Logan Airport Capital Projects

sneijder said:
Not sure why SL1 should take nearly 45m to travel a few miles.. but just off the top of my head, quick fixes to shave off ~10m without much spend:
- Eliminate the double stop at SS (first at the "SL1 airport" signpost, then further up the platform at the SL2/SL3 drop)
- Eliminate the double stop at Silver Line Way (first to change modes, second to let passengers on/off)
- Eliminate the double stop at WTC inbound to SS (first on street-level, then underground)
- Free the police ramp
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SS Double stop was introduced because people waiting for Silver Line Way trunk buses would fill up the SL1 before airport passengers could board. The goal was to have airport passengers board first because SL Trunk riders can take any branch of service.

Freeing the police ramp has proven difficult. The MBTA has tested the proposal with out of service silver line buses during the day and found they were unable to get even close to moving traffic speed before merging (somewhere around 20mph under speed if memory serves me), they also found the wall on the left of the ramp blocks the view of of oncoming cars until the bus is at the bottom of the ramp. Simply put, its a dangerous merge unfortunately.
 
fattony said:
Makes you think a Logan Express from Kendall (as the business hub of Cambridge) might be a good idea. Either on its own or combine it with North Station. The silver line simply isn't working anymore for airport access, at least not during traffic-y hours.
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One day the Sliver Line will serve every town in the state, so everyone will be happy.
 
HelloBostonHi said:
SS Double stop was introduced because people waiting for Silver Line Way trunk buses would fill up the SL1 before airport passengers could board. The goal was to have airport passengers board first because SL Trunk riders can take any branch of service.

Freeing the police ramp has proven difficult. The MBTA has tested the proposal with out of service silver line buses during the day and found they were unable to get even close to moving traffic speed before merging (somewhere around 20mph under speed if memory serves me), they also found the wall on the left of the ramp blocks the view of of oncoming cars until the bus is at the bottom of the ramp. Simply put, its a dangerous merge unfortunately.
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How I've seen it in practice - SL1 experiences bunching during peak times, and as a result, when a SL1 does finally come to SS, the bus is packed absolutely to the gills. Then it makes the second stop, opens/closes doors and no one gets on or off obviously (since the bus is full). Same thing happens at Courthouse and WTC (no one gets off, no one can get on).

At a very minimum eliminate the second SS stop if the bus is full and there is a completely empty SL2 tailgating it right behind. Slowing down both buses for literally nothing.
 
fattony said:
Makes you think a Logan Express from Kendall (as the business hub of Cambridge) might be a good idea. Either on its own or combine it with North Station. The silver line simply isn't working anymore for airport access, at least not during traffic-y hours.
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Hopefully, Red/Blue will address this, and ultimately the Logan APM will solve it.
 
Equilibria said:
Hopefully, Red/Blue will address this, and ultimately the Logan APM will solve it.
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Agreed, but maybe for the next decade or so until those come online we could have a bus that makes the 4 mile trip in less than an hour.
 
Its May so the NTP for the Terminal C expansion and the Terminal B/C airside connector is expected this month correct?

Also saw some vague info about a Terminal A improvements project including a potential post security connection to the rest of the airport?: http://www.massport.com/capitalmedia/L1622/l1622-supplemental-package.pdf
(Also interesting to note that this document is called A380 Gate Accommodations and appears to have no connection to that.)

Terminal E Expansion bidding closes this month: http://www.massport.com/capitalmedia/L338-C2/l338-c2-supplemental-info-elevator.pdf

Anyone know if the Terminal B work is fully completed? Last time I flew through B it was still an absolute mess... Flying again later this month so I guess I'll see.
 
HelloBostonHi said:
Its May so the NTP for the Terminal C expansion and the Terminal B/C airside connector is expected this month correct?

Also saw some vague info about a Terminal A improvements project including a potential post security connection to the rest of the airport?: http://www.massport.com/capitalmedia/L1622/l1622-supplemental-package.pdf
(Also interesting to note that this document is called A380 Gate Accommodations and appears to have no connection to that.)

Terminal E Expansion bidding closes this month: http://www.massport.com/capitalmedia/L338-C2/l338-c2-supplemental-info-elevator.pdf

Anyone know if the Terminal B work is fully completed? Last time I flew through B it was still an absolute mess... Flying again later this month so I guess I'll see.
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The thought the Terminal E project was supposed to break ground in April? When is this supposed to happen? Per Massport the project is to be completed by Q3 2021.

I flew through Terminal B last week and the work they did is really nice. Terminal feels a lot more open and airy and the new food options are great. This is a prime example of Massport working with tight space constraints and really making a nice upgrade to the airport.
 
HelloBostonHi said:
Freeing the police ramp has proven difficult. The MBTA has tested the proposal with out of service silver line buses during the day and found they were unable to get even close to moving traffic speed before merging (somewhere around 20mph under speed if memory serves me), they also found the wall on the left of the ramp blocks the view of of oncoming cars until the bus is at the bottom of the ramp. Simply put, its a dangerous merge unfortunately.
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This is highly unlikely. The ramp is a down-slope and the bus has over 600ft to get up to the speed limit, which is only 45mph. The first merge is also with the underutilized HOV lane. Let's remember that the ramp was designed for this maneuver. If they are concerned, they should have the HOV lanes merge further in advance of this ramp.
 
sm89 said:
This is highly unlikely. The ramp is a down-slope and the bus has over 600ft to get up to the speed limit, which is only 45mph. The first merge is also with the underutilized HOV lane. Let's remember that the ramp was designed for this maneuver. If they are concerned, they should have the HOV lanes merge further in advance of this ramp.
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https://commonwealthmagazine.org/opinion/massdots-ramp-proposal-is-a-poor-excuse-for-a-plan/

HelloBoston- Wonder where you read that the MBTA has been testing the ramp with SL buses? Not saying that transit-matters is 100% accurate in their dissection, but at least encouraging that MassDot isn't being a complete NIMBY about it.

What if they add a flashing "bus approaching" sign on the HOV lane right before the merge point? Like they do at blind garage entrances/exits. Plus during peak hour (when the ramp is needed the most), traffic this section of the highway is moving at most 20mph.
 
I'm hoping a lot of business travelers discover BOS' Silver Line today. Is the Lyft/Uber strike having an impact?
 
jklo said:
https://framingham.wickedlocal.com/...-to-expand-logan-express-garage-in-framingham

MassPort wants to expand the Logan Express parking lot in Framingham. Article says ridership there has gone from 391k in 2014 to 577k in 2018.
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This is a great thing - ridership seeing a big uptick. Massport has been smart by making the service a lot more attractive.

I'd be curious to see if they expand the service to other suburban locations? Maybe add service from a place like Mansfield?
 
mass88 said:
This is a great thing - ridership seeing a big uptick. Massport has been smart by making the service a lot more attractive.

I'd be curious to see if they expand the service to other suburban locations? Maybe add service from a place like Mansfield?
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That would be my follow-up too. The growth is a great thing, but I wonder if there's a way to supplement the Framingham location with one that would be convenient to more people.
 
Equilibria said:
That would be my follow-up too. The growth is a great thing, but I wonder if there's a way to supplement the Framingham location with one that would be convenient to more people.
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There's also service from Braintree, Woburn and Peabody, along with Back Bay.
 
mass88 said:
This is a great thing - ridership seeing a big uptick. Massport has been smart by making the service a lot more attractive.

I'd be curious to see if they expand the service to other suburban locations? Maybe add service from a place like Mansfield?
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I haven't seen any specifics, but a 3/21/19 press release notes:

http://www.massport.com/massport/me...ongestion-and-double-logan-express-ridership/

Initiatives to double LEX:

Revitalize Back Bay Logan Express service;
Start a new urban Logan Express from North Station;
Improve services/amenities at existing suburban LEX sites;
Plan for and build parking capacity at existing sites;
Identify new suburban Logan Express locations
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So it certainly seems like they're planning additional location(s) somewhere.
 
I wonder if there's a good spot easily accessible to I-95 in Westwood, Norwood, Canton, Sharon, or Walpole.

Maybe at Route 128 Station or the University Station development. Maybe the Walople Mall or the Walople Wal-Mart.
 
sm89 said:
This is highly unlikely. The ramp is a down-slope and the bus has over 600ft to get up to the speed limit, which is only 45mph. The first merge is also with the underutilized HOV lane. Let's remember that the ramp was designed for this maneuver. If they are concerned, they should have the HOV lanes merge further in advance of this ramp.
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Now they've actually announced their study, as I said, they've tested it. And the ramp was not designed for bus use that lie flies around transit advocacy in Boston, read the original plans, it has always been an emergency access ramp.

sl1.png

sl2.png
 
MassDOT Secretary stated during the meeting that its not the state police holding back Silver Line buses, bus operations has deemed it unsafe, mass state police has approved the use. Also they are studying the idea of installing warning lights on the highway to notify when a bus is coming down the ramp but still deemed unsafe, current goal is to use it during congestion and install various sensors and signs so buses can use it when traffic is backed up as essentially a queue jump onto the highway. Study has shown there is very little time benefit during non-traffic hours anyway (less than a minute).
 
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