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Like magic, two BU Green Line stops will begin to disappear
By adamg on Wed, 01/29/2020 - 9:23am
Rendering of one of the upgraded stops.
The Daily Free Press reports a contractor is expected to begin work soon to build two new Green Line stations along Commonwealth Avenue that will replace four current stops.
The $29.3-millon project will eliminate the current St. Paul Street, BU West, Babcock Street and Pleasant Street stations and replace them with two new stations: One just west of the current BU West stop and one between the existing Pleasant Street and Babcock Street locations. The stations are expected to open next year.
By eliminating two stops, the Green Line will go a bit faster between BC and downtown. But in addition, the new stops will be longer than the current ones - which will allow for three-car trains to stop there - and be designed to allow people in wheelchairs to use them.
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Comments
It's about time
Decades overdue!
$29,000,000
For something fairly simple
Well then get your fat ass
Well then get your fat ass off your couch and put in a lower bid and save me some money fool!
Really?
Is it?
yup
Essentially an open overhang with brick sidewalk. No HVAC, no plumbing, no electric.
You seem to forget
I'm going to guess you don't know a lot about how construction works.
I suspect the project is a little more complicated that you realize, but I can't seem to find drawings on the T's page.
And before you accuse me, no, I don't work for the T.
Yes! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ All of
Yes! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ All of that!
.
Plus
- the delays when amateur does it wrong and it has to be ripped out and done over
- the extra cost of having to have somebody else do it over after amateur more than eats up any original savings
.
Don't believe me? Even the professionals have a colossal screw up once in a while* - inexpensive amateur is practically guaranteed
.
One professional example that comes to mind is a "high-level platforms" project for the LIRR about 25 years ago. During some stage in design/drafting/reviews, some error was made - I forget if it was about pitching platform for drainage or maybe the tactile warning panels at the platform edge - resulted in the platform edge being an inch or two higher than the floor level of the RR cars. ADA Fail!!!
Why?
Does someone working on an operating subway line need to take a car to work?
Can't carry much in the way
Can't carry much in the way of tools & parts amidst all the other commuters. Also, some of the work would be during non-service hours.
IN addition
to what Rob indicated, some construction firms don't provide tools to their employees. Or, more likely, the employees prefer their own to 'group' tools so they don't have to share. In my experience, they don't leave their personal tools on site, so what better way than to use a big truck to get to and from work. Besides, a lot of contractors do side work, so their truck is their 'office', for lack of a better analogy.
I have seen one contractors ride the T, but that was back in 2012 or so when I was still riding the T, myself (in one instance the guy was a mason, their tools are a little smaller to carry around).
Great precedent for Heath St Line, Melrose, Wellesley, Fairmount
Sometimes more stations doesn't equal better service.
An overview of the new stations
That's a nice graphic, can
That's a nice graphic, can you link the original so it's bigger?
It's a thumbnail
Just tell it to open in a new tab or window.
Didn't they just rebuild BU
Didn't they just rebuild BU West about 18 or 19 years ago? Or was that consolidating BU Central and East?
That was BU Central and BU
That was BU Central and BU East.
those two were consolidated
those two were consolidated around 2006? the new platforms from Harvard Ave - Kenmore were put in around 2000-2001
Yes
They rebuilt BU East and Central, and to support the construction they built a temporary consolidated platform between the two. Then, pretty much immediately after the two stations reopened, they started closing and consolidating stops west of Packard's Corner. I remember thinking at the time it was unfortunate they didn't come up with the consolidation plan before the station rebuild, since one stop was perfectly adequate at the time.
I remember them eliminating
I remember them eliminating the spitting-distance stops immediately east and west of Washington St around that time or soon after - Mt Hood and Summit, I think.
Was consolidated BU actually adequate?
I suppose it made no difference off-peak, but peak hours....
It would depend. Is exiting/boarding a straight-line plot (constant rate), or does the rate slow down as the crowd gets bigger because there's unchanged available space inside the train, unchanged number of doors, and unchanged available space on the platform?
Even if rate is constant, it might be an issue if the total exiting/boarding time prevents a headway that they're otherwise capable of.
.
Imagine the typical two-car Green line train. Which would be better?
a: two-car trains, at a five-minute headway, at a consolidated BU Center/East stop, taking 3&1/2 minutes to unload 150 people and board 150 people
b: two-car trains, running shorter headway, at separate BU Central and East stops, taking 1&1/2 minutes to unload 75 people and board 75 people at each stop?
Semi-useful
A nice idea - but unless they work on the signal timing, the trolleys are going to be sitting at red lights at the old stops anyway and nothing will really speed up.
So will they be doing signal prioritization as part of this consolildation?
Re: Three Car Trains
I thought those got axed in the service cuts of 2012? Granted it was a good idea...