Gov't Center Station Rebuild

meddlepal said:
It's projects like these that make people think the T is wasting money (maybe they're not, i'm not really qualified to decide that). To the voter and the people who complain to politicians this looks like a massive waste of resources. They're going to argue, what's wrong with a stair case and a simpler roof?
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It is a pretty simple glass box. I think you'd have to worry if it were a sensual curve (looking at you, Kenmore bus shed), but this is pretty simple and once you've decided on a single-story box, stretching it doesn't add to cost and really helps wayfinding.
 
The biggest issue is the flat roof. Anything that can pile up there - snow, thrown trash, pigeon droppings - obviously will. And the T will never clean it.
 
The EGE said:
The biggest issue is the flat roof. Anything that can pile up there - snow, thrown trash, pigeon droppings - obviously will. And the T will never clean it.
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Unless I'm just not seeing things right, the roof seems to have a slight pitch to it.
 
There is a very slight pitch - on the order of ten degrees - but that won't help much of anything. It's going to be covered in pigeon dropping within days. I can't wait to see the media circus when they discover that the T has to pay cleaners once a week.
 
My real issue is that they keep using glass. Kenmore looks like crap and is a shelter by name only, all the elements get in. While at least the new Gov't Center headhouse is contained, as mentioned its going to be a maintance headache and look aweful within a year. The early subway designers used white tile and concrete for a reason. It looks classy and is the easiest thing to clean ever.
 
I get that they want to get away from the bunker like designs from the 60s and 70s but this isn't Miami. The Kenmore bus station is particularly laughable.
 
I think the headhouses at Copley are my favorite new ones (not included the beautifully restored iron work of the Library entrance). They are clearly entrances to the system, but they don't get in the way either. Ditto Arlington, although Arlington is a little more blended into the urban fabric.
 
Some pics of glass going onto the headhouse roof:

http://www.universalhub.com/2015/least-we-know-glass-pretty-tough

Within that link there's another link to a few more pics.

Could it be that the roof slopes enough for heavy rains to wash pigeon shit off? I sure hope so. If I close my mind to the T's track record in keeping things clean, I find this design growing on me. But I spend enough time in or near T facilities that I can only close my mind for brief moments to the T's track record in keeping things clean. And then reality rushes back in and I have a vision of years' worth of pigeon deposits being left unattended to. Which brings me back to the fervent hope that the slope suffices to allow for natural cleaning to happen during heavy rains. There'd still be a buildup in between rains, but at least if it doesn't accumulate endlessly.

It looks like pretty shallow slope though, I am not optimistic....
 
Do pigeons like to sit/s*it on glass? Maybe it creeps them out, like cows not crossing cattle guards.

Usually Pigeons like the scruffiest asphalt tiled roof in my hood (though, we don't have any glass roofs in my hood, so I wouldn't know)
 
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They like to crap on cars, sidewalks and other things. Why not glass? Hah!
 
Arlington said:
Do pigeons like to sit/s*it on glass? Maybe it creeps them out, like cows not crossing cattle guards.

Usually Pigeons like the scruffiest asphalt tiled roof in my hood (though, we don't have any glass roofs in my hood, so I wouldn't know)
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I've been wondering this myself, since it seems to me that there are a lot of glass roofs out there, and I don't remember seeing lots of bird crap on them. I couldn't get a clear answer from google. It seems like your real problems happen when birds nest or sit on the roof - the crap raining down from birds flying overhead isn't enough to cause a big issue. You can deter the birds with spikes or nets, and transit agencies tend to have a lot of experience doing that at above-ground stations.

Since this roof is flat glass and doesn't have things for the birds to perch on, it may be less of a problem than we think.
 
Actually it probably won't be covered in shit. Think about where pigeons hang out, usually on wires, trees, or in places that are sheltered from the elements and prey. A glass roof is going to be hard for them to perch on and is very exposed. Sure you are going to have a random bird hop on now and then but you won't have a large group hanging out dropping mass amounts of poop up there.
 
FWIW, the steel for the emergency egress is now up on Cambridge Street.
 
aaaaaa said:
It is with great sadness that I have to report that the pigeon-shitting-on-glass issue does not appear to have been comprehensively covered on yahoo answers. I guess only time will provide us with an answer.
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Great opportunity for students from local colleges and U's to work on projects in many domains:

  • 1. counting pigeons versus time of day, seasons, etc.
  • 2. measuring their droppings amounts and composition versus time,
  • 3. measuring the opacity of the droppings on the glass versus time
  • 4. methods of cleaning the glass
  • 5. methods of discouraging pigeons from frequenting the glass or at least from dumping on the glass -- possibly using lasers or optical projection
  • 6. effects of #5 on the local pigeon and hawk and peregrin falcon populations
  • 7. effects of discouraging pigeons on the commuters and casual visitors [human]
  • 8. sensitivity of the various human subcultures to the pigeon dropping problem
  • 9. effects of long term exposure to pigeon droppings on structures
  • 10. effects of long term exposure to pigeon droppings on human physical and psychological health
  • bound to be others .....
 
I'm still hoping to see either a few pics or a vid of what is now going on down inside the station. Less than a year to go before it reopens! :cool:
 
Any update on the reopening date? I cannot tell if they ahead, on, or behind schedule.
 
Arlington said:
Any update on the reopening date? I cannot tell if they ahead, on, or behind schedule.
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They say that no news is good news.

Nothing has come out from down there in a long time. We are totally in the dark as to how the reconstruction process is going.

We can only HOPE that things are moving right along as planned. As far as I know, the projected / targeted reopening date is still planned for sometime next March.

At least. I'm going to try to find out more on the MBTA's website. They should have something there. :confused:
 
Go here;

http://mbta.com/riding_the_t/default.asp?id=26899#videos

Scroll down to near the bottom. There are some new pics posted there from March last year to THIS month! Plus a few vids.

Rebar is being put in, in some areas, and the construction progress is still ongoing.

The frame, which is wrapped up like a mummy, for one of the escalators - the one that will be connected from the street level to the Green Line level has been installed. :cool:
 
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Looking at the 1-2-3 Center through the glass is fun, y'all should try it sometime.
 
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