On Monday, 30 April, the MBTA shared the 30% design for the Highlands T-stop. The presentation can be viewed here. A public meeting was held at the Women’s Club in the Highlands to a full house of residents, local politicos and MBTA team members.
Of the many design goals, ADA accessibility and rider safety were highest priority, with cost being a factor. The goals were generally recognized by the audience as being satisfied although several comments and questions were asked.
- The design includes room for 4 car trains that the MBTA is planning to accommodate but there is no specific time when this will be implemented
- The raised platforms needed to allow wheelchairs to easily board the trains requires a significant change to the location of the first train on the outboard line due to clarence of the station building
- There was concern that riders would see long walks to access the trains
- The new ramps may cause congestion during peak hours as buses drop off riders
- The single at grade platform to cross the tracks (with a distant emergency crossing near Walnut St) will also be a congestion point
- Safety fences will impede riders trying to catch a train
- Along with other comments
As I have been thinking about the design, much of it makes sense on paper but I can see how harried commuters may not see the changes in ramps, canopies and lighting as an improvement to what we currently have. For those interested, the MBTA is collecting comments on the proposal through May 14. Comments should be directed to Thomas Rovero, Project Manager MBTA Capital Delivery at trovero @mbta.com. Comments are due by May 14.
The next phase will be the 70% design with more details on the plan which may be ready by year’s end.
Sorry I missed this meeting. Thanks for providing this summary, Groot.
Accessibility isn’t just a priority, it’s a requirement for the project. It’s great that this is finally happening.
4 car operations and the “safety fence” were never requirements for this project. 4 car trains won’t be possible anytime soon until the T makes major infrastructure investments to provide more power throughout the system. That could be decades in the future. A safety fence could be discussed at that time.
What’s terribly disappointing is that the station’s overall functionality was apparently not a priority. It would be very unfortunate, and a waste of money, if the T were to ruin the basic operation of the station to make it accessible. The path that most people take and their ability to quickly, easily, and safely catch a train ought to be extremely important to the design of a station. There are many ways the T could accomplish this and satisfy the accessibility requirement. The community must demand better.
@Adam – Thank you for addressing the 4-car train item. I could swear I remember 3-car trains at some point over the past 15 years, but do I have that wrong?
They used to run 3-car trains occasionally at rush hour. Maybe they still do? I’ve been told that the system is constrained when it comes to power, but it would be great to if the get more info on this as part of the presentation. What would it take to run the 4 car trains and when would it realistically happen? Would every station have to have these “safety fences” and mazes to get to the platforms?
They ran three car trains just a couple of years ago. And then they just stopped. Not sure why
And then this happened.
They do run 3-car trains on the D line but they could only run them a couple times an hour in the same direction due to power constraints. tbh I have not seen a 3-car set in awhile but I also don’t go near the Greenline most days. Usually the 3-car sets were around Red Sox or other major events. The Accessibility at all costs is what almost caused a whole host of issues with the Auburndale station, we need to do better. It can be Accessibility+convenience it does not need to be either/or. Bike parking at the top is nice, now where is the room for expansion because as we have seen at other stations that will fill up and folks will still park on the ramp. There needs to be a plan to double and triple capacity for bikes, even if it is not built right away. I will review and comment, thanks!