Green Line Extension to Medford & Union Sq

Between West Medford and Winchester, there are enough NIMBYs to ensure GLX will stop at the U-Haul.
 
RandomWalk said:
Between West Medford and Winchester, there are enough NIMBYs to ensure GLX will stop at the U-Haul.
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Well, the point is there *were* enough such NIMBYs in 2005-2009. It has now been 15 years, enough for a lot of generational turnover. Whereas the former residents of my neighborhood (the West Medford through which the route must pass) worked for employers like the school system or at Lawrence Memorial or owned the dry cleaners in town or had man-in-a-van kind of businesses, now the new neighbors work more in Cambridge (particularly in tech or life sciences) or in the Seaport (Amazon, or the other big employers).

Just like the NIMBY's of Arlington who killed Red Line stops beyond Alewife at Arlington Center and Arlington Heights, the NIMBYs who killed stops beyond Tufts at UHaul/W.Med are now hard to even picture, but also like the Red Line, once these things get cut short, you realize the mistake after 15 years, but you don't get a do-over until something more like 60 years later.

That's the problem: the NIMBY's who say "I've lived here for 30 years yadda yadda [tenure, seniority, heirarchy]" get to shout down people who say "I just bought a house and intend to live year for the next 30 years" even though the former manifestly will not live to use the transit they killed, nor feel the opprobrium that we now heap on the Arlington NIMBYs of 1980.
 
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Even if it does later get extended to West Medford, that's probably all the further it will ever get. Going to a stub-end terminal at Winchester Center would be possible, though you'd be cutting down a lot of trees near Wedgemere. Any further would require a tunnel or a second viaduct through Winchester Center, and getting into Woburn on the old Woburn Branch would very difficult (though theoretically possible with a minor reroute on the southern end).

Aside from engineering, the real obstacle is usefulness. If you have every-half-hour all-day service to Lowell and Haverhill, that gives Anderson, Montvale, Winchester Center, and West Medford every-15-minutes all-day service. A two-track line with added passing sidings (especially at West Medford and Montvale) would be sufficient to support that service plus Concord and Portland service. At that point, the longer running time of the GL with local stops would probably offset the frequency benefit of the GL.
 
The EGE said:
getting into Woburn on the old Woburn Branch would very difficult (though theoretically possible with a minor reroute on the southern end).
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Sorry to get on a Crazy Transit Pitches tangent, but what minor re-route opens the Woburn Branch? The ROW's been encroached by multiple buildings.
 
The minor reroute I was thinking of was around the Stop & Shop, but you're correct - there are several large residential buildings near Cross Street that would be major blockers.
 
Brattle Loop said:
Sorry to get on a Crazy Transit Pitches tangent, but what minor re-route opens the Woburn Branch? The ROW's been encroached by multiple buildings.
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There’s absolutely no viable Woburn branch redux. ROW room for four track to Wedgemere if MVP bridge problem can be solved. But then more problems functionally with burying four tracks through West Medford plus a CR and GL superstation? Forget about that.

As Arlington said, demographically West Medford has changed from 15-20 years ago where the support *could* be there for GLX to West Medford. But F-Line is correct functionally it doesn’t work without crazy transit pitch $$$ to fix the CR Canal and High Sts grade crossings plus new/buried CR station PLUS GL at grade station and terminus??

Just seems with the Regional Rail push the option will be to extend GLX to Rt. 16, community path from High St to Rt. 16 station along CR ROW, and ADA West Medford CR station. CR burial under Canal and High has never been proposed in any five year LRT that I’m aware of.
 
RandomWalk said:
Yes. The lighting is the major public art for Magoun station. Since it’s solar LED, they don’t require the full station power feed to work. If you look closely under the bridge you can see the generator temporarily wired into the switchgear, while they are constructing the final electrical feed.
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For those curious, Vagabond screenshotted some of the art program slides here: https://archboston.com/community/th...to-medford-union-sq.1321/page-226#post-392859
 
I've finished my full history on the Wikipedia article on Lechmere station (save for a few images that I'll add today). Along with the Green Line Extension and Union Square station articles that I finished a few months ago, it should have more details about the history than you ever wanted to know.

One of the last things I discovered was these 1979 plans - possibly the first actual plans drawn out for the elevated station - done as part of the Lechmere Canal redevelopment. The 200-foot-wide deck is absolutely wild, though I love the busway with cross-platform transfers.
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The alternative design was, if anything, even wackier: elevated over Route 28, with the busway ramp in the median.
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That design never went anywhere; additional planning in the late 1980s produced a more typical design with a surface busway.
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The mystery of which branches are going where continues with this post on the MBTA website which I feel like must be inaccurate because it contradicts all their own maps and previous statements.

Oh and just to keep everyone confused GLX will temporarily have an entirely unique way of fare payment used nowhere else in the system.

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Texasian said:
GLX station information has officially been uploaded to various online map services… one thing that caught my eye is that Union Square is listed as having E and D line service. Is it possible that they’re going to run all E and D services to Union until the Tufts branch opens?
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I figured this one out, based on GTFS data the very first outbound D branch train of the day leaves from Union Square on weekdays because vehicle scheduling quirks. One train a day is enough for a mapping app to decide that branch goes there.
 
HelloBostonHi said:
View attachment 22392
The mystery of which branches are going where continues with this post on the MBTA website which I feel like must be inaccurate because it contradicts all their own maps and previous statements.

Oh and just to keep everyone confused GLX will temporarily have an entirely unique way of fare payment used nowhere else in the system.
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All other branches terminating at Lechmere? That can't be right, right?
 
HelloBostonHi said:
View attachment 22392
The mystery of which branches are going where continues with this post on the MBTA website which I feel like must be inaccurate because it contradicts all their own maps and previous statements.

Oh and just to keep everyone confused GLX will temporarily have an entirely unique way of fare payment used nowhere else in the system.

View attachment 22393
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Fixed
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The EGE said:
If you have every-half-hour all-day service to Lowell and Haverhill, that gives Anderson, Montvale, Winchester Center, and West Medford every-15-minutes all-day service. A two-track line with added passing sidings (especially at West Medford and Montvale) would be sufficient to support that service plus Concord and Portland service. At that point, the longer running time of the GL with local stops would probably offset the frequency benefit of the GL.
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This. The real solution beyond GLX@UHaul is definitely the overhaul of commuter service (electrification, densification, infill stations, North Station Expansion), and I think you could see more like 10 minute headways (like :00 Manchester, :10 Haverhill, :20 Anderson short turn, :30 Lowell, :40 Haverhill, :50 Anderson). I picture a CR-GLX superstation CR infill (Tufts? Gilman? E. Somvl ?)
 
HelloBostonHi said:
View attachment 22392
The mystery of which branches are going where continues with this post on the MBTA website which I feel like must be inaccurate because it contradicts all their own maps and previous statements.

Oh and just to keep everyone confused GLX will temporarily have an entirely unique way of fare payment used nowhere else in the system.

View attachment 22393
Click to expand...
I don’t quite know what to say about the fare validation process shown in that video. This is just until AFC 2.0 right? Are they actually going to enforce it, or do I just waste 15 seconds of my time if I happen to feel generous to Steve Poftak on that particular day?

The current Charlie cards support transfers, so why can’t that same functionality be used to demonstrate a fare is paid? Everyone will just say they lost their receipt when checked.
 
Badusername said:
I don’t quite know what to say about the fare validation process shown in that video. This is just until AFC 2.0 right? Are they actually going to enforce it, or do I just waste 15 seconds of my time if I happen to feel generous to Steve Poftak on that particular day?

The current Charlie cards support transfers, so why can’t that same functionality be used to demonstrate a fare is paid? Everyone will just say they lost their receipt when checked.
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Hilariously, the GLX page itself says you can validate at the FVMs or use the fareboxes on the trains.
 
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6pm on a Friday and both Lechmere and Union Square were busy, fencing being installed at Union Sq, power washing at Lechmere, temporary asphalt sidewalks in the busway, etc. Definitely still a lot of work to do around the stations even after they open.
 
Brattle Loop said:
Hilariously, the GLX page itself says you can validate at the FVMs or use the fareboxes on the trains.
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They also say this is the only option for magstripe CharlieTickets... How on earth are they going to validate those fares? The on-board fareboxes printing out validation receipts? Asking the driver if they saw you pay?
 
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