Alewife T Station, Garage, Bus, & Trails

[F-Line to Dudley]

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?

The T has placemarked it on the Rail Vision as "I-95 Station" and as a requirement for the Urban Rail :15 option to Waltham because the existing stops at Waltham and Brandeis aren't configured well for easy turnbacks. That's a little short of a discrete build proposal, but they are well aware of the need and purpose for it.

Boston MPO has officially sketched out the base requirements for a feasibility study, but I don't think the actual study has been conducted yet.

 

[RandomWalk]

South Acton residents got verify twitchy when the planning for the recent station upgrades mentioned parking changes. The locals will get very angry if parking, which probably needs to be structured, gets discussed.

 

[F-Line to Dudley]

South Acton residents got verify twitchy when the planning for the recent station upgrades mentioned parking changes. The locals will get very angry if parking, which probably needs to be structured, gets discussed.

It's because the lots are apportioned with resident permit parking taking up a large percentage of the total spaces. Any town resident who spends $200/yr. for an on-street permit sticker can park at the station free of charge in the designated spaces, while there are too few regular-rate spots for all the out-of-towners. It got all factionalized when the surrounding towns lobbed criticism at Acton for the skewed apportionment creating artificial shortages (especially during the pandemic when the resident spaces were underutilized), and the town deadlocked itself on acquiring new land for expansion lots over whether the resident-permit apportioning should carry over to the new lots (i.e. "Why should we allow more stinking out-of-towners in?!? Screw them!!!"). They want to expand, but only for the exclusive benefit of their own fiefdom. The planning gridlock is the end result of a bad precedent being set with the original apportionment scheme that can't be politically un-done.

Pretty much the only way out of it is to keep expanding Littleton and build out Weston/128 so the out-of-town demand disparity at SA is no longer quite as glaring a disparity. They'll never give up their resident spots, even if they ultimately build more of them than there are residents willing to use the train station.

 

[Stlin]

South Acton residents got verify twitchy when the planning for the recent station upgrades mentioned parking changes. The locals will get very angry if parking, which probably needs to be structured, gets discussed.

They did survey the town last year as part of their rezoning of South Acton Village; the majority think there needs to be more parking and apparently several raised the idea of a garage.

It's because the lots are apportioned with resident permit parking taking up a large percentage of the total spaces. Any town resident who spends $200/yr. for an on-street permit sticker can park at the station free of charge in the designated spaces, while there are too few regular-rate spots for all the out-of-towners. It got all factionalized when the surrounding towns lobbed criticism at Acton for the skewed apportionment creating artificial shortages (especially during the pandemic when the resident spaces were underutilized), and the town deadlocked itself on acquiring new land for expansion lots over whether the resident-permit apportioning should carry over to the new lots (i.e. "Why should we allow more stinking out-of-towners in?!? Screw them!!!"). They want to expand, but only for the exclusive benefit of their own fiefdom. The planning gridlock is the end result of a bad precedent being set with the original apportionment scheme that can't be politically un-done.

Pretty much the only way out of it is to keep expanding Littleton and build out Weston/128 so the out-of-town demand disparity at SA is no longer quite as glaring a disparity. They'll never give up their resident spots, even if they ultimately build more of them than there are residents willing to use the train station.

I mean... This one is kinda on the RTA/MBTA, since those lots are owned by the Town. If the town owns, maintains and operates the lot it's fair game for them to restrict access. The Concord and Lincoln lots also have significant resident restricted spaces, and Also see the whole slew of town ponds/beaches/ lakes that are resident only. The provision of parking at T stops shouldn't be a town responsibility, as it's something of regional benefit but it is at a lot of the Fitchburg Line stops. Ayer, Fitchburg, Leominster on the other hand, are owned and operated by MART, while the T itself owns the Littleton lot. Also, Purely anectdata (sorry to whomever I'm stealing that verbiage from), but Ayer's parking garage, completed just before the pandemic, is seeing very healthy utilization - enough so that expanding it again should probably be considered.

Unfortunately, a ton of the ridership from the regional rail studies are "parking unconstrained" - and I'm not sure that should be a Town issue. I'm not advocating for the T to eminent domain town lots, but what's best for the T is often not be what towns want to spend their money on. The T controls Littleton, and only Littleton around here. If it needs to be the regional parking sink so be it as the T has more important things to worry about right now, but it's definitely something it should keep in mind.

 

[The EGE]

Shirley, Ayer, West Concord, Concord, and Lincoln are all village center stations, as are all the inside-128 stops. They need densification of the surrounding development and improved non-car access; expanding parking at any of them is generally a bad idea, and the existing lots are too small for garages That leaves Littleton/495, Weston/128, and maybe South Acton to soak up the parking demand that can't be mode-shifted. Littleton/495 desperately needs a parking expansion, which the town has been making near-impossible.

 

[Stlin]

Shirley, Ayer, West Concord, Concord, and Lincoln are all village center stations, as are all the inside-128 stops. They need densification of the surrounding development and improved non-car access; expanding parking at any of them is generally a bad idea, and the existing lots are too small for garages That leaves Littleton/495, Weston/128, and maybe South Acton to soak up the parking demand that can't be mode-shifted. Littleton/495 desperately needs a parking expansion, which the town has been making near-impossible.

I thought Littleton approved a 60 space expansion in 2019? My understanding is that Littleton actually wanted more, but T budget - and that it died due to COVID and the pull back on on-call work.

 

[ritchiew]

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'll throw out a crazy transit pitch, just out of curiosity.

At some distance northwest of downtown, it could make sense to branch the Red Line. There are relatively dense suburbs that would benefit from rapid transit, but maybe don't require 3 minute headways. What about splitting the Red Line at Alewife? One branch would be the planned extension through Arlington. The other would follow the Fitchburg line to Waltham. That might mean Belmont and Waverly become Red Line stops, which gives them one seat rides to South Station, or they can still get to North Station transferring at Porter. If some of the top demand for Alewife parking is from Waltham and Belmont (plus a bunch of buses from Belmont in to the Red Line at Harvard), we could just bring the Red Line to them.

(I understand regional rail and more buses are a better solution. I'm just throwing this out to see what other problems there are.)

 

[bigeman312]

I'll throw out a crazy transit pitch, just out of curiosity.

At some distance northwest of downtown, it could make sense to branch the Red Line. There are relatively dense suburbs that would benefit from rapid transit, but maybe don't require 3 minute headways. What about splitting the Red Line at Alewife? One branch would be the planned extension through Arlington. The other would follow the Fitchburg line to Waltham. That might mean Belmont and Waverly become Red Line stops, which gives them one seat rides to South Station, or they can still get to North Station transferring at Porter. If some of the top demand for Alewife parking is from Waltham and Belmont (plus a bunch of buses from Belmont in to the Red Line at Harvard), we could just bring the Red Line to them.

(I understand regional rail and more buses are a better solution. I'm just throwing this out to see what other problems there are.)

Phase 1 of the Belmont Community Path will be great to connect Belmont to Alewife. Let’s not forget that!

 

[Equilibria]

The T has placemarked it on the Rail Vision as "I-95 Station" and as a requirement for the Urban Rail :15 option to Waltham because the existing stops at Waltham and Brandeis aren't configured well for easy turnbacks. That's a little short of a discrete build proposal, but they are well aware of the need and purpose for it.

Boston MPO has officially sketched out the base requirements for a feasibility study, but I don't think the actual study has been conducted yet.

MassDOT's Route 128 Study also included it as a recommendation, but for the long term... I'm not sure why it's not the first thing that should happen after the interchange modifications (given that it's replacing/relocating an existing station to a better location, which justifies it by itself), but that's for another thread.

 

[Smuttynose]

From the Streetsblog article:

"The MBTA's 2023 capital needs assessment found that parking facilities along the T's rapid transit network collectively needed $251 million worth of repairs.

Bosworth stressed that the T was no longer interested carrying the considerable costs of owning and maintaining any parking on the site, and expressed openness towards considerably reducing the amount of parking from what exists today."

This is a pretty radical departure for the T. The State was incredibly MBTA-parking happy for a while and could not seem to build garages fast enough. A big chunk of the 2009-era stimulus funds went towards MBTA parking.

Haverhill Intermodal Parking Garage (340 spaces) - Built in 2011
Wonderland MBTA Parking Garage (1500 spaces) - Built in 2012
Salem MBTA garage (677 spaces) - Built in 2014
Beverly MBTA garage (540 spaces) - Built in 2014

State awards $2 million for MBTA to buy up parking lots (2011):

State awards $2 million for Littleton commuter rail parking

Secretary of Housing & Economic Development Greg Bialecki on Friday awarded the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) a $2 million grant to construct a new public parking lot at the Littl…

www.wickedlocal.com

From the article: “Having plenty of parking at a convenient location is a key component in the development of a successful public transit station,” said MBTA General Manager Richard Davey.

 

[Aprehensive_Words]

This is a pretty radical departure for the T. The State was incredibly MBTA-parking happy for a while and could not seem to build garages fast enough. A big chunk of the 2009-era stimulus funds went towards MBTA parking.

I hope this will eventually evolve into "we need more suburban bus routes for last-mile connections like Toronto."

 

[CBCArch61]

Add parking capacity at Littleton/495 and possibly South Acton

Littleton was specifically a discussion point during their study of existing parking and how a phased demolition of the garage could/would work for commuters along the line. With it's direct adjacency to 495 and Route 2, this makes the most sense to try and capture Route 2 commuters outside of 128.

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.

This would be HUGE, but I feel like there isn't a ton of options for it near the 128/30 interchange. I also don't think a power station like that would really capture folks commuting via Route 2 as the diversion to such a station would be almost the same distance to Alewife (see red circle below). Looking at the current alignment of tracks, plus available land plus terrain, I see one feasible area near the 128/30 interchange and that is the yellow circle below. This station would include a fair amount of environmental work, road infrastructure, the abandonment of the current Brandeis station

I think a major park + ride/commuter rail station could be good here, but I don't really think it would capture many Route 2 commuters.

 

[jbray]

Littleton was specifically a discussion point during their study of existing parking and how a phased demolition of the garage could/would work for commuters along the line. With it's direct adjacency to 495 and Route 2, this makes the most sense to try and capture Route 2 commuters outside of 128.

This would be HUGE, but I feel like there isn't a ton of options for it near the 128/30 interchange. I also don't think a power station like that would really capture folks commuting via Route 2 as the diversion to such a station would be almost the same distance to Alewife (see red circle below). Looking at the current alignment of tracks, plus available land plus terrain, I see one feasible area near the 128/30 interchange and that is the yellow circle below. This station would include a fair amount of environmental work, road infrastructure, the abandonment of the current Brandeis station

I think a major park + ride/commuter rail station could be good here, but I don't really think it would capture many Route 2 commuters.

Any 128 Station on the Fitchburg line is going to be at the actual junction of route 20/128 as well as the crossover of the Central Mass line and the Fitchburg line. You're looking at something approximating the Weston Transfer station on one side and the development at the end of Jones Rd on the other. The station that gets culled is Kendall Green.

 

[The EGE]

As jbray said, this is the likely area for such a station:

Unless Main Street gets new ramps from 128, the most likely access would be from US 20 slightly west of the interchange.

 

[CBCArch61]

As jbray said, this is the likely area for such a station:
View attachment 54310

Unless Main Street gets new ramps from 128, the most likely access would be from US 20 slightly west of the interchange.

I initially thought of this land as well. but most of it is marshland and would be so prohibitively expensive for the MBTA to build on that land. That's how I ultimately ended up on the east of 95/128.
Looking at the aerial, the MBTA would have to assess the wetlands (BLUE) and presumably an access easement for the office building (YELLOW), leaving only a select amount land for a large parking structure, platforms and track space for layover.

My thoughts of going to the East of 128/95 would have less wetlands to deal with (probably need to build over the stream/waterway that is present(BLUE)), have expansion of the existing Sibley Road (YELLOW) and have a direction connection to Brandeis campus (GREEN). This open could provide more visibility and ease of access from the interstate.

I don't disagree that Kendall Green should be culled. Having utilized the Fitchburg Line for almost a decade, that station is almost never used and is only accessed when needed. The available land is what drove me elsewhere.

 

[F-Line to Dudley]

I initially thought of this land as well. but most of it is marshland and would be so prohibitively expensive for the MBTA to build on that land. That's how I ultimately ended up on the east of 95/128.
Looking at the aerial, the MBTA would have to assess the wetlands (BLUE) and presumably an access easement for the office building (YELLOW), leaving only a select amount land for a large parking structure, platforms and track space for layover.

It's not marshland. It's remediated industrial drainage ponds from a quarry that closed 35 years ago. North of the tracks where New York Life is used to be a gas tank farm until the early-90's. Stony Brook is the only natural feature in that whole area. It's all more-than-fine for EIS'ing, and that is the preferred site every study and quasi-study yet looked at.


EDIT: Historic Aerials, 1969.

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

So, worse than marshland.

 

[malabari]

Shirley, Ayer, West Concord, Concord, and Lincoln are all village center stations, as are all the inside-128 stops. They need densification of the surrounding development and improved non-car access; expanding parking at any of them is generally a bad idea, and the existing lots are too small for garages That leaves Littleton/495, Weston/128, and maybe South Acton to soak up the parking demand that can't be mode-shifted. Littleton/495 desperately needs a parking expansion, which the town has been making near-impossible.

With Ayer - after the construction of the parking garage, town residents can still park on the surrounding streets, but those now need resident stickers, and that is free. The parking garage has a fee. If parking is readily available in Littleton, there is not much point in increasing it in Ayer, since other than some parts of Groton really next to Ayer, Littleton is almost as accessible as Ayer. Littleton used to get full before the second express before Covid - so if that demand still exists, expanding it should be a no brainer. It should be near the top of the ridership numbers now?

Shirley is a bit different, though. From places like Townsend and Lancaster, Shirley is much nearer. And I think with Ayer now paid parking - Shirley is the only station that still has free parking?

 

[CBCArch61]

It's not marshland. It's remediated industrial drainage ponds from a quarry that closed 35 years ago. North of the tracks where New York Life is used to be a gas tank farm until the early-90's. Stony Brook is the only natural feature in that whole area. It's all more-than-fine for EIS'ing, and that is the preferred site every study and quasi-study yet looked at.


EDIT: Historic Aerials, 1969.
View attachment 54313

Thanks for this info! So based on previous studies, would a station/park & ride go on top of the old tank farm? Can't imagine it would be cost effective to fill in one of those quarry ponds. It appears that the southern end of the tank farm is considered wetlands and the old location of the tank farm has been redeveloped into an office building (technically part of Waltham as well).
The other location would be just north of the quarry pond up against the rail trail that runs along the old Boston and Maine Railroad.

I just can't imagine backfilling one of these quarry ponds is an effective use of MBTA dollars, but that is just my opinion.

 

[Equilibria]

Thanks for this info! So based on previous studies, would a station/park & ride go on top of the old tank farm? Can't imagine it would be cost effective to fill in one of those quarry ponds. It appears that the southern end of the tank farm is considered wetlands and the old location of the tank farm has been redeveloped into an office building (technically part of Waltham as well).
The other location would be just north of the quarry pond up against the rail trail that runs along the old Boston and Maine Railroad.
View attachment 54685

I just can't imagine backfilling one of these quarry ponds is an effective use of MBTA dollars, but that is just my opinion.

I can't find them these days whenever I look, but this has been conceptually designed already. It's not an imagination-level thing. This is where the MBTA intends to put the station, full stop.