Author: chelsea

Oh boy, another MBTA bus route! And this time, it’s a decades-long bustitution! The Arborway used to be a part of the Green Line’s E branch. However, in late 1985, the MBTA decided to temporarily close the extension beyond its present terminus of Heath St. As of now, it’s still closed, and it’s more of a permanently temporary closure, rather than just simply “temporary”. In its place is the 39, which largely replaced it. So, with the MBTA lore out of the way, let’s dig into this route.

So we left Forest Hills’ upper busway and proceeded down South and Centre Streets, passing the Arborway. Eventually it became lined with businesses and strip malls, as we kept getting passengers and, eventually, we turned down South Huntington Avenue.

The area was largely residential, and this extended to even as we passed a pretty sizable animal hospital and, eventually, the V.A. Medical Center. This would also mark where the E branch presently ends.

We then kept going down Huntington Avenue, passing all the construction happening on the Green Line. Houses and businesses largely lined the streets of Mission Hill. We’d also pass through the general area of various schools, including Emmanuel, Northeastern, and Wentworth. We’d also pass by the Conservatory of Music and Symphony Station. We then turned left down Belvidere Street (not part of the route?????) and onto Boylston Street, passing the Sheraton as well as Hynes CC. We’d also pass the Prudential Center and Copley’s Green Line station (which I think is why we detoured, as we are bustituting the E branch as of me riding this). We’d then turn right down Clarendon Street and, eventually, make our way into the backside of Back Bay Station into the busway (Front Bay?)

The good: It’s a very well utilized route! It’s definitely up there in ridership, I think, at least if my trip was to go by. It was definitely busy. It also serves as an alternative to the Green Line’s E branch (with slightly more capacity, should bendy buses be used!), should it be out of service (like today!) It’s also a decent connection between two subway stations as well as an Amtrak station.

The bad: …what? I got nothing here. I guess, the fact it isn’t 100% bendy bus? Yeah, I don’t know.

Nearby points of interest: A lot. You’ve got the many schools on Huntington Ave., Copley Square (& the associated shopping center), the Prudential Center, Back Bay Station, and the Arborway is next to Forest Hills. There’s also the various shops lining the streets of Mission Hill, too.

Overall, I like this route. It’s definitely a near-10/10. However, sometimes the capacity of the 40ft buses can raise some eyebrows, and as such it’s not a 10/10 for me.

Rating: 9/10

Ah, Riverside. This area of the Green Line is what I call the “scenic part”. Why? Well, it’s about as far out on the Green Line as one can go! In fact, we’re butting up right against the edge of the I-95/128 ring! Well, let’s look at Riverside.

So, the platforms are sizable enough. It’s nothing much to ring home about, but it’s a decent size. Just past the platforms are also the Green Line maintenance facility, so there’s that. The Museum of Science has a to-scale model of the Solar System, and it just happens that Pluto is all the way out here as well. I didn’t see it here, though, but maybe that’s me not looking carefully enough. Parking is also sufficient, with this being a park & ride lot, there’s a decent amount of spaces. As for transit connections, one has an express bus route into downtown Boston.

The good: It’s a decently-sized park & ride! Even on a Sunday, it’s decently utilized. Furthermore, it’s also cheaper to take the Green Line from here, than to utilize Auburndale’s Commuter Rail station ($2.40 vs. $7) going into downtown Boston. Plus, this station just has a charm that I can’t get over. Maybe it’s the sense of tranquility this end of the Green Line has that’s getting to me.

The bad: It’s a bit of a ways out. Like, it’s about a 50 minute ride to get to Boylston and Park St. Aside from that, I can’t really think of a lot that would be wrong with this station.

Nearby points of interest: Not a lot, with this being a park & ride. I mean, there’s a few country clubs along with Lasell University.

Transit connections: Green Line (D)
MBTA bus (558)
MWRTA (Rte. 20 Shuttle, MassBay Riverside Shuttle)

Overall, as a park & ride, I’d say this is definitely an example other stations should follow. It’s got plenty of parking, has bike racks for those coming in via bike, and it’s got bus connections as well. Plus, it has a to-scale size of Pluto, too!

Rating: 8.5/10

Hyde Park is a pretty decent neighborhood. I’m not all too familiar with it, but there’s just an air of peace and safety that I feel with the area. Besides, it’s also got three train stations, one of which I’ve already covered here! So, let’s look at the second of three train stations and see how well or poorly it stacks up.

So, getting off the platform, the mini-high is at the far end of the platform, away from where one would realistically be arriving, if they need accessibility. At least it’s sheltered though. However, there’s rusting. A lot of rusting. Like Jesus Christ, they really took on a note from Readville and made it worse. As for the ramps themselves, aside from the fencing and roofing rusting like crazy, it’s nothing special, other than that they’re long. There’s also a set of stairs at the intersection of River and Business Streets, and Gordon Avenue. Parking, though, is plentiful. As for access to the lot, the big MBTA sign at the intersection of Hyde Park Ave. and Pingree St. should be enough a hint.

We also had an “oh shit” moment, where some kid had the audacity to attempt to catch a basketball that bounced onto the track. All while the “train approaching” warning was going off. No, he did not get hit (thank freakin’ God), however it was very reckless.

The good: If you’re heading outbound and you happen to be close enough to the area, it isn’t too terrible a place to be. However, there are some major caveats which I will touch on later.

The bad: This station is kind of a niche use case. Some Franklin trains (midday and early evening) will stop here heading outbound, however none inbound. For the Providence/Stoughton Line? Every weekend train stops here (every 2 hours), however a handful of weekday trains (mostly to either Wickford or Stoughton) stops here as well. But, if you’re on one of said trains, it’s oftentimes cheaper to get off, walk a little, and go inbound to South Station from Fairmount ($2.40 vs. $6+). Also, since it’s a transfer to the 32, can we get a CharlieCard machine here?

Nearby points of interest: If you’re a railfan, this station isn’t the best of spots to railfan at. However, the 32 will bring you from here to Readville. There’s also residential on one side, with Cleary Square and associated businesses on the other.

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Providence, Stoughton, Franklin, Foxboro)
MBTA bus (32)

Overall, I’m not a big fan of this station. I don’t mind Hyde Park as a neighborhood, hell I think it’s a pretty decent neighborhood. I just feel that it deserves much, much better of a train station.

Rating: 4.5/10

Alrighty, coming off the heels of a bunch of Green Line stations, we now have an Orange Line station! Wellington? Well, why not?

So, the station is largely linear in nature. You have the busway where all the buses drop people off. There was also a Commuter Rail bustitution when I came here with a friend, so it was more crowded than usual. This ended up hindering my ability to take pictures. However, you have a set of stairs (and I presume an elevator, as it’s an accessible station) going up to a footbridge. Underneath? The Haverhill Line and the northbound Orange Line track. In the mezzanine, a walkway crossing the Orange Line yard can be found, along with CharlieCard machines. There’s also bus schedules for the various bus routes stopping here.

The good: This station is clearly heavily used. It’s no Downtown Crossing or Park St., but it definitely felt crowded. However, if headways were normal with the Orange Line, I’m sure it’d be a slightly better situation. There’s also plenty of bus service, and the station layout is largely straightforward. Oh yeah, apparently a Transit Ambassador was letting people into the Orange Line platform for free, likely as part of the Newburyport/Rockport bustitution. For train nerds, you can also see a whole bunch of Hawker Siddlies from the walkway connecting the station to the parking garage, as this is where the Orange Line maintenance facility is.

The bad: I mean, it’s not a very pedestrian-friendly area. It can also get a bit crowded on the Orange Line platform during rush hour.

Nearby points of interest: I mean, there’s a few hotels and shopping centers – if you’re willing to torture yourself.

Transit connections: Orange Line
MBTA bus (97, 99, 100, 106, 108, 110, 112, 134)

Overall, I like this station, moreso than Heath St. Yes, it’s simple, but simple isn’t bad. It’s also largely a straightforward station to navigate with little in the way of making mistakes (e.g. going to the wrong platform can be fixed by simply rotating yourself 180 degrees). It’s also a decent park & ride, but I’d imagine the long walkway can be a pain if you regularly commute to/from here. Oh yeah, apparently an old Hawker Siddley train bursted into flames a week or so before writing this just south of here, too.

Rating: 6.5/10

Alrighty, so we did Heath Street, what about the stops in mixed traffic? Well….

Yeah…., not much to be said. They’re all bus signs, with the occasional shelter. At least the 39 will pull over, which the Green Line can’t do. Hell, if the GL could, it likely would’ve prevented the crash that led to someone being (non-fatally, thank God!) injured at Riverway.

The good: Ummm…., it serves a bunch of apartments?

The bad: These stations are unsafe! Unsafe enough to where people have been HIT BY VEHICULAR TRAFFIC when deboarding the Green Line at these stops! That’s even worse than Back Bay’s risk of black lung!

Nearby points of interest: Just use Heath St. instead, if you can. Or, Brigham Circle, if you’re closer to that. Or just use the 39 at these stops instead. I mean, there’s also Back of the Hill if you want to visit the least-used MBTA rapid transit “station”.

Transit connections:
Green Line (E)
MBTA bus (39, 66)

Overall, just, just don’t use these stations unless it’s a last-ditch effort. Or, if you have to, just take the 39 instead, as at least that can pull over to the stop for you.

Rating: 1.5/10

Alrighty, so from one Green Line terminus to another! Let’s take a look at Heath St.

So, the station layout is pretty simple. You have a platform on a balloon loop. There’s also a shelter on one side, and a parking lot in the middle of the loop. Overall, this station definitely follows the KISS principle (keep it simple,silly), and sometimes that’s all you need for a decent enough station. However, all the trains do NOT board/deboard on the side with the shelter. Yeah…

The good: It’s pretty close to where people would want to be, with a school and the V.A. nearby.

The bad: I mean, if you’re willing to walk, the Orange Line isn’t too terribly far away (around a mile), plus the 39 being able to bring one to Forest Hills and Back Bay, both of which are also served by the Orange Line. And, this one isn’t a fault of the station itself, but the E branch used to go all the way to Forest Hills as well.

Nearby points of interest: Not much. Just some apartments and the V.A. medical center.

Transit connections:
Green Line (E)
MBTA bus (14, 39)

Overall, it’s not the most exciting station. However, it gets the job done and sometimes, that’s all that’s necessary. There are some annoyances though, as I’ve touched on earlier.

Rating: 6/10