Hey, there! Log in / Register
Not just the trains that are late; some bus riders suffer same fate
By adamg on Thu, 12/05/2019 - 9:19am
Why, yes, those are people walking on the ramp up to McGrath Highway this morning. Daniel Drumsticks reports:
People walking up to McGrath Highway to Lechmere because the first MBTA bus to come by the Medford St./McGrath stop in 20 minutes, the 88, just went past without stopping and the next bus isn't for 15 minutes.
Neighborhoods:
Topics:
Free tagging:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
Did T workers
Vote to strike to shut down the system and forget to tell us?
The 88 was a mess in the
The 88 was a mess in the other direction too. Ran to the Highland & Central stop because Transit said it was coming in 2 minutes... then 0... then 5... then 3... stayed 3 for about 10 minutes... then finally 2, 1, 0, bus. Total about 20 minutes (and there was almost no traffic, at least where we were). Then of course the bus was completely full and the driver blew off most of the remaining stops, which of course also had a crowd of people waiting.
cutting thru twin city plaza
cutting thru twin city plaza would be a quicker/safer route ?
That's not possible. This bus
That's not possible. This bus stop is across the train tracks from Twin City Plaza, and this piece of McGrath is the overpass over the tracks.
And while it's not the most pleasant place to walk, it's not unsafe unless there's snow or ice. There's an official sidewalk the whole way, and the only street to cross is very quiet. Google Maps calls it Somerville Avenue Extension, though there's no sign in the real world.
My one complaint is that there are no curb ramps. This is hard to believe, since the people in charge are now going back for a second round of refining the curb ramp design in most places, with the tactile pads that caused such an uproar in a certain neighborhood. You'd think they'd first made sure every sidewalk already had ramps at all, especially on an important route like this one.
I complained to MassDOT about this a while back, but never got a response.
At times like this, the
At times like this, the sidewalk on that bridge is usually just a snowbank, making walking in the roadway far easier and faster.
Streets are cleared within hours, sidewalks hardly ever unless there's a thaw.
Clearing of sidewalks of snow and ice is not a consideration around here.
Even those near transit and in front of many businesses.
You want active transportation? Throw a little of the roadway maintenance money to clearing bike lanes and sidewalks.
P.S.
Cars don't lead the world to environmental collapse, drivers do.
But hey, it's mainstream behavior, and therefore can't be irresponsible.
Have A Nice Day!
The DCR does an average job
The DCR does an average job of clearing the sidewalks on Alewife Brook Parkway. Do they still own McGrath, or is that the Highway Department now?
ugh
That stop sucks. I can't believe the city allows it to be there. The bus driver has to come out of the left lane, cross another lane, cross an intersection to pick up people on something is basically the traffic island for the onramp to McGrath. The stop should be moved to behind BK or John's along the access road.
I don't condone the driver's actions but if he can't make that turn properly without cutting off people, he has no other choice than to continue up the ramp to McGrath.
I'm not sure why that stop
I'm not sure why that stop should be a problem. It's a single lane that makes that movement during the green light, so there's no merging involved. https://goo.gl/maps/a2oGqcZxcskXiac28
And pulling out of the stop shouldn't be hard either. There's hardly any traffic taking the right fork onto Somerville Avenue Extension. It would just be merging into a single lane of traffic, the same as any other bus stop. https://goo.gl/maps/Y62ABmnLCME2wAeN6
I ride the 88 every day
I ride the 88 or 87 every day to and from work. Both service that stop (except the 87 can get to it easier as it is coming from Somerville Ave)
Trust me, they cannot make the turn into the stop because of other traffic.
Could you describe where this
Could you describe where this other stream of traffic is coming from?
The Google Maps link shows that the 88 is in a single left turn lane just before this, and no other roadway has a green light at the same time.
Addendum: before the roads
Addendum: before the roads were reconfigured 3 years ago to close the Somerville Ave off-ramp from McGrath southbound, I could see the bus having some trouble. It was a free-for-all with multiple undesignated lanes, and a traffic island you could cut behind or in front of. https://goo.gl/maps/vVjbrM522CekoqEd6
But that's not an issue now.
The stop is absolutely needed there
If you are taking the 80 or 88, this is where you get off to go to either Brickbottom (where a significant number of people live) or Target.
And if you're going *from* Tagert or Brickbottom to Lechmere, this is where you can catch any of the three buses.
If the bus driver has to cut off other traffic to reach this stop, so be it.