Green Line Extension to Medford & Union Sq

[HenryAlan]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

I am curious if some modern elevated light rail as opposed to the older, street covering kind will spark a new interest in other areas that used to have an El after they see how much less intrusive it is today.

I wonder the same thing every time I see renders for the new Lechmere station. I think elevated light rail is cool and interesting/futuristic looking. And there are several places in Boston where it could prove an effective and cost efficient upgrade over congested bus routes.

 

[Arlington]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

The FTA FFGA (Full Funding Grant Agreement) for half the cost of the GLX phases 2 thru 4 should be still on schedule for late 2014, given that the MassDOT funding plan did NOT rely on indexed increases in the gas tax, according to Beverly Scott (as quoted by Somerville Step)

At the Somerville Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner this past Wednesday, MBTA GM Beverly Scott very clearly stated that the GLX will not be affected by the failure of gas tax indexing. The MBTA had provided the Feds with a financing plan that took the possibility of elimination of gas tax indexing into account and they were OK with it.

 

[FK4]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

I wonder the same thing every time I see renders for the new Lechmere station. I think elevated light rail is cool and interesting/futuristic looking. And there are several places in Boston where it could prove an effective and cost efficient upgrade over congested bus routes.

Might look slightly better. Im not that impressed. I certainly wouldnt want to live in the shadow of any elevated line, highway, rail or other, no matter how snazzed up it was.

 

[bostoneophyte]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

Washington Street Station 90% design:

 

[bostoneophyte]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

Union Square Station 90% design:

 

[Equilibria]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

I hate to always be the "station name guy", but "Washington" is a terrible name for that station. There are Washington Streets all over the area - the Silver Line runs down one, Downtown Crossing and Woodland are located at Washington St. but named differently, and both the B and C branches of the Green Line have a station already named "Washington" with a different suffix. 3 of 4 Green Line branches make a stop at a Washington St.

Not being from Somerville, I don't know what locals would like to call it, but "Union East" (vs. "Union Square" or "Union West" on the other branch) is descriptive, since for large parts of that residential neighborhood this will be the nearest station. "Prospect Hill," perhaps?

 

[davem]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

I hate to always be the "station name guy", but "Washington" is a terrible name for that station. There are Washington Streets all over the area - the Silver Line runs down one, Downtown Crossing and Woodland are located at Washington St. but named differently, and both the B and C branches of the Green Line have a station already named "Washington" with a different suffix. 3 of 4 Green Line branches make a stop at a Washington St.

Not being from Somerville, I don't know what locals would like to call it, but "Union East" (vs. "Union Square" or "Union West" on the other branch) is descriptive, since for large parts of that residential neighborhood this will be the nearest station. "Prospect Hill," perhaps?

Agree 100000%. It was supposed to be Cobble Hill or Brickbottom, no clue what happened. The T needs to take a seminar in placemaking, because they suck at it.


*west station, gripe gripe gripe*

 

[Matthew]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

Those fare gates are going to be such a bottleneck, sigh.

BTW, if you were still wondering how the GLX price tag exploded, well, here's your answer. Palaces.

 

[Equilibria]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

*west station, gripe gripe gripe*

When WMATA went through this process for their Silver Line, they made some initial recommendations, then consulted local officials, then those local officials conducted an online survey and a ton of workshops and made recommendations back to the agency:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...how-the-silver-line-stations-got-their-names/

The process is still ongoing for the later phase stations in Loudon County. It's fine to have names like "West Station" and "Washington" during the planning and even the early construction phases, but you need to get out there and ask what actual residents want to call it at some point before it opens. I get that the T likes one-word names (hence "Assembly" and "Union") but Priority 1 for a station name should be that it tells you where it is, not that it made for easy shorthand during the project planning process or that Michael Dukakis inexplicably loved it.

Those fare gates are going to be such a bottleneck, sigh.

BTW, if you were still wondering how the GLX price tag exploded, well, here's your answer. Palaces.

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.

 

[Ruairi]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

Re. station name,
yup, I live next door to the new station and I'd prefer if it was called Cobble hill or Brickbottom.

 

[whsurveyor]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

"Doctor" Bill Wood is a well-known crazy person, permanent distraction at all manner of Medford town meetings with his "Old Man Yells at Cloud" schtick, and local public access TV carwreck. He and his wife are are just about the most unpopular people in town. He sounds like he was on his meds for that op-ed, which is an improvement of his usual hysteria. But that's about the least-credible voice the Globe could've ever chosen for the con argument, and even people in Medford against GLX would throw that article in the trash on-spec.

Check out page 35 of this thread for a refresher on this crackpot: http://www.archboston.org/community/showthread.php?t=1321&page=35. It's too bad the YouTube montage of "Medford's weirdest town meetings" has disappeared...it's like a greatest hits reel of Wood's most batshit rants.

After seeing that in the Globe yesterday, I thought to myself; don't they have some kind of editing standards for published editorials? He basically took every anti-gentrification buzzword ever conceived and threw them all together into a completely nonsensical rant. Interesting to see he has a history of craziness.

 

[bigeman312]

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.

 

[datadyne007]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

...an architect that actually puts sprinklers in renders! My heart be still!

 

[Arlington]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

Gotta change it to Cobble Hill or Brickbottom. Either will do, but nothing else comes close in terms of place-making.

Brickbottom is probably a little edgier (sounds like LeadBelly). Mayor Curtatone should just do it by fiat.

 

[BPLange7]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

I was happy with Brickbottom but I would take East Somerville too. Washington is awful. Clearly a placeholder to avoid early naming of the station while a proper name is sorted out.

 

[davem]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

"silver line way"

 

[CSTH]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

Clearly a placeholder to avoid early naming of the station while a proper name is sorted out.

So...'Bank of America Station' it is, then?

 

[davem]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

Also, historically the station in that location was Prospect Hill. Cobble Hill doesn't even show up on most old maps.

 

[bigeman312]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

Also, historically the station in that location was Prospect Hill. Cobble Hill doesn't even show up on most old maps.

Prospect Hill was a good name at the time. This would still be an okay name, but McGrath Highway really cuts off Prospect Hill from where this station is, and makes it "feel" like a more distant neighborhood than it is, in spite of the fact that this is the closest station to most of Prospect Hill. Today, Prospect Hill is very oriented towards Union Square, probably due in part to McGrath's existence.

 

[Equilibria]

Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011

I was happy with Brickbottom but I would take East Somerville too. Washington is awful. Clearly a placeholder to avoid early naming of the station while a proper name is sorted out.

Given that "Brickbottom" was the name for most of the early planning, I actually don't hold out much hope that the MBTA doesn't think this is the final name. The name was changed to "Washington" once already. I have no idea why.

Prospect Hill was a good name at the time. This would still be an okay name, but McGrath Highway really cuts off Prospect Hill from where this station is, and makes it "feel" like a more distant neighborhood than it is, in spite of the fact that this is the closest station to most of Prospect Hill. Today, Prospect Hill is very oriented towards Union Square, probably due in part to McGrath's existence.

Well, McGrath is going away in it's current form, so maybe this could help re-unite things.