Boston College station

Boston College is a light rail station on the MBTA Green Line B branch. It is located at St. Ignatius Square on the Boston College campus near the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and Lake Street, on the border between the Brighton neighborhood of Boston and the Chestnut Hill neighborhood of Newton, Massachusetts. Originally opened in 1896, it has been the terminus of the Commonwealth Avenue line since 1900. The current station is planned to be replaced by a new station located in the median of Commonwealth Avenue just east of Lake Street.

Boston College
Inbound train at Boston College station in 2011
LocationCommonwealth Avenue at Lake Street
Boston and Newton, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°20′24.3″N 71°10′1.2″W
Owned byMassachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
Construction
Disabled accessYes
History
Opened1896
Rebuiltc. 1916, 1930, 2009
Previous namesLake Street (until 1947)
Passengers
20111,136 (weekday inbound boardings)[1]
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Terminus Green Line South Street
toward Park Street

History

Original median station
Boston Elevated Railway trams at Lake Street in March 1900

On August 15, 1896, the Boston Elevated Railway (BERy) added tracks on newly constructed Commonwealth Avenue from the Newton town line east to Chestnut Hill Avenue, where they were connected to the existing Beacon Street Line at Cleveland Circle.[2] Except for rights to the Watertown Line inherited from the West End Street Railway, the BERy did not have operating rights in Newton. Instead, the Commonwealth Avenue Street Railway was built westward on the wide median of Commonwealth Avenue to Auburndale in 1895.[3] It was soon taken over and operated by the Middlesex and Boston Street Railway (M&B). The two lines met at Lake Street station on the town line.[2]

BERy cars from Lake Street began running into the Tremont Street subway via Beacon Street when the subway opened on September 1, 1897. On May 26, 1900, tracks on Commonwealth Avenue were completed from Chestnut Hill Avenue to Packards Corner, at which point Lake Street became the terminus of the Commonwealth Avenue line, which also ran into the subway.[2] Except for occasional service disruptions due to track work or blockages on Commonwealth Avenue, Boston College has been the terminus of the Commonwealth Avenue line (B branch) since 1900.[2]

Move to the north
A train at the 1930-constructed platforms in 1965

Around 1916, the BERy constructed a yard on the north side of Commonwealth Avenue just west of Lake Street; however, it continued to share the median station with the M&B.[4][5][6] On November 20, 1918, an out-of-service BERy streetcar rolled down a hill and destroyed the station, killing a waiting passenger.[7]

Remaining M&B service on Commonwealth Avenue was replaced by buses in 1930, and the BERy no longer needed the old median station. A platform and waiting room in the yard opened on September 12, 1930.[2] The M&B used a bus stop adjacent to the new inbound platform.[8] The station was renamed to Boston College on May 21, 1947 by vote of the Boston Elevated Railway trustees after Boston College bought adjacent land for their Newton campus.[8]

On May 23, 1979, the MBTA opened a new carhouse at the Lake Street yard. The carhouse provides light maintenance services to reduce the load on Reservoir and Riverside.[9][2] In early 1980, the platforms were replaced; additional platforms were also constructed along the median east of Lake Street.[10] Not a separate station, they were used when congestion in the yard (common with the introduction of the new Boeing LRVs) prevented trains from entering or exiting. The eastbound of these platforms, and a bus shelter on the westbound side, were removed during a 1980-81 renovation of the line.[11]

Proposed new station
A train at the 2009-opened inbound platform

In the early 2000s, the MBTA modified key surface stops with raised platforms for accessibility as part of the Light Rail Accessibility Program. Portable lifts were installed at Boston College around 2000, along with a wooden mini-high platform (for level boarding on older Type 7 LRVs) on the inbound side.[12][13] By 2005, the MBTA planned to relocate the station to the median of Commonwealth Avenue, just east of the Lake Street intersection.[14] Boston College later agreed to aid the project financially and to donate land to widen Commonwealth Avenue to accommodate the station.[15] New raised platform allowing level accessible boarding on newer low-floor Type 8 LRVs were completed on the existing site in 2009 at a cost of $296,000.[16]

Planning continued for the relocated station. The project was advanced to 15% design by a $656,000 federal grant and $164,500 of MBTA funds.[16] The design was advanced to the 30% level in November 2012 with an environmental review package completed the previous month. Once funds are made available, the new station was expected to take 24 months to construct at a cost of $20 million.[17]

The new station was planned to have two side platforms, with a narrower platform between the tracks for passengers offloading from outbound trains and a wider platform with canopies for those waiting to board inbound trains.[16] It would eliminate streetcars having to cross Commonwealth Avenue traffic to access the platforms, which would reduce moves across Commonwealth by 89%, though streetcars will still need to cross to access the yard.[17] It was to have raised platforms for accessible boarding on newer low-floor LRVs and a ramp for accessible boarding on older high-floor LRVs.[18]

Bus connections

Boston College station has not had MBTA bus connections since the 535 Lake Street–Auburndale route (the direct descendant of the Commonwealth Avenue Street Railway) was discontinued in 1976.[11] Boston College operates a system of private shuttle buses, but they stop on the campus rather than at the station.[19]

References
  1. "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF) (14th ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014.
  2. Clarke, Bradley H.; Cummings, O.R. (1997). Tremont Street Subway: A Century of Public Service. Boston Street Railway Association. pp. 58–59. ISBN 0938315048.
  3. Beautiful Newton: The Garden City of Massachusetts. Newton Graphic Publishing Company. p. 26 – via Internet Archive.
  4. "Sheet 10". Track Lengths of Surface Lines and Subway. Boston Elevated Railway. 1921 – via Ward Maps.
  5. "Part of Ward 6, City of Newton". Atlas of the City of Newton, Massachusetts. G.W. Bromley and Company. 1917 – via Ward Maps.
  6. "Part of Brighton, Ward 25, City of Boston". Atlas of the City of Boston, Wards 25 & 26, Brighton. G.W. Bromley and Company. 1916 – via Ward Maps.
  7. Annual Report, Part 1. Massachusetts Public Service Commission. 1919. p. 44 – via Internet Archive.
  8. Clarke, Bradley H. (2003). Streetcar Lines of the Hub. Boston Street Railway Association. p. 99. ISBN 0938315056.
  9. Sanborn, George M. (1992). A Chronicle of the Boston Transit System. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority – via MIT.
  10. 1979 Annual Report. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 1979. p. 27 – via Internet Archive.
  11. Belcher, Jonathan (27 June 2015). "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district 1964-2015" (PDF). NETransit. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  12. "Executive Summary" (PDF). Program of Mass Transportation. Boston Regional Metropolitan Planning Organization. January 2004. p. 2-9. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 20, 2012.
  13. "Subway Map" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 1, 2001.
  14. "Accessibility Projects at the MBTA" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. March 2005.
  15. "Chapter 9: Transportation and Parking" (PDF). Boston College Institutional Master Plan. Boston College. June 20, 2008.
  16. Rocheleau, Matt (28 September 2012). "MBTA to hold meeting on $20m project to rebuild Boston College Station". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on October 1, 2012.
  17. "Green Line - Boston College Station". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on July 19, 2017.
  18. Jacobs Engineering (8 August 2012). "MBTA Boston College Station: 15% Design Submittal" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 December 2015.
  19. "BC Shuttle Bus". Boston College Transportation and Parking Services. Archived from the original on 29 July 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
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