Tired of traffic? Come learn how Regional Rail can transform transportation In Newton and other Greater Boston communities.
Transformative Transportation for Newton
Thursday, August 8, at 7 pm
Newton Free Library, Druker Auditorium
Josh Fairchild and Jarred Johnson from TransitMatters will offer a vision of what a truly modern regional rail system would look like, and the potential benefits that it would offer Newton and the entire Boston region. TransitMatters is a group “working to make a sustainable, equitable, and reliable public transportation system accessible to everyone in Metropolitan Boston by advancing proven best practices as well as high-impact, low-cost initiatives.”
This event is hosted by the Newton Free Library, Mass Sierra Club, GreenNewton, Newton’s Transportation Advisory Group, and 350 Mass for a Better Future.
The event is free and open to the public.
For more information on Transit Matters visit www.transitmatters.org
Questions about the event? E-mail [email protected]
I hope this presentation will be recorded and posted somewhere.
I wasn’t able to attend the MBTA’s recent meeting on the reconstruction of the stations in Auburndale, West Newton, and Newtonville.
Reading the news, it sounds like Alternative 2 (the cheapest option with platforms for inbound and outbound trains at the same time) is required to improve commuter rail service in Newton.
Why is that proposal $129 million (~$43 million per station), yet it only cost $20 million to build Boston Landing Station (with inbound-outbound trains at the same time) in 2017?
https://newton.wickedlocal.com/news/20190731/t-favors-46m-plan-to-make-newtons-commuter-rail-stations-ada-compliant
Cynically, I would suggest the pricetag is so high for two platforms because MBTA doesn’t want to do the project. It’s the same with extending the Blue Line to Charles station (red), or even the North-South Rail Link.
But there are a few differences between this project and Boston Landing to cause it to cost more:
1. The railroad right-of-way is MUCH wider at Boston Landing than at the Newton stations. This constraint drives construction labor costs up significantly: staging materials is harder, scheduling work that would interfere with a track is more constrained (likely having to take place overnight or at least in off-hours, so the line can be single-tracked through the area). At Boston Landing, they diverted all train traffic to a temporary track nearer the Pike, well clear of the project area.
2. Similarly, access to the sites is harder at the Newton stations. At Boston Landing, a frontage road / parking lot allowed easy delivery of materials and labor.
3. Prices have been adjusted for anticipated inflation based on project dates. Boston Landing started construction in 2015.
4. The two side platforms have to be done as two stages to allow the stations to remain open during construction. The second side involves demolition of the old stations (and whatever abatement might be required from that) — and because it starts later, price is adjusted upwards by inflation (as in #3).
5. There are more elevators, and pedestrian bridges across the tracks. Those bridges across the tracks can only be erected when trains aren’t running, unlike at Boston Landing (see #1).
6. The presentation showed that the Walnut St. bridge in Newtonville might require some modification — not enough space between bridge abutments for tracks + platforms + stairway access + elevator access.
That said, I too don’t see how these points add up to the figure that’s been quoted. I feel there’s probably some worst-case cost padding going on here.
Here’s the presentation from the MBTA meeting, FYI: https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2019-08/2019-07-25-newton-cr-stations-public-meeting-presentation.pdf . I posted this link over the weekend (in the old thread) but it’s buried.
FYI I tried emailing [email protected] as suggested in the posting (I’m unable to attend this meeting and inquired about presentation materials) but it bounced.
@Village14, do you have a corrected contact email?
Apologies Doug – NewtonTAG email has been fixed!
NewtonTAG email still bounces for me … is it a closed group?
Ben, the T clearly hasn’t thought very hard about improving service or addressing a regional transportation crisis. I think Doug L got it exactly right. Their presentation was more about what they wouldn’t do rather than what they would. In fact, they keep quoting a figure to do what appears to be unnecessary bridge work just to make the already inflated figure for Alternative 2 even further out of reach and kill the conversation.
There are clearly an array of options besides 1 and 2. One attendee astutely pointed out that the MBTA could choose to construct one station in Newton with two platforms. Just having one station in Newton to provide frequent rail service to Boston and reverse commutes could be a game changer, for Newton and for the region. Why wait for three? A real plan would have given some thought as to which station that would be, instead of or in addition to the single platform work.
Also, there is the potential to construct new stations in slightly different locations than they are today. Jeff Speck’s presentation had the Newtonville station located on the other side of the Walnut Street bridge, where there is no station now and slightly more room between the track and the pike. Would that make construction cheaper, or perhaps avoid the bridge issue and track work? Could a development or deck over the pike there create an opportunity for a better station or a public/private partnership?
Hi Doug – not a closed group. Website here: NewtonTAG.org. Scroll down to see a recent Transit Matter’s power point from a similar presentation. Can’t figure out why your e-mail is bouncing. Others are coming through.
Hi Lucia — thanks. I sent again from my gmail account this evening. We’ll see if it goes thru. I am just asking for presentation materials since I can’t make the meeting. Maybe you can post them here instead, once available? I am sure I am not the only one who is highly interested in this subject.
Adam — the questions you ask are excellent. These are the type of questions that need to occur between an interested, engaged Newton government and the MBTA project folks. I know that if I were personally spending even 1/1000 of the sums involved here the project would have my undivided attention. I find it highly discouraging that it’s evidently falling to normal concerned citizens to do the proper legwork and critical thinking. For your immediate question, though, the MBTA folks at the meeting commented that they did explore relocating stations, but that might put them too close together (they’re already the closest-spaced stops on the line). The last thing we need is an excuse to close one of the stations.
Doug – yes, that was me asking the question at the meeting. In general, it’s true you wouldn’t want to move any of the stations several blocks away or away from village centers. It didn’t sound like they gave any serious thought to the idea of using an adjacent location in Newtonville.
You’d expect stations in Newton to be closer together than in Ashland, especially with the kind of service proposed closer to the city with “Regional Rail”. There’s actually a case to be made for restoring stations at Riverside and Newton Corner. Maybe that will come up Thursday night.
Doug and Adam,
Thank you for your responses, very illuminating.
This seems like a pattern for the MBTA, and it’s extremely disappointing.
Be it electrifying the Commuter Rail,
https://pedestrianobservations.com/2019/07/23/massachusetts-sandbags-rail-electrification/
The Red Blue Connector,
http://amateurplanner.blogspot.com/2016/09/how-massdot-stacks-deck-red-blue-edition_7.html
or the North South Rail Link,
https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/news/2018/06/21/rail-link-supporters-charge-state-cost-study-was.html
The MBTA seems determined to start with the premise that the MBTA can’t build to improve service, then create evidence to support their claim.
The only positive we seem to have is transit advocates watching this stuff. Otherwise the MBTA would have already built Auburndale station in a way that would have deteriorated service along the entire Framingham/Worcester line…
https://commonwealthmagazine.org/transportation/t-is-rebuilding-station-in-worst-possible-way/
On a related note: our transit issues have caught the eye of the rest of the state.
https://ww.wmasspi.com/2019/08/the-trans-commonwealth-rr-newton-service-so-close-yet-so-far-away.html
Ted,
Thanks for the article. FYI your link is missing a w in the www, here is the complete link:
https://www.wmasspi.com/2019/08/the-trans-commonwealth-rr-newton-service-so-close-yet-so-far-away.html
Thanks, Ben. That’s what happens when you try to copy and paste on an iPhone.
@Laurie, thanks for asking. NewTV will videotape the event tonight, and we’ll try to share the materials as well. I’ll post viewing information on that when I find out.