Green Line Extension to Medford & Union Sq

[kjdonovan]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

It's a shame that MassDot didn't approach, say, CapitalOne with the suggestion that one of their new 360 cafes could occupy some space around the headhouse if they agreed to cover the heating installation costs. Imagine how much business they'd get! And you get your coffee, and you get to be warm.

 

[Equilibria]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

It's a shame that MassDot didn't approach, say, CapitalOne with the suggestion that one of their new 360 cafes could occupy some space around the headhouse if they agreed to cover the heating installation costs. Imagine how much business they'd get! And you get your coffee, and you get to be warm.

I'm not sure there's enough width in these ones for that, but it would be an interesting concept to have fare gates in the back of a cafe (instead of having a service counter in a subway station, like Harvard and Alewife). I think bank/cafe/station is too many uses for the floor space, though.

 

[F-Line to Dudley]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

I'm not sure there's enough width in these ones for that, but it would be an interesting concept to have fare gates in the back of a cafe (instead of having a service counter in a subway station, like Harvard and Alewife). I think bank/cafe/station is too many uses for the floor space, though.

Two words: Dunkies kiosks. The one that was (is?) at Sullivan was my daily stimul-crank injection on the morning commute when I lived in East Somerville. The one at Back Bay has insane daily lines. I honestly don't know why Dunkies hasn't written a phat check for an exclusive and expandable 15-year contract to install kiosks in the the Top 20 ridership subway stations that have the structural room to house a kiosk...sort of like the Mass Pike rest stops are all exclusive Gulf gas and McD's installations because that netted the Turnpike Authority a bigger payday than individually renting at each rest stop. Dunkies has gone big on the limited hours mini-kiosk idea with a whole distribution network for truck-supplying those things. If food trucks were easier to license in this state they'd probably be in that biz too.

That might be the biggest revenue-generating franchise opportunity the T could ever pursue. Hell...they might get 10% of their daily revenue out-of-pocket from Transit Police alone. Way bigger a potential ancillary revenue stream than all these dalliances with station naming rights. Massholes run on Dunkin'.

 

[Matthew]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

The Dunkin in the Back Bay Station is so disgusting. Their coffee tastes awful; more awful than usual. I sometimes used to get it while waiting for a train. No more. I'd rather go without.

Why in the world something else hasn't opened in the vacated retail space, I have no idea.

 

[cozzyd]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

Probably the diesel fumes don't mix too well with coffee (or rather they do mix too well?)

 

[underground]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

I love realizing halfway through a Dunks purchase that I'm actually at Donuts n' Donuts. That's the magic of T stop coffee.

 

[F-Line to Dudley]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

Probably the diesel fumes don't mix too well with coffee (or rather they do mix too well?)

The diesel fumes are coming from...INSIDE YOUR COFFEE!!!!

 

[Arlington]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

I have heard they are going ahead with weekday off-peak improvements to the 80/88/91/94/96 and Green Line for the Winter schedule that starts very end of December. I think the Green Line employees may have already started picking their Winter schedule work, and bus should be starting picks soon.

How far in advance will we know the contents of the schedule that starts late December. Seems there are several ways to know:

1) An official "This is what we're doing" SIP plan filed/posted someplace (I forget who is promising these plans to whom)

2) When the paper schedules come out?

3) Some online source (2015 System Map?) showing headways?

4) What sort of system does transit.google.com draw from for "future" trips? (does it just assume that "this week's schedule" always applies?)

 

[winstonoboogie]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

How far in advance will we know the contents of the schedule that starts late December. Seems there are several ways to know:

1) An official "This is what we're doing" SIP plan filed/posted someplace (I forget who is promising these plans to whom)

2) When the paper schedules come out?

3) Some online source (2015 System Map?) showing headways?

The PDF's of the paper schedules are usually posted a week or two before the new schedule starts. That will probably be the first public place they will show up. Internally, bus drivers and streetcar motorpersons are already "picking" their winter work, so they know what the new schedules will be.

 

[Matthew]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

Google relies on the published GTFS specifications for schedules. The MBTA creates and publishes these quarterly, at the beginning of each schedule period. You can find the latest copy on the developer website. I assume that they send a copy to Google automatically, behind the scenes.

 

[Arlington]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

The PDF's of the paper schedules are usually posted a week or two before the new schedule starts. That will probably be the first public place they will show up. Internally, bus drivers and streetcar motorpersons are already "picking" their winter work, so they know what the new schedules will be.

Thanks! For better or worse, I haven't been this excited about a new bus schedule (and disappointed about getting a bus instead of a trolley we were "promised") since the Silver Line opened.

There's a phrase you don't often see: "excited about a bus schedule".

 

[ceo]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

If the Newton stations can get by with bare platforms and ped crossings, then why not these? Heck, at Union you don't even need the crossings. It's not even like the platforms or the driveway are shielded, so all of that protection from the elements protects no one standing still. It's solely for the benefit of the Charlie Card machines.

And creating a fare-paid area. You can't do pay-on-board because the stations have to be all center-platform due to the ROW width. (Unless the Green Line converts to proof-of-payment, but I'm not sure how that would work with a mix of POP and turnstile stations.) Also because of the center platforms, getting there requires a level change, which in turn requires redundant elevators per ADA. The T will never build another station with at-grade pedestrian crossings, due to the safety risk.

 

[cozzyd]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

SF Muni has a mix of turnstiles and POP and I don't think it's a problem?

 

[F-Line to Dudley]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

And creating a fare-paid area. You can't do pay-on-board because the stations have to be all center-platform due to the ROW width. (Unless the Green Line converts to proof-of-payment, but I'm not sure how that would work with a mix of POP and turnstile stations.) Also because of the center platforms, getting there requires a level change, which in turn requires redundant elevators per ADA. The T will never build another station with at-grade pedestrian crossings, due to the safety risk.

Not necessarily. The reason for full enclosed stations here is that the ROW is in a cut. You can't get down there onto an island platform without stairs/elevators, which pretty much demands a headhouse.


If, say, you coverted the Needham Line to light rail there'd be no need to enclose Newton Upper Falls, Needham Heights, Needham Center, and Needham Junction like that. They're all open-access from the sides at street level like most of the D stops. You could say the same for Urban Ring light rail since that's nearly all open side access.

The headhouses may be excessive, but their existence was kind of unavoidable on a ROW that's either sunk or elevated at every single stop.

 

[Equilibria]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

Not necessarily. The reason for full enclosed stations here is that the ROW is in a cut. You can't get down there onto an island platform without stairs/elevators, which pretty much demands a headhouse.

How did they get away with Yawkey, then?

 

[F-Line to Dudley]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

How did they get away with Yawkey, then?

The (misguided?) assumption that TOD paradise was going to swallow all of the side access with gigantic trackside buildings. Yawkey wouldn't be so palatial if every development party didn't have their finger in that pot larding it up.


Also, the platform design on that tricky curve prevented a track crossing and island platform so the access to each of those weird side platforms is very unorthodox.


But mostly...Fenway Center vaporware.

 

[winstonoboogie]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

Thanks! For better or worse, I haven't been this excited about a new bus schedule (and disappointed about getting a bus instead of a trolley we were "promised") since the Silver Line opened.

There's a phrase you don't often see: "excited about a bus schedule".

I was able to get a summary of the changed bus frequencies from a friend.
All changes are weekday only.

Route 80: Improve midday frequencies to every 25 minutes and evening frequencies to every 45.

Route 88: Improve midday frequencies to every 20 minutes and evening to every 30

Route 91: Improve midday frequencies to every 20/25 and evening to every 50

Route 94: Improve midday frequencies to every 35 and evening to every 40

Route 96: Improve midday frequencies to every 35 and evening to every 40

 

[Matthew]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

Turnstiles are simply optional with PoP, not incompatible. Pointless, really. Especially in SF, with its well documented turnstile uselessness.

The T will be building new stations with level crossings on the Green Line -- they're planning to do it on Comm Ave and have plenty more to go.

 

[underground]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

Turnstiles are simply optional with PoP, not incompatible. Pointless, really.

Depending on how your system's set up, it can be useful for head counting. But yeah, the utility sort of begins and ends there.

 

[Arlington]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

I was able to get a summary of the changed bus frequencies from a friend.
All changes are weekday only.
Route 80: Improve midday frequencies to every 25 minutes and evening frequencies to every 45.
Route 88: Improve midday frequencies to every 20 minutes and evening to every 30
Route 91: Improve midday frequencies to every 20/25 and evening to every 50
Route 94: Improve midday frequencies to every 35 and evening to every 40
Route 96: Improve midday frequencies to every 35 and evening to every 40

Thanks for the info. As far as improvements go, I'd say I was hoping for better. Here, for comparison, is a Before > After for each route:

80
MID 35 > 25
EVE 60 > 45
88
MID 30 > 20
EVE 35 > 30 (clockface!)
91
MID 25 > 20/25
EVE 65 > 50
94
MID 48 > 35
EVE 50 > 40
96
MID 48 > 35
EVE 50 > 40

Since some of these pairs overlap it is better than it looks. 80&88 will make service ~12min headways from "Washington St" to Lechmere. 94&96 will make service every 18 minutes from Davis to the future College Ave station (but c'mon if they'd taken them to 30 mins each, they'd run clockface individually and every 15 together...that's the kind of service people could depend on).