General MBTA Topics (Multi Modal, Budget, MassDOT)

Bright lights plus the occasional cleaning are a plus, London does it well. And as for never replacing the bulbs, LEDs have no bulbs to replace so that hopefully won't be an issue any more. When an LED goes on one of these it's the whole fixture that needs replacing anyway.
 
Subdivisions said:
With jass on this one. After awhile the bright lights just highlight the dirtiness. I tend to think of it like this, how nice would your local dive bar look at 1am with the lights shining bright?
Click to expand...

I tend to think of it like this, how nice would it be if we didn't let our transit infrastructure look like a dive bar in the first place?
 
Subdivisions said:
With jass on this one. After awhile the bright lights just highlight the dirtiness. I tend to think of it like this, how nice would your local dive bar look at 1am with the lights shining bright?
Click to expand...

The Tam looks just fine at 1 AM with the lights on.
 
I dig the renovations at Park St so far - its been night and day on my commute thus far.
 
vanshnookenraggen said:
I'll keep my gritty, noir stations in movies. Bring on the LEDs.
Click to expand...
I do have a lot of nostalgia for the old North Station above ground Green Line complex, but aside from that, such atmospherics don't really fit modern, effective transportation systems.
 
I think we're missing the forrest from the trees here folks.

This is less about aesthetic choices about brightness and hues and purple stripes on posts. This is about: can the T figure out how to sustain and maintain stations at some basic level of functionality, cleanliness, and service. We've all seen these spruce-ups before. Wake me up when systems are put in place to sustain things.
 
RandomWalk said:
I remember when the old lighting on the center platform was brand new. The T never replaces a burnt out bulb. Instead they replace the fixture.
Click to expand...

With LEDs, you inherently replace the fixture...

I was just in Park St. It's noticeably brighter even without the split screen.
 
Equilibria said:
With LEDs, you inherently replace the fixture...
Click to expand...

...pretty sure they make LED conversion kits / modules for old fixtures. (but to your point, going forward "changing a lightbulb" is not the correct expression)

Also, pretty sure that Random's (and my) snarky comments were largely about venting about the past (e.g., pre-LED era).
 
jass said:
Put me on team anti-light.

I like dim stations, like the DC Metro, and how Boylston looked 15 years ago.
Click to expand...

DC Metro has had bright LED lights installed at a lot of stations recently.

Of course it's a much cleaner system to begin with.
 
I expect the LEDs will be more robust than the past lighting technology, but I still would not be surprised if the T manages to neglect them into disarray.

The T needs to fix them ASAP after failure. If that involves replacing the whole fixture, do it.

Another example, which will probably get me grief: No bus should leave the garage caked in dirt and grime, with panels askew, and non-working signage.

It’s the little things that make it feel like the management gives a damn.
 
BarbaricManchurian said:
DC Metro has had bright LED lights installed at a lot of stations recently.

Of course it's a much cleaner system to begin with.
Click to expand...

Metro also has the cool coffered ceilings, brutalist stair/escalators, and dramatic up-lighting to highlight it all. Most T stations don't have those attributes so I'll take the light.
 
I can't seem to figure out their paint color methodology. For example, State and Haymarket got dark, black painted walls and ceilings making the stations look like caves, while Park seems to be getting white walls and ceilings? The Red Line at Park seems to be finished and it is so much brighter than before. I've seen renderings of Park's Green Line platforms on the MBTA website and it seems it will be getting a lot more than paint, but I also see them doing the white ceilings there too.

Thoughts?
 
I noticed some track work being done along the Franklin line in the Norfolk area. What are they doing? Replacing the track in this area?
 
In other news, all the elevators at Ruggles go out of service next week for a 7 month replacement project. And on October 21st the Harvard Upper Busway reopens and the lower busway closes.

Ruggles Elevator Closures Start in November 2019 | Updates | MBTA

Official website of the MBTA -- schedules, maps, and fare information for Greater Boston's public transportation system, including subway, commuter rail, bus routes, and boat lines.
www.mbta.com www.mbta.com
 
Hmm, that's certainly a possibility. I can't think of too many stations where that's a likely issue, though. Reading and Sharon are the only two that immediately come to mind.
 
YUUUUUP.

To be fair, it due to an injured worker, so I'm not sure what else they could have done. 😕

Edit: As of 2:30PM the Orange Line is back to normal service. That's.... not great.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top