Consolidation of B Line Stations on Commonwealth Ave

[CRail]

OT Mod Note: There had been discussion in this thread regarding COVID related adjustments to streetcar boarding procedures. I've pulled those posts out of this thread and gave them their own, which is here. I'm noting this here rather than bump that thread in case anyone's looking for that discussion as it landed way down the page.

[TurningOfTheWheel]

Pleasant St is now completely gone. This weekend they partially demolished St Paul St inbound and laid electrical conduit at Amory outbound.

[rethcir]

Are they consolidating some more stops? There’s still quite a few offenders on the B line.

[bostontrainguy]

Are they consolidating some more stops? There’s still quite a few offenders on the B line.

I don't believe so. They also tried to get rid of Chiswick Road but the senior citizens in the area protested enough to end the idea.

[The EGE]

Pre-2021 stop spacing on the B averaged 1220 feet with 18 stops; after 2021 it will be 1375 feet/16 stops. C is 965 feet/13 stops, E is 1115/8, and SL 4/5 is 1030/9. There are other factors keeping the B slow, long dwell times and lack of TSP among them, but stop spacing is not really an issue any longer.

[BandA]

TSP is jargon for transit signal priority.

[R36 Combine Coach]

Are they consolidating some more stops? There’s still quite a few offenders on the B line.

I don't believe so. They also tried to get rid of Chiswick Road but the senior citizens in the area
protested enough.

How about reducing low density stops to flag stops (request only)? SEPTA had them on the Media/Sharon
lines and also Norristown. MBTA CR also has some.

[bostontrainguy]

Well you kind of got that. If no one pushes the STOP REQUEST button and no one is on the platform the train doesn't have to stop.

[BandA]

It's a trolley line, it's supposed to stop frequently, right? Maybe add express tracks, lol.

[TurningOfTheWheel]

They will already run express trains to alleviate bunching during rush hour, usually running with no stops between BU East and Harvard Ave -- all us BU kids have to get off and wait on the platform for the next train, which is usually right behind at Blandford.

The point is, until transit signal priority is finished (conveniently, no date given on the MBTA website) this will be an incomplete solution. A welcome one, but incomplete nonetheless.

[octr202]

Probably the only remaining spot on the B Line that might warrant more consolidation is Warren/Allston/Griggs since there's three stops over about 2,000 feet. My guess would be that some sort of stop reduction/consolidation happens there as the stops are made ADA-compliant.

Of course, the street alignment is a lot more challenging there (and Warren St introduces some fun grade changes, too), so won't be quite as simple a project as the current ones.

[digitalsciguy]

At this point, I don't think TSP on this particular corridor is in MBTA's court anymore, which is probably why it's vague. TSP requires either equipment at the traffic signal box or GPS-based awareness of BTD's central traffic control to know when to turn the signal. The Green Line Transformation team is likely negotiating that need system-wide with BTD, but again, the implementation will be dependent on what's there today and what BTD can do at the intersections along the line.

I can't believe it's taken this long for the consolidation work to actually happen...I remember going to public meetings for this as late as 2016 and definitely as early as the Dr. Bev Scott years. I seem to remember that this was contingent on Comm Ave Phase 2A work (Amory to Alcorn Sts) wrapping up now and Phase 2B work (reconstruction of Comm Ave over I-90) that wrapped up in 2018. Future phases beyond Packards Corner fall into Comm Ave Phases 3 & 4 which is somehow still in design phase after 6 years and will likely benefit from the GLT team's capital project experience... And they'll need it with the grade changes on some of the stations...

Right off the bat, some of these could be addressed with changes to the road geometry (road diets to reduce overall lane count and width to encourage slower, safer speeds), which gives you more room to build ADA-compliant stations. Moving eastbound Warren Street to a far-side stop immediately solves the grade issue and helps with TSP and begs the question about consolidation with Allston St. Likewise, moving Sutherland Road further west instead of between Sutherland and Colborne gets the platform onto more level ground.

[bostontrainguy]

For those who didn't know, it used to be even worse. A long time ago there was a stop at Summit Avenue (just east of Washington Street) and Mt. Hood Road (just west of Washington Street). The platform remnants were there until a few years ago.

[MBTA3247]

The stops at Greycliff Road and Fordham Road were also eliminated at the same time as Summit Ave and Mt. Hood Rd, in 2004.

[diburning]

At this point, I don't think TSP on this particular corridor is in MBTA's court anymore, which is probably why it's vague. TSP requires either equipment at the traffic signal box or GPS-based awareness of BTD's central traffic control to know when to turn the signal. The Green Line Transformation team is likely negotiating that need system-wide with BTD, but again, the implementation will be dependent on what's there today and what BTD can do at the intersections along the line.

Not at all. This can be accomplished with a system of sensors. The traffic lights on Comm Ave are mostly ancient analog relay boxes that make ker-chunk noises when the traffic light changes. They've been slightly upgraded over the years as needed to add things like walk signals, but they're probably due to be replaced soon. With the advent of computerized traffic management, it's really just a matter of using a combination of sensors to detect whether a train is coming, and then other sensors to see how many cars are on the road, to be able to give the train priority, and then clear traffic once the train passes.