Green Line Extension to Medford & Union Sq

[HelloBostonHi]

I am intrigued by the choice of destination verbage for the inbound side "Copley and West".

Is that really the most logical wayfinding? Would it not make more sense to mention the major transfer stations like North Station, Government Center, Park...?

WB trains are all "Copley and West" and EB trains are all "Park St and North" which is an admittedly strange choice but it means that people on the central branch don't need to know or care about the final destination if it's beyond those points. You know that any train you get on at that platform will get you to at least copley which is far enough for most transfers. They've been using that designation for at least a few years now on all the surface stops, replacing the old inbound and outbound system. On the surface stops, inbound is Park St and North, and outbound is signed as the terminus

 

[BostonTrainGuy]

So they are keeping the Lechmere name I guess?

 

[Roxxma]

So they are keeping the Lechmere name I guess?

Why wouldn't they?

 

[HenryAlan]

This is not the way to do that, though, especially since the E branch that will actually serve these stations goes south from Copley, not west.

Two thoughts about this:

1. It's consistent with how the Green Line is labelled in the downtown transfer stations where inbound/outbound are meaningless.
2. Although Heath St. is indeed south of Copley, it is also West of Copley, so the ordinal reference still works.

 

[BostonTrainGuy]

Why wouldn't they?

Usual "Cancel Culture" reason:

Familiar name comes under question - The Boston Globe

 

[Equilibria]

Two thoughts about this:

1. It's consistent with how the Green Line is labelled in the downtown transfer stations where inbound/outbound are meaningless.
2. Although Heath St. is indeed south of Copley, it is also West of Copley, so the ordinal reference still works.

1. Inbound/Outbound aren't meaningless here, though.
2. That might technically be true, but Beacon, Commonwealth, and the Highland Branch are relatively close together and generally serve adjacent areas (Brookline, Newton, and Allston). The E diverges in a major way.

The Inbound vs. Outbound convention gets confusing the closer you are to the core, but out in Somerville it seems like the clearest way to explain the direction.

I've brought this up before, but it seems like there would be benefits of not keeping the B-E convention fixed from terminus to terminus. Why not do something like have B-E as the termini in the SW, then have 1-4 as the termini on the other end (e.g., 1=Medford/Tufts, 2=Union, 3=Government Center, 4=Park Street)? Then each train gets labeled with a letter and number showing its two termini, allowing trains from any terminus on one end to serve any terminus on the other. That way you could mix and match, for example, "D1" trains, "D4" trains, "E1" trains, "B3" trains, etc.

This would allow more operational flexibility (e.g., if there's a track issue at Fenway it won't shut down service at Ball Square) and also allow more flexibility for riders (e.g., someone who lives in Allston but works at Cambridge Crossing will only have to change GL trains about half of the time instead of all of the time).

Yeah, this is a pretty good idea. Doesn't address the station signage, though, since the alphanumeric combos would be displayed on the train.

Seems pretty clear to me that the station signage for GLX should say "Inbound/Outbound" as the labels on the graphics themselves do. Maybe just an oversight, copying the frame from a project at Arlington or something? These are renderings of art, not directional signage.

 

[Arlington]

Usual "Cancel Culture" reason:

Familiar name comes under question - The Boston Globe

"Kendall East" would be good for property values

 

[Charlie_mta]

"Kendall East" would be good for property values

"East Cambridge" would be geographically correct, but I'd prefer to leave it as "Lechmere" as that is the historical, well-known name.

 

[Equilibria]

"East Cambridge" would be geographically correct, but I'd prefer to leave it as "Lechmere" as that is the historical, well-known name.

I'd actually argue the opposite. No one knows where Lechmere Square is, really. East Cambridge is the neighborhood name, and taking the name of a slaveholder out of circulation is a bonus.

 

[Charlie_mta]

I'd actually argue the opposite. No one knows where Lechmere Square is, really. East Cambridge is the neighborhood name, and taking the name of a slaveholder out of circulation is a bonus.

I'd be okay with "East Cambridge".

 

[Arlington]

We seem to be past the coldest / snowiest part of winter. How'd the schedule hold up? Are we for-real about 8 months from USq and 10 months to Tufts?

 

[Javier]

 

[kjdonovan]

We seem to be past the coldest / snowiest part of winter. How'd the schedule hold up? Are we for-real about 8 months from USq and 10 months to Tufts?

I have the same question and don't want it to get lost amid the great pics. I live by Gilman Square station and it, for one, does NOT look like it is going to be a finished product in 10 months. They are still moving earth around, building bridges and retaining walls, let alone the station, tracks, electrical infrastructure--and testing.

 

[stefal]

I have the same question and don't want it to get lost amid the great pics. I live by Gilman Square station and it, for one, does NOT look like it is going to be a finished product in 10 months. They are still moving earth around, building bridges and retaining walls, let alone the station, tracks, electrical infrastructure--and testing.

Earthwork tends to take the most time. Once things are level, layouts are perfected, foundations are in, etc., the rest just goes in and falls in place relatively quickly. Equipment installation such as elevators and any electrical will be the next step that will take a bit of time.

Testing is my concern. That can take a while, and the later they start testing, the more it will become clear where we stand in a schedule. I haven't seen an actual gantt chart, if they've made on public, but it'd be helpful if anyone has seen one and can post it


Also, from Javier's most recent pics, that's one clean and tidy right of way. Hopefully it stays in that sort of condition for years to come.

 

[Vagabond]

Any updates on the originally scheduled April '21 completion of the new Charles viaduct? Tough to test before then...

 

[bigpicture7]

I'd be okay with "East Cambridge".

I think "East Cambridge" would be fine too. Gotta admit I actually have a bit of nostalgia for the Lechmere store. It reminds me of some generally positive memories of pre-eCommerce times. I know this is not what the transit station was named for, but the station's name did serve as one last vestige of that retailer in my mind.

 

[Ruairi]

Earthwork tends to take the most time. Once things are level, layouts are perfected, foundations are in, etc., the rest just goes in and falls in place relatively quickly. Equipment installation such as elevators and any electrical will be the next step that will take a bit of time.

Testing is my concern. That can take a while, and the later they start testing, the more it will become clear where we stand in a schedule. I haven't seen an actual gantt chart, if they've made on public, but it'd be helpful if anyone has seen one and can post it

Also, from Javier's most recent pics, that's one clean and tidy right of way. Hopefully it stays in that sort of condition for years to come.

I presume they can start the testing and continue building the stations/community path and other peripheral aspects all at the same time?

 

[kjdonovan]

The team is getting cagey with their Gantt charts in the recent public meetings. This bridge closure one from the December public meeting gives insight into a best-case scenario, but it hasn't been updated since October. Medford and School Street are now reopening in "late Spring" rather than what they show here which is mid-May. Late spring, technically, could be June 20th.

 

[RandomWalk]

Given the sheer length of the Medford Street closure, they could have replaced the whole bridge.

 

[stefal]

I presume they can start the testing and continue building the stations/community path and other peripheral aspects all at the same time?

Hard to say, I'd say no, based off how strict Right-of-Way safe practices are (and they take them quite seriously). They'd be considered in the highest 'safety risk' level, and could potentially slow things down quite a bit. Maybe if they do testing on one track at a time, they can get away with doing some things, but I'm not sure.

That being said, they might be able to do testing in segments, such that they do testing up to Gillman Square, but not to and beyond Magoun until later, for example. That would allow for work to continue nearly uninterrupted in the untested sections while testing chugs forward. Then they change the segments over time, until the construction is at substantial completion.

I should also note I have no idea what the testing involved in new rail lines and station platform entails. Could change my answer..