda, got legislatively paused by Azeem until the next regular meeting and then was withdrawn.) “The City of Boston possesses an abundance of strategic resources essential for the continued prosperity of Cambridge, including Dunkin’ Donuts locations, Fenway and untapped artisanal craft breweries,” the resolution argued.
This year, the prank had a budget.
“I spent over $5,000 on this because the real joke is what actually happened,” Azeem said in a Tuesday email, describing Coolidge’s sincere plan to extend rapid transit into 29 cities and towns surrounding Boston. “The routes were mapped. The railroad right-of-ways were available. But priorities shifted, federal highway funding reshaped how people moved and the expansion never came.” (The Boston Globe has a paywalled story about it.)
That’s a pity in a region that built the first subway in North America. “We used to have real ambition for the T. Now it’s $5.2 billion in debt, running trains so old the manufacturers don’t exist anymore, staring down a $24.5 billion repair backlog,” Azeem said. “I made an Instagram video recently about the state of the T and it hit 300,000 views. People are frustrated and quite activated.”
His billboards link to a nine-minute video on this history and what a real plan to fix the T looks like, said Azeem, who is running for state Senate in the 2nd Middlesex District. The seat, held by the retiring Pat Jehlen since 2005, serves the cities of Somerville and Medford and parts of Cambridge and Winchester. He’s one of a half-dozen declared candidates for the seat.
This isn’t the first time Azeem has spent big on an April Fools’ Day stunt. He spent another $5,000 in 2024 to pay for 77 billboards telling Boston the Cantabrigians were coming.
April Fools’ is worth the expense, Azeem said Tuesday.
“It’s one of my favorite holidays,” he said.
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