Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011
A list of station names better than Washington, in order of quality:
- Brickbottom
- Inner Belt
- East Somerville
- Cobble Hill
- Ward One
- Ward Two
- Prospect Hill
Washington - bad. "Washington" is crap, as it is not useful for way-finding AT ALL.
Prospect Hill - okay. "Prospect Hill" is really the other side of McGrath Highway, but for most of Prospect Hill, this will be the closest stop and it is a recognizable and unique name.
Ward Two - okay. Personally, I think "Ward Two" should be reserved for the stop after Union Square once that branch is extended to Porter (one can dream, right?). Also, the stop will not actually be in Ward Two, but at least it is a semi-recognizable and unique name.
Ward One - okay. "Ward One" is technically correct and could take off as a neighborhood designation for this quasi no-man's-land, but isn't really used now to define a neighborhood.
Cobble Hill - pretty good. I feel like there is some discrepancy over what people refer to as "Cobble Hill." Some find it to be the hill between here and Sullivan Square. Other's find it to be synonymous with Ward Two (which this station technically lies outside of). However, the Cobble Hill Apartments and Cobble Hill Plaza are immediately adjacent to this station and closer than either of those previous definitions.
East Somerville - good. While "East Somerville" is not perfect, it is very recognizable and unique. This station is certainly on the edge of East Somerville, and will be the closest station to much of East Somerville, and the closest Green Line station to almost all of E.S.
Inner Belt - good. The station will definitely serve the Inner Belt. It is a somewhat recognizable and very unique name. There will never be a station that serves the Inner Belt more than this one, and it is already in use for the adjacent neighborhood. Some confusion may lie in the fact that Inner Belt Rd. is not next to the station.
Brickbottom - good. The station will definitely serve the Brickbottom neighborhood. It is a somewhat recognizable and very unique name. Like Inner Belt, there will never be a station that serves Brickbottom more than this one, and it is already in use for the adjacent neighborhood.
Ideally, the station could be called
Brickbottom/Inner Belt or
Inner Belt/East Somerville or
Brickbottom/East Somerville.