MBTA Commuter Rail (Operations, Keolis, & Short Term)

TheRatmeister said:
So it sounds like no real plan yet. Electrification sounds like an implicit design requirement/feature here, not sure if Lynn will use the opportunity to push for the Blue Line extension as well. Also, I hope they keep the name. I've seen "Lynnport" floated as the name for a redevelopment/relocated station in the area but that's boring and River Works is a way cooler name.
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Why not West Lynn?
 
bigeman312 said:
Why not West Lynn?
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That's even more boring than Lynnport. When I've needed to come up with station names for my fantasy maps "Cardinal direction + place" names are basically my last resort. Also I think West Lynn already refers to a different area.
 
TheRatmeister said:
That's even more boring than Lynnport. When I've needed to come up with station names for my fantasy maps "Cardinal direction + place" names are basically my last resort. Also I think West Lynn already refers to a different area.
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The old B&M West Lynn station was at Commercial St. at the junction with the Saugus Branch about a half-mile from River Works, so it's not quite in the same place as this new proposed station.
 
F-Line to Dudley said:
The old B&M West Lynn station was at Commercial St. at the junction with the Saugus Branch about a half-mile from River Works, so it's not quite in the same place as this new proposed station.
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Sure, but isn’t that the most accurate and recognizable placemarker? Shouldn’t a station name’s primary goal to be recognizable and accurate?

I have never lived in Lynn, so I’d love to hear a local’s perspective on what’s accurate and recognizable.
 
bigeman312 said:
Sure, but isn’t that the most accurate and recognizable placemarker? Shouldn’t a station name’s primary goal to be recognizable and accurate?

I have never lived in Lynn, so I’d love to hear a local’s perspective on what’s accurate and recognizable.
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Commercial St. is the first cross street in from the river and the first place to unite the street grid with the Eastern ROW. And West Lynn was in service from 1838-1958, so the neighborhood grew up around the stop. The BRB&L's local stop right down the street was also called West Lynn, underscoring that the neighborhood had an identity shaped by the railroads. That's definitely an accurate placemarker.

It gets fuzzier with this proposed station because it's southwest of the traditional W. Lynn siting at about the two-thirds mark between River Works and West Lynn. And while it's supposed to have street-level access from both sides of the ROW it's not at a cross street so the grids are somewhat isolated from each other. I think it's fair game to call that one Lynnport, though you could always suffix it with West Lynn since it's close enough.
 
F-Line to Dudley said:
Commercial St. is the first cross street in from the river and the first place to unite the street grid with the Eastern ROW. And West Lynn was in service from 1838-1958, so the neighborhood grew up around the stop. The BRB&L's local stop right down the street was also called West Lynn, underscoring that the neighborhood had an identity shaped by the railroads. That's definitely an accurate placemarker.

It gets fuzzier with this proposed station because it's southwest of the traditional W. Lynn siting at about the two-thirds mark between River Works and West Lynn. And while it's supposed to have street-level access from both sides of the ROW it's not at a cross street so the grids are somewhat isolated from each other. I think it's fair game to call that one Lynnport, though you could always suffix it with West Lynn since it's close enough.
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Thanks for the details!

Is Lynnport a recognizable placemarker or would this be an example of a station establishing a name? I can understand the desire for either approach.

I’m familiar with West Lynn as a neighborhood, but I’m unfamiliar with Lynnport as a commonly used name. A Google search of “West Lynn MA” brings up many references to the neighborhood, but a Google search of “Lynnport MA” returns no substantive references to such a neighborhood.

As a Boston resident (and not a Lynn resident), I may just be unaware that locals do use the term “Lynnport” though.
 
bigeman312 said:
Is Lynnport a recognizable placemarker or would this be an example of a station establishing a name? I can understand the desire for either approach.
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It's definitely an 'emerging' name driven by new development in the neighborhood. You've got all those new apartments slated for the ex- GE gear plant site, lots of empty lots along the waterfront, industrial scuzz that's ripe for flipping, and the automile stretch of Lynnway that's ripe for flipping. If they execute on the TOD it'll be its own self-identified neighborhood soon enough.
 
bigeman312 said:
Sure, but isn’t that the most accurate and recognizable placemarker? Shouldn’t a station name’s primary goal to be recognizable and accurate?

I have never lived in Lynn, so I’d love to hear a local’s perspective on what’s accurate and recognizable.
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A unique name can end up being more useful for location in the long term. Imagine if Assembly was just called 'Northeast Somerville.' I don't think it would be nearly as recognizable as Assembly is today.
 
TheRatmeister said:
A unique name can end up being more useful for location in the long term. Imagine if Assembly was just called 'Northeast Somerville.' I don't think it would be nearly as recognizable as Assembly is today.
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Assembly wasn't a new name, though. It dates back 98 years to the old Ford assembly plant opening, with the Boston & Maine classification yards and miscellaneous shipyards along the river attracting other yard-adjacent industrial warehousing businesses. It was one the largest employment center in Somerville, and the adjacent Fellsway residential grew up because it was in such easy job access. It was known as "Assembly Square" by pre-war times, and then of course when the industry left the city upzoned the whole place for retail redevelopment in the mid-70's.

There was absolute zero chance that any infill station ever built there at any time was ever going to be called anything else, and that predates the current mixed-use TOD by close to a century.
 
F-Line to Dudley said:
Assembly wasn't a new name, though. It dates back 98 years to the old Ford assembly plant opening, with the Boston & Maine classification yards and miscellaneous shipyards along the river attracting other yard-adjacent industrial warehousing businesses. It was one the largest employment center in Somerville, and the adjacent Fellsway residential grew up because it was in such easy job access. It was known as "Assembly Square" by pre-war times, and then of course when the industry left the city upzoned the whole place for retail redevelopment in the mid-70's.

There was absolute zero chance that any infill station ever built there at any time was ever going to be called anything else, and that predates the current mixed-use TOD by close to a century.
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River Works is even older though. Everyone's favorite reliable source of knowledge Wikipedia cites a Boston Globe article from 1894 that calls the area River Works, so it's at least that old.
 
TheRatmeister said:
River Works is even older though. Everyone's favorite reliable source of knowledge Wikipedia cites a Boston Globe article from 1894 that calls the area River Works, so it's at least that old.
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River Works just placemarks a singular employer, though. It's not a "neighborhood" or collective of employers in any sense, because the access has been singularly private for 130+ years. And this proposed stop isn't at the plant at all; it's 1/3 mile up, tantalizingly at the edge of both West Lynn and the 'Lynnport' redevelopment area.

It could go either way re: Lynnport v. West Lynn, but it's definitely not going to be appropriate to call the new stop "River Works".
 
Anyone who was an '80s kid in Boston who drank milk (or those kids' parents) is very familiar with West Lynn, but "Lynnport" means nothing. Not saying that's reason enough to sway naming a train station in 2024 one thing or the other, but if name-recognzition is to be considered a factor, then... uh... that's something. Kinda.
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chrisbrat said:
Anyone who was an '80s kid in Boston who drank milk (or those kids' parents) is very familiar with West Lynn, but "Lynnport" means nothing. Not saying that's reason enough to sway naming a train station in 2024 one thing or the other, but if name-recognzition is to be considered a factor, then... uh... that's something. Kinda.View attachment 48984View attachment 48985
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Yea but Lynnport sounds way cooler and trendier.
 
chrisbrat said:
Anyone who was an '80s kid in Boston who drank milk (or those kids' parents) is very familiar with West Lynn, but "Lynnport" means nothing. Not saying that's reason enough to sway naming a train station in 2024 one thing or the other, but if name-recognzition is to be considered a factor, then... uh... that's something. Kinda.View attachment 48984View attachment 48985
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I went to school for 9 years in Swampscott. Every field trip we took went down the Lynnway past the West Lynn Creamery plant. The WLC milk and OJ cartons were ubiquitous. I think I still have plastic milk crates in my house from there.

Anyone with an institutional knowledge of the area will default to wanting a station near there called "West Lynn".
 
Teban54 said:
MassDOT will host a public meeting on the Northern Tier Passenger Rail Study (service to North Adams and Greenfield) on Thursday, March 28, from 6-7pm:

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Not only is the Northern Tier study still alive, apparently it got strong local support during the meeting:
www.iberkshires.com

Northern Tier Rail Gets Strong Support at Hearing

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Local officials and residents expressed strong support for developing the Northern Tier Passenger Rail proposal that would bring rail transit from North Adams to...
www.iberkshires.com
 
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Happening tonight:

Public Meeting | Newton Stations Accessibility Improvements (Virtual) | Events | MBTA

Official website of the MBTA -- schedules, maps, and fare information for Greater Boston's public transportation system, including subway, commuter rail, bus routes, and boat lines.
www.mbta.com www.mbta.com

In this meeting, we will:

  • review the project overview and existing conditions
  • provide a project update with information on the reduced scope
  • discuss the Newtonville station, grant funding opportunities, and next steps
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Did I miss something? What's being shrunk?
 
Aprehensive_Words said:
Happening tonight:

Public Meeting | Newton Stations Accessibility Improvements (Virtual) | Events | MBTA

Official website of the MBTA -- schedules, maps, and fare information for Greater Boston's public transportation system, including subway, commuter rail, bus routes, and boat lines.
www.mbta.com www.mbta.com



Did I miss something? What's being shrunk?
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Hopefully they don't go for mini-high platforms. Another possibility would be converting some of the planned elevators into ramps or something.
 
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