On Wednesday evening in the Auburndale Village Bank, the MBTA presented a 30% design plan for a new, accessible commuter rail station in Auburndale. Funds are already in hand to advance to the 60% design stage, so this has real momentum. Key features of the proposed plan include:
– Moving the station from its current location on the south-side of the tracks to the north side. It would remain an open-air station, with a rain shelter.
– At-grade entry from Auburn Street to platform. No stairs!
– Main entryway at the intersection of Auburn St., Ash St.. and Melrose St. Flanking entryways on the east and west ends of the station.
– Commuter parking increases from the current 35 spaces to 50-some spaces.
Kay Kahn, the main driving force behind this project, noted that there is currently not a single accessible commuter rail station from Natick to Boston. She envisions Auburndale as the first in the process of making all Newton’s stations accessible.
Hmmm… The plan for Austin St includes the type of housing that would be attractive to those with physical difficulties. Won’t that station be more logical?
Hoss, full disclosure: being from Auburndale, I can’t deny a special interest in this first proposed location. And your point about Austin St. is excellent. But it’s also important to note that Kay and the Ward 4 Aldermen have been working on this initial project for the better part of a decade – long before the Austin St. project was conceived.
Assuming Auburndale gets done, should the Newtonville station be next? Or West Newton? And how should they be designed?
Hoss, there are a significant number of residents with disabilities living in all areas of the city and additionally it will be helpful for seniors and families with young children. I am interested in all of the commuter rail stations in Newton becoming accessible and working on this possibility as well. Nathan, thanks for
your support of the project I believe will increase usage and improve Auburndale Village.
It is a real problem that the train station in Newtonville isn’t handicapped accessible. Those stairs are steep and parents with kids also struggle to use the train in that location. The MBTA should make this a priority, but with the budget crunch, I would be surprised if any station besides Auburndale gets done within the next 10 years.
fig, how would you configure an accessible station in Newtonville, especially considering the Austin St. development? Would northside access or improved southside access be better? The central difference between Newtonville and the other Newton stations is that the (bulk of the) commercial district in Newtonville is on the south side of the Pike/tracks.
Putting in an elevator would make a big difference.
Nathan & Kay: what happens to the trains–will they be brought up to street level?
Otherwise, how is it possible to get there without an elevator or stairs?
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Andreae, I think there will be very mild ramps (ADA compliant) and the train doors will open with the metal plates deployed over the train internal stairway. I don’t think the tracks are being elevated.
I would keep the entrances to the North side of the Pike, but add an elevator to the Walnut Street side.
I would not make it via the bridge, but behind the current bus stop on Washington Street, with a crossing over the tracks. Not perfect, but acceptable. I’m sure there is also an option that is more expensive with an elevator off the bridge, but that has got to be really expensive.
platforms are needed on both sides. if auburndale platform is on the north side and w. newton is on the south side then a track crossover needs to be built. Auburndale is the only one of the three where an accessible platform could be built on the south side of the tracks without extraordinary effort. Newtonville already has it’s old platform on the north side, apparently unused for fifty years and without stairs since the pike was built and the other two tracks and station removed. An accessible north side platform would be trivial in Newtonville. I would like to see an automated (driverless) free shuttle train from Riverside to Auburndale.