Former Green Line A Branch

I don’t see a need for a garage at Newton Center. Sixty percent of your passengers will be fed by bus routes. It’s in a semi-urban area with a couple thousand folks within the walking radius. Enhanced parking enforcement on Galen Street in Watertown and the streets surrounding the new station would deal with commuters stealing spots.

No garage needed. The 500 series busses and 57 pre pandemic were packed to the gills with 10-15 minute headways..

Of course I meant Newton CORNER in that last post, not Newton Center.

Many years ago I read a Boston news article with a picture showing homebound train commuters in Quincy running for their cars to get unparked and in line for the garage exit more quickly.

But I do not agree with giving the garage extra green time on the traffic light causing other traffic in town to get severely backed up. And especially not giving the garage extra green time for the exit gate to cycle up and down and then the cars straggle out one at a time..

Newton Corner is drowning in traffic. A far better solution would be to just fix the bus routes - run better service before we start pouring the wrong kind of concrete. The MassPike scar and Circle of Death aside, everything is quite walkable.

Now that the 71 has been misguidedly de-wired, there's no reason it couldn't be extended down Galen St to Newton Corner. Doing so would give Watertown access to the Worcester Line at the new Newton Corner Station without bus changes, and enhance the station's catchment area by providing more frequent service (57 + 71 + 504) on Galen St.

Building a park-and-ride garage in a place as dense and urban as Newton Corner is admitting defeat in public transportation. Why bother? And I can't be the only person who'd rather walk to a bus stop and take a frequent bus to the train than drive through city streets full of lights and pedestrians and other cars to creep into a garage and then take a train.

BandA wrote: ↑Fri Sep 08, 2023 11:08 pm I'm guessing that side platforms could easily be accommodated in a revised Newton (corner) Commuter Rail station, but not a center platform. Also a center platform requires an "evacuation zone" like they have in Boston Landing station. Didn't you know, parking is not required, passengers will magically appear... There is some room for another garage I think, although no room on the roads/exit to accommodate any more traffic! Can't make "the Gateway Center" much uglier than it already is! Using the office or hotel lobby area as a "headhouse" is a feature I think, sort of like Arch St entrance to one of the subway stations, or Back Bay connecting directly to Copley Place.

An area of refuge (the legal name for the evacuation zone you referenced) is required anywhere that is accessed by stairs or elevators. They would need to incorporate this in a new build station in the cut either way. Side platforms will actually require one each.

We have strayed pretty far from the A Line in this discussion I know, but I think I should clear up some misconceptions about commuting from Newton's north side as somebody with years of firsthand experience.

Walking 15 minutes is fine when an Express bus option arrives three or four minutes like it did pre-pandemic (504, 553, 558..) and you have a 20-25 minute ride to directly South Station without stopping in Copley.

Walking 15 minutes, then waiting 20-30 minutes for the jammed up 504 which is now the only option, then sitting (often standing, actually) in 30 minutes of post-pandemic Pike traffic, and then the added 15 minutes of travel time due to the 504 now exiting at Copley and having to wind its way thru the city to South Station, is far, far less appealing. I'm speaking from personal experience.

Driving to Watertown Yard and taking advantage of the ample parking there (Even pre-pandemic I never saw it more than 75% full) was a way to shave at least 10 minutes off that slog and worth the $2.50. But parking near the Newtonville commuter rail became much more preferable due to the speedy trip. Main downside was the limited schedule of stops in Newton made for a sometimes awkward work schedule.

Hopefully the state can build the two-platform Newton stations within my lifetime and more Worcester line trains will stop here. I think it's a very cost effective way to improve the commute from Newton's north side. If the project can be kept from ballooning like the 2000's era GLX stations.