Feb 15 meeting photo from @JacqueGoddard on Twitter

Last week, the MBTA held a public meeting on the long-awaited plans for an accessible Auburndale Commuter Rail station. It has taken great effort by Rep. Kay Khan and others to make this project happen, but is the proposal the most effective way to make the improvements?

As he often does, Ari Ofsevit has made some astute observations in his blog, suggesting solutions which could both save money and provide greater benefit. In one scenario, the Amateur Planner suggests all three of Newton’s stations could be upgraded to ADA status for the same $11M price tag as the current Auburndale design. Alternatively, redirecting the money from what he sees as unnecessary track work to a second platform could go a long way towards adding more frequent and reverse-commute service for the Newtons.

UPDATE: Yuppie Scum provides a link to a more detailed explanation in Dave Perry’s blog Dave suggests that the current proposal isn’t just wasteful spending, but a disaster for scheduling and strategic planning.