Alewife T Station, Garage, Bus, & Trails

[Aprehensive_Words]

Especially in a WFH world, where they may be more likely to go to offices outside of traditional commute times (e.g. for in-person meetings or a last-minute appointment).

This

If you pay close attention to the politics around the MBTA's reliability, you see a lot of downtown Boston business leaders very concerned about anything that makes workers' commutes less pleasant (because it makes it harder to get them in the office, so you have less demand for office space, helping fuel the supposed "doom loop"). That tells me that the T is going to come under pressure at some point to keep a good chunk of parking on-site.

 

[millerm277]

1. There were a couple interesting details on the parking that I cut from this story for length. One was that, post-pandemic, the garage is only about 60% full on a busy weekday at the 10 a.m. peak hour, with about 2,000 cars on site.

As built, the garage had 2,733 spaces. The MBTA website says current capacity is 2,471 spaces and the possibility of "additional spaces closed for construction".

Unless we're counting some of the ways they used to try to cram in extras for overflow parking (like on the loop ramps), that appears to be ~73-81% occupancy depending on which of those figures you want to use.

The secondary point I would make is that commuting behavior for those who have options, has obviously been influenced by the Red Line being pretty much a disaster post-pandemic. I'm not entirely sure we're back to the "expected" customer behavior - both in terms of more driving + in terms of more other use of other MBTA services over the Red Line due to the reliability issues/slowness.

 

[Teban54]

The secondary point I would make is that commuting behavior for those who have options, has obviously been influenced by the Red Line being pretty much a disaster post-pandemic. I'm not entirely sure we're back to the "expected" customer behavior - both in terms of more driving + in terms of more other use of other MBTA services over the Red Line due to the reliability issues/slowness.

To support this further, in a very preliminary comparison of 2019 vs. 2023 ridership that I did a while ago, the Red and Orange lines consistently showed worse recovery than the Green and Blue lines, and I suspected slow zones and reduced frequency were likely the culprit. The effect was especially notable for P&R stations: Alewife had the 4th lowest recovery rate systemwide, only above Quincy Adams, North Quincy and Lechmere (due to GLX opening).

Given that Blue Line P&R stations like Wonderland were doing significantly better (though that was also during the period of the Sumner Tunnel closures), I have to think improved Red Line service will increase patronage of the Alewife garage again, alongside other P&Rs on RL and OL, even if they continue to lag behind the more urban and walkable stations.

 

[TheRatmeister]

Given that Blue Line P&R stations like Wonderland were doing significantly better (though that was also during the period of the Sumner Tunnel closures),

This is probably more due to its bus connections to Revere and Lynn than P&R ridership.

 

[737900er]

T officials told me that, thanks to billing information associated with their customers' credit cards, they have a lot of data on what ZIP codes the park-and-ride users are driving in from. Some of the top origins include Belmont, Lincoln, and Waltham – all towns that have their own commuter rail stops and/or bus routes. So there's a chance that without the Alewife garage, a lot of these park-and-ride customers could shift their parking closer to home, in suburbs where the real estate is less valuable, or walk or take a bus to an alternative T station.

I think a big part of the appeal of Alewife over local services in these communities is that it offers OSR to the Financial District, and Kendall to a lesser extent. If you're going to drive to a station, why not drive to the one with the train that actually goes where you want to go? Plus Route 2 is massively overbuilt for the current utilization, so typical driving speeds are fairly high compared to the Pike or 128.
As we've discussed, the lack of west side bus garage means Waltham is underserved by buses compared to similar communities like Lynn and Quincy.

 

[Teban54]

This is probably more due to its bus connections to Revere and Lynn than P&R ridership.

Quincy and Wellington do have plenty of bus connections (and even Alewife has some), yet their ridership recovery ratios underperformed dramatically compared to Wonderland during that time frame. Someone should probably do an analysis of bus ridership at these stations, but my gut instinct is that alone doesn't explain things.

As we've discussed, the lack of west side bus garage means Waltham is underserved by buses compared to similar communities like Lynn and Quincy.

I'd argue that's also due to a relative lack of a legacy bus network, and possibly, lower density and existing demand for transit in general.

The vast majority of Lynn's and Quincy's bus routes were formerly run by local operators before MBTA took them over. Technically Waltham also did, and most of the legacy routes there do exist in the present-day form of the 61, 70, 553, 554, 556, and 558. However, not only are these much lower in quantity compared to Lynn's and Quincy's networks, but even the routes that do exist aren't particularly impressive in frequency or operating hours, which makes me wonder if this is a chicken-and-egg problem.

Here are some screenshots of densities of Lynn-Salem, Quincy-Waymouth and Waltham-Watertown, taken from my population density map, all at the same scale. Feel free to draw your own conclusions.

(The photos may be rescaled on mobile and may not accurately reflect the scales. Use "Desktop Site" settings if that happens.)

 

[RandomWalk]

Is there any data for O&Ds of the car commuters on the Cambridge/Belmont stretch of Route 2?

I hate how we’re going to be stuck with a parking sink because we’re afraid to tell drivers to stuff it.

 

[Stlin]

As we've discussed, the lack of west side bus garage means Waltham is underserved by buses compared to similar communities like Lynn and Quincy.

On this point, Watertown Yard does exist... I realize the T doesn't treat it like a bus garage, but there's no real reason they couldn't. It's probably the most underutilized facility they own.

 

[F-Line to Dudley]

On this point, Watertown Yard does exist... I realize the T doesn't treat it like a bus garage, but there's no real reason they couldn't. It's probably the most underutilized facility they own.

The bus facilities study of about 15 years ago worked up Watertown as a breakaway western garage. It was in competition with Riverside as a site for a western facility, with lean to Watertown because it was a pre-existing site with easier community input. Institution of the western garage was dependent on Wellington being built as an expansion of the Charlestown-Everett 'super-campus', Fellsway being closed, and the route assignments being radically redrawn across the system.

 

[737900er]

On this point, Watertown Yard does exist... I realize the T doesn't treat it like a bus garage, but there's no real reason they couldn't. It's probably the most underutilized facility they own.

The bus facilities study of about 15 years ago worked up Watertown as a breakaway western garage. It was in competition with Riverside as a site for a western facility, with lean to Watertown because it was a pre-existing site with easier community input. Institution of the western garage was dependent on Wellington being built as an expansion of the Charlestown-Everett 'super-campus', Fellsway being closed, and the route assignments being radically redrawn across the system.

Way off topic, but yeah in the BEB era it would be great to see Watertown Yard converted into a satellite facility of a larger garage with charging and cleaning infrastructure, but repairs taking place at the "main" garage and buses rotating to Albany, Cabot, Charlestown, or North Cambridge over the 57 or 71.

 

[737900er]

I hate how we’re going to be stuck with a parking sink because we’re afraid to tell drivers to stuff it.

As I mentioned above, Route 2 is massively overbuilt for what is does today. In any RLX scenario it's unlikely a P&R facility would be built west of Alewife.
I also think P&Rs are great for getting political support for the system from infrequent riders.

 

[TheRatmeister]

Quincy and Wellington do have plenty of bus connections (and even Alewife has some), yet their ridership recovery ratios underperformed dramatically compared to Wonderland during that time frame. Someone should probably do an analysis of bus ridership at these stations, but my gut instinct is that alone doesn't explain things.

The MPO 2015-2017 passenger survey also suggests the Blue Line has the highest % of low-income riders, and the bus routes that serve Wonderland also have higher than average percentages of low-income riders. But the fact that Wonderland is still doing by far the worst of all the Eastie/Revere BL stations is quite telling, it's below Wood Island, the next lowest in terms of recovery, by 13%. If we took the difference between Wonderland's and Wellington's bus ridership away, it would be at a recovery of 45%, slightly better than, but ultimately still down with, all the other P+R stations.

So yeah, I think it's the bus ridership that's propping it up.

 

[Teban54]

View attachment 54245

The MPO 2015-2017 passenger survey also suggests the Blue Line has the highest % of low-income riders, and the bus routes that serve Wonderland also have higher than average percentages of low-income riders. But the fact that Wonderland is still doing by far the worst of all the Eastie/Revere BL stations is quite telling, it's below Wood Island, the next lowest in terms of recovery, by 13%. If we took the difference between Wonderland's and Wellington's bus ridership away, it would be at a recovery of 45%, slightly better than, but ultimately still down with, all the other P+R stations.

So yeah, I think it's the bus ridership that's propping it up.

Great analysis, but I actually meant Quincy Center, not Quincy Adams and Braintree. Even though QC is not a P&R station, its ridership recovery ratio is still much worse than Wonderland, and not much better than the other Quincy stations. If bus ridership was the primary reason driving Wonderland's recovery, then I'd expect Quincy Center (with a more favorable ridership profile than Wonderland, if you take "P&R means poor recovery" at face value) to do much better than it actually did.

Quincy Center does have significantly worse service than Wonderland, but that can arguably also be applied to Alewife, also plagued with worse headways and slow zones. Better service will attract more riders (P&R or otherwise).

That goes back to my original point: I think the systematic underperformance of Red and Orange Line stations has much more to do with their service levels than other factors (like P&R or bus transfers). Red Line stations, Alewife included, have not exhausted their potential yet.

 

[fattony]

Especially in a WFH world, where they may be more likely to go to offices outside of traditional commute times (e.g. for in-person meetings or a last-minute appointment).

Are you arguing they should plan the redevelopment primarily for riders who ... don't ride very often?

That doesn't sound like a winning recipe to me. If they don't commute very often and not during peak times, then honestly driving is probably fine for them. No?

 

[Teban54]

Are you arguing they should plan the redevelopment primarily for riders who ... don't ride very often?

That doesn't sound like a winning recipe to me. If they don't commute very often and not during peak times, then honestly driving is probably fine for them. No?

I didn't say the redevelopment should focus primarily on parking and/or suburban riders. I'm simply saying we should give them some secondary consideration, rather than the little or no consideration that some have suggested (either recently or in the past).

Also, planning your transit systems (and the city as a whole) with the expectation of just letting people drive during off-peak doesn't sound like a winning recipe either. One of the many reasons is that it makes transit ridership more peak-oriented, which runs opposite to recent trends in advocacy and planning efforts.

(I also didn't say the crowd I mentioned would only go in office once every week or month - they could jolly well have 2pm meetings several times a week but WFH in the morning. But that's a minor point.)

 

[millerm277]

Quincy and Wellington do have plenty of bus connections (and even Alewife has some), yet their ridership recovery ratios underperformed dramatically compared to Wonderland during that time frame. Someone should probably do an analysis of bus ridership at these stations, but my gut instinct is that alone doesn't explain things.

Pure anectdata, and I'm not going to claim this is a large portion of ridership (but may be a more substantial amount of daily garage occupancy), but - I have started using Wonderland as airport parking. My observation based on seeing more than a few other people with suitcases the times I do, is that I am not the only one.

It's cheaper than Logan Express, with far better service, and a much lower Uber/Lyft/Taxi fare if I get delayed into an arrival that's past a time when Logan Express or the MBTA is operating. (which has happened more than once already this year).

 

[TheRatmeister]

Great analysis, but I actually meant Quincy Center, not Quincy Adams and Braintree. Even though QC is not a P&R station, its ridership recovery ratio is still much worse than Wonderland, and not much better than the other Quincy stations. If bus ridership was the primary reason driving Wonderland's recovery, then I'd expect Quincy Center (with a more favorable ridership profile than Wonderland, if you take "P&R means poor recovery" at face value) to do much better than it actually did.

Quincy Center does have significantly worse service than Wonderland, but that can arguably also be applied to Alewife, also plagued with worse headways and slow zones. Better service will attract more riders (P&R or otherwise).

That goes back to my original point: I think the systematic underperformance of Red and Orange Line stations has much more to do with their service levels than other factors (like P&R or bus transfers). Red Line stations, Alewife included, have not exhausted their potential yet.

I think there's a mess of different points being made here so I'll try to lay everything out in a way so that hopefully we can all get on the same page:

• The RL and OL are recovering significantly worse than the BL. Poor headways, slow zones, and a more affluent ridership with more options are likely the largest contributing factors here.
• Park and ride stations are generally recovering exceptionally poorly. Possible cause include the increase in WFH and poor service/slow zones disproportionately discouraging wealthier riders.
• However, Wonderland (And to a lesser extent Wellington) as a P&R isn't doing much better than Alewife or Wellington or Quincy Adams, it's doing well as a bus hub from Lynn and Revere, which more just supports the need for BLX. This suggests that WFH is the primary factor in reducing P&R ridership (in particular compared to the rest of the line), not poor service/slow zones that disproportionately discourage the wealthier demographics inherently targeted by P&Rs. (They seem to be just about as discouraged as everyone else, not really more, not really less.)

 

[CBCArch61]

I don't think we will see a 1-to-1 replacement of parking with the redevelopment of the Alewife garage. There will still be a significant amount of parking, but I do believe the parking will be more "right-sized" than the current garage. Hopefully with a possible commuter rail station, this could alleviate some more car trips. Kinda amazing that Alewife doesnt have a direct connection to the commuter rail.

Maybe a developer goes bold and even does an air rights project (ie Fenway Center-esque) to connect the Alewife area better with the areas south of the railroad tracks.

 

[The EGE]

A lot of the challenge with Alewife is that there's simply no good alternative for a lot of people in the Route 2 (and to some degree, Route 3) corridors. Most of the other major commuting corridors have one or more good park-and-ride locations between 128 and 495 that typically have availability: Beverly and Salem, Anderson/Woburn, Riverside, multiple Framingham/Worcester Line stations, Dedham Corporate, Norwood Central, Route 128, Mansfield, the Brockton stations, Braintree, etc.

Meanwhile, none of the Fitchburg Line stations east of North Leominster consistently have parking available, and there's no rapid transit that reaches out to 128. So if you live anywhere in the 75-square mile wedge between Clinton, Pepperell, and Alewife, and you're not lucky enough to have a parking pass, your options are to fight 128 traffic to Riverside or Anderson/Woburn, or to deal with less traffic on Route 2 to reach Alewife.

While I would like to see less parking at Alewife, it probably needs to be coordinated with better options for this corridor:

• Bolster bus frequencies in Arlington, Lexington, Bedford, Belmont, Waltham, and Burlington, with dedicated lanes in congested areas
• Add parking capacity at Littleton/495 and possibly South Acton
• Improve walkability/bikeability to existing stations: sidewalks, bike lanes, safety improvements, free bike cages/lockers, etc
• As autonomous fixed-route shuttles start to become viable, put them on routes where conventional service wouldn't be worthwhile: Littleton Common to Littleton/495, Maynard to South Acton, etc
• Build the Weston/128 superstation on the Fitchburg Line and get <30 minute headways to it. It's the closest place to Route 2 that you can get a decent park-and-ride without disrupting a village center, and it would be a good anchor for shuttles to the nearby office parks.

 

[themissinglink]

• Build the Weston/128 superstation on the Fitchburg Line and get <30 minute headways to it. It's the closest place to Route 2 that you can get a decent park-and-ride without disrupting a village center, and it would be a good anchor for shuttles to the nearby office parks.

The Weston/128 proposal would be huge for regional mobility and it needs to happen as soon as possible IMO. I'm honestly surprised there hasn't been more talk/action surrounding Weston/128. I'm pretty sure the town of Weston supports a 128 superstation, does anyone know if the MBTA or the Commonwealth has expressed interest in studying or building a Weston/128 superstation?