TheRatmeister
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- Joined
- Sep 23, 2023
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I agree that a Washington St streetcar is not the solution for Nubian. But it doesn't exist in a vacuum. We've been discussing 3 projects give or take:I appreciate your analysis of current SL stops in the rest of the comment. That being said, I still think there needs to be a greater emphasis on demand from Nubian itself than the intermediate stops.
Nubian is one of the biggest bus hubs in the entire system, if not the biggest one. It's comparable to Harvard and Sullivan (and I'd argue it's more crucial than Ruggles). However, Harvard and Sullivan have 3-stop and 2-stop rides to the edge of the downtown core respectively, and Nubian used to have a 3-stop ride itself.
One can make a strong argument that Charlestown and Cambridge neighborhoods have local demands. But a hypothetical Red Line that makes 7 stops from Harvard to Charles/MGH will likely cause riots:
View attachment 44811
And that's before we consider that such a line needs to run in street medians, and slow down due to safety hazards or signals at pedestrian crossings (even with car crossings removed).
Your analysis does show nicely that SL Washington today has just as much demand at intermediate stations as Nubian, but I think that indicates demand for both "express" and "local" services, not a choice between them. Just like how Orange Line and the 93/T7 bus can co-exist, Red Line and the 1 bus can co-exist, and the C and D branches can co-exist to Reservoir. And not to forget that people boarding at Nubian had likely already endured a bus ride, so a seemingly small number like 13 minutes on this route can still mean a much longer ride overall. (All of this is before considering other beneficial factors, such as boosting capacity of Tremont St subway and serving BMC.)
Bottom line is, Nubian really shouldn't be treated any worse than Harvard and Sullivan. Especially given the social justice factors involved. A temporary solution to improve "the 49 bus" is very much needed, but it shouldn't be the ultimate goal.
- Nubian-Downtown Subway (And then to Longwood)
- Washington St Light Rail
- Nubian-Southie/Seaport Subway (Again, then to Longwood)
Downtown Subway + Southie Subway
Pros:
- It's all subway, so more capacity, full grade separation, etc.
- Southie gets service out of this as well, good for them.
- Good connection to the commuter rail and FiDi at South Station
- Cost, obviously
- Downtown being served by a branch is... not great, to say the least. If frequency is very high (Like I think it should be) on the main section of the line west of Nubian this can be mitigated somewhat, but it's definitely not ideal
- If the downtown subway only goes as far as South Station, the only interchange is with the RL and either the SL or part of the reconfigured GL. For places like Nubian where Roxbury Crossing is only 15 minutes away this isn't the worst thing in the world, but for the intermediate neighborhoods it would be pretty annoying.
- Leaving out Washington St makes the walkshed of potential stations a fair bit worse.
- Local service on Washington St still sucks
Pros:
- Lower cost than the previous option
- Maintains a rapid connection to commuter rail and the FiDi at South Station
- Adds connection to the OL at Park St/DTX, potentially the BL as well if some trains are extended to Gov Center, or if a pedestrian passage is built to connect Gov Center and Park St.
- This proposal features a fair amount of parallel service where it's arguably not necessary. Stations would be less than 500m apart south of Union Park St, hurting ridership at both.
- No service to Southie
Pros:
- Provides improved service to the widest area,
- Maintains connections to rapid transit at Park St/DTX, and potentially to the BL with extended service/pedestrian tunnel to Gov Center.
- Likely the lowest cost option
- Loses connection to the Old Colony/Fairmount Lines, potentially the Worcester Line as well. Could potentially be mitigated with connection of the subway to Kenmore and a new station at Widett Circle, but like you have said this might be difficult. Given that the area is about to be leveled and used for a new yard, however, I'm still not convinced this is really a non-starter though.
- Loses direct connection to the FiDi. It's like, a 10 minute walk max, I'm not particularly concerned about this point.