Green Line Extension to Medford & Union Sq

kjdonovan said:
Ironically, the path will need its lighting turned on before they open it... and that will require completion of all that electrical work.
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So there’s no way to temporarily hook it to the city grid or use a generator or just open the path from dawn to dusk? That’s just off the top if my head.
 
Speaking of something on GLX that has electric power:
New Lechmere station aglow (this evening, 10/25):

20211025_183642.jpg
 
The folks with condos backing onto the Magoun platform are going to love it when that station lights up.
 
Ruairi said:
So there’s no way to temporarily hook it to the city grid or use a generator or just open the path from dawn to dusk? That’s just off the top if my head.
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In some instances the necessary effort and/or expense to produce an interim solution simply isn't deemed worthwhile. In others institutional indifference means that alternatives are simply ignored or not even considered at all. I don't know what the specific explanation is in this case; preferably they reached a reasoned, reasonable (if regrettable) conclusion that it would be too difficult, too expensive, or too disruptive to open the path ahead of the GLX, though it also wouldn't surprise me if they simply couldn't be bothered (disappointing and annoying as that would be).
 
As someone who's worked on pre-revenue testing for a rail line, I can tell you that having good access to the ROW is very important. It's much easier to bring a pickup truck in on your access road (here, the path) than to have to use a hi-rail truck - and vastly easier than carrying 50 pounds of tools from the nearest road. Obviously there are many locations like the viaduct where there's no other option, but having use of the path will make testing of that section much easier.
 
RandomWalk said:
The folks with condos backing onto the Magoun platform are going to love it when that station lights up.
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Might not notice it. I assume its all LED lighting which is very directional and can be shielded rather well from bleeding/pollution. Don't think it would be much worse than having windows at street light level (at least for me is at the second floor).
 
The MBTA site currently lists this under "Upcoming Service Changes":
After Union Square station opens:

  • E Branch trains will terminate at Union Square
  • D Branch trains will terminate at North Station
During Medford Branch testing:

  • E Branch trains will terminate at North Station
  • D Branch trains will terminate at Union Square
After the Medford Branch opens:

  • E Branch trains will terminate at Medford/Tufts
  • D Branch trains will terminate at Union Square
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This seems unlikely - with the current schedule Medford Branch testing would begin around the time Union Square opens - and none of the recent news stories said anything about it.
 
The T has posted this on their October 29th weekly Greenline Transformation email:

As a reminder, D Branch trains now run to North Station, and both B and C Branch trains proceed eastbound to Government Center before turning around. These service changes, which began last weekend, will help improve operations on the Green Line and enhance service to the Longwood Medical Area and other employment destinations on the D and E Branches by connecting these lines directly to North Station and the commuter rail. When the Green Line Extension (GLX) opens, D and E Branches will be extended beyond North Station. The B Branch change from Park Street to Government Center also facilitates transfers to the Blue Line and to downtown locations near Government Center.
 
vanshnookenraggen said:
I haven't really heard anything, but is there serious talk about rerouting bus lines to better serve the GLX?
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There's not necessarily a lot to be rerouted, especially since none of the stations save Lechmere were designed as bus terminals. I believe the MBTA has also committed to keeping the 80. I could see some sort of swapping between the 94, 96, and 134 to reroute the 134 to Davis via College Ave, but that's about it.
 
The EGE said:
There's not necessarily a lot to be rerouted, especially since none of the stations save Lechmere were designed as bus terminals. I believe the MBTA has also committed to keeping the 80. I could see some sort of swapping between the 94, 96, and 134 to reroute the 134 to Davis via College Ave, but that's about it.
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Tinkering at the margins, but: Cut the 88 (or mostly cut - not sure about the school trips), redistribute service to the 87/89/90?

Inbound boardings Davis-Lechmere are going to crater with GLX. No one is going to be boarding a bus to Lechmere from Highland Ave when they could just board the Green Line instead @ Magoun/Gilman/East Somerville. Seems like that service is better redirected to other routings hitting populations either further from the GLX or not going to Lechmere.
 
Yeah, nowhere on the route is more than a half-mile walk to Davis or a GLX station save for the Clarendon Hill portion, so I could see it going away. (Ideally with the buses being used to beef up the 87 and 89, which still do have unique catchments.)
 
To continue this brainstorm, here are some rough tinkering thoughts. I definitely would rather see no immediate changes and a study of the ridership data after GLX opens before pursuing anything, but here are my gut thoughts based on where I think the ridership will end up:

Routes to Cut (with resources distributed elsewhere below):
  • 85
    • The 85 has always been a low ridership route, but it is now even lower. It averaged 643 riders per weekday in 2018, and now averages just 254 riders per weekday.
    • Most riders board inbound from the Spring Hill area and most alight at Kendall/MIT. I predict that with the opening of Union Square station, the already low ridership will mostly disappear.
    • The only unique service area is the top of Spring Hill, which will be less than a mile walk from Union Square Station.
    • I bet most of the Kendall/MIT alightings are transferring to the Red Line inbound. These trips can now be replaced by the superior service of walking to Union Square and having a one-seat ride into Boston. The CT2 duplicates Union <-> Kendall for those traveling to Kendall Square.
Routes to Re-Route:
  • 94
    • Eliminate the Medford Square <-> West Medford section
      • Duplicated by the 95. In 2019, the 95 bus was rerouted and extended along High Street to Arlington Center. The presents an opportunity to untangle the circuitous 94 from Medford Square.
    • Replace the College Ave <-> Davis section with a College Ave <-> Wellington routing along:
      • College Ave, Frederick/Stanley Ave, Main St, Hancock St, Mystic Ave, Mystic Valley Parkway
      • With the opening of the GLX, there will be more demand for reaching/transferring to those stations from Medford. This re-routing provides a section of "urban ring" for those traveling between the northern ends of Orange Line, the northern end of GLX, the Lowell Line. It would also provide a one-seat ride between West Medford, Tufts, South Medford, and Wellington, most of which are lacking a one-seat ride between one another.
      • The vast majority of passengers use Route 94 to access Davis Station, where they can transfer to and from the Red Line and other bus services.
      • I predict that many of these riders will instead transfer to the Green Line at College Ave.
      • For those wanting to travel to Davis, the 96 duplicates much of this service.
  • 90
    • Re-route from a Davis <-> Assembly via Sullivan alignment to a Davis <-> Wellington via Magoun Square alignment.
    • The 90 would follow its old route between Davis and Highland&Lowell. From there, it would travel along Lowell St, Medford St, Broadway, McGrath Highway, and Fellsway to/from Wellington.
      • Most of the current 90 route will be better served by the GLX.
      • This would provide a one-seat ride between Wellington and Davis. A much more efficient one than the old jog via Sullivan and Assembly.
      • A new one-seat ride will also be created between Wellington and much of Somerville, including Winter Hill and Magoun Square.
      • This route will also connect the new GLX 'Magoun Square Station' with Magoun Square itself ;-)
  • 96
    • Eliminate the Davis <-> Harvard section
      • Duplicated (Red Line, 77, and 87 can adequately serve these trips).
      • The 96 has significantly higher ridership between Medford Square and Davis Station than between Davis Station and Harvard Station.
    • Extend the 96 along the same route as the 101 from Medford Square to Malden Center.
      • This is already a high-ridership, established bus corridor that could use more service.
      • Establish a one-seat ride between Malden Center and Tufts/Davis.
      • This would act as another outer urban ring spoke, connecting the northern end of the Orange Line with the northern end of the Red Line.
  • 80
    • Eliminate the Gilman Square <-> Lechmere section (and possibly truncate all the way from Ball Square or even College Ave, depending on ridership)
      • Duplicated by GLX (longer distance) and 88 (local trips)
    • Extend the 80 from Arlington Center to Belmont Station along MA-60.
      • Provides a section of "suburban ring" through Belmont and Arlington.
      • Provides a one-seat ride between Belmont and: Arlington Center, West Medford (connecting the Lowell and Fitchburg Lines), GLX, Tufts, Powderhouse, Magoun, etc.
Bottom Line:

GLX provides an opportunity to replace some feeder routes with more crosstown connectivity. These changes proposed above would create just that
  • Wellington to Davis via Magoun Square
  • Malden Center to Davis via Medford Square and Tufts
  • Wellington to West Medford via Tufts
  • Belmont to GLX via Arlington Center and West Medford
 
Directly from John Dalton:

He said the multi-use community path that runs alongside the project and connects bicycle networks north and west of Boston to the city is about 90 percent complete. But he cautioned that the path won’t open until after full Green Line service begins because a major chunk of the path serves as a supply chain corridor for the Medford branch of the line.
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I seem to recall that there was some commitment to retain the 80, but my Google-fu is failing to turn that up.
 
RandomWalk said:
I seem to recall that there was some commitment to retain the 80, but my Google-fu is failing to turn that up.
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I recall a some-but-not-total commitment, but if all the "outer" ridership gets off at Tufts, it makes more sense to route it to Davis or Assembly on its inner portion.
 
Arlington said:
I recall a some-but-not-total commitment, but if all the "outer" ridership gets off at Tufts, it makes more sense to route it to Davis or Assembly on its inner portion.
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I would argue that if this were the case, it would make much more sense to truncate the route on its eastern end, and it extend it beyond Arlington Center to the west, rather than duplicating the routes that already serve Assembly (90) or Davis (87, 89, 94, 96). Re-routing to Davis or Assembly would provide very few new one-seat rides. Extending to Belmont Center, for example, would greatly improve connectivity between Belmont and Arlington, Medford, and Somerville.
 
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