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Boston College station

Coordinates: 42°20′24.3″N 71°10′1.2″W / 42.340083°N 71.167000°W / 42.340083; -71.167000
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Boston College
An inbound train at Boston College station in 2024
General information
LocationCommonwealth Avenue at Lake Street
Boston and Newton, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°20′24.3″N 71°10′1.2″W / 42.340083°N 71.167000°W / 42.340083; -71.167000
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks1 balloon loop
Construction
AccessibleYes
History
OpenedAugust 15, 1896
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 Government Center
Location
Map

Boston College station 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.

History

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Original median station

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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

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A train at the 1930-constructed platforms in 1965

Around 1916, the BERy constructed a pair of loops on the north side of Commonwealth Avenue just west of Lake Street; this allowed use of two-car motor-trailer trains on the line.[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. The BERy built a storage yard on the site of the loops; 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] 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.[9] (Boston College operates a system of private shuttle buses, but they stop on the campus rather than at the station.[10])

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.[11][2] In early 1980, the platforms were replaced; additional platforms were also constructed along the median east of Lake Street.[12] 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.[9] The westbound platform is still occasionally used when track work is being performed in the yard.[13][14]

Proposed new station

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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.[15][16] By 2005, the MBTA planned to relocate the station to the median of Commonwealth Avenue, just east of the Lake Street intersection.[17] Boston College later agreed to aid the project financially and to donate land to widen Commonwealth Avenue to accommodate the station.[18] 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.[19]

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.[19] 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.[20]

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.[19] It would eliminate trains having to cross Commonwealth Avenue traffic to access the platforms, which would reduce moves across Commonwealth Avenue by 89%, though trains would still need to cross to access the yard.[20] 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.[21]

A $29.3 million reconstruction and expansion of Lake Street Yard to support new Type 10 LRVs is planned for the late 2020s.[22] A design shown in March 2024 called for the maintenance building to be removed, the yard tracks reconfigured, and a traction power substation added. Boston College station would be relocated to the median of Commonwealth Avenue, with a single island platform east of Lake Street.[23]

References

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  1. ^ "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF) (14th ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d e f 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. ^ a b Clarke, Bradley H. (2003). Streetcar Lines of the Hub. Boston Street Railway Association. p. 99. ISBN 0938315056.
  9. ^ a b Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). Boston Street Railway Association.
  10. ^ "BC Shuttle Bus". Boston College Transportation and Parking Services. Archived from the original on 29 July 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  11. ^ Sanborn, George M. (1992). A Chronicle of the Boston Transit System. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on 2019-11-27. Retrieved 2017-02-28 – via MIT.
  12. ^ 1979 Annual Report. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 1979. p. 27 – via Internet Archive.
  13. ^ "Alerts: Subway". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. May 31, 2021. Archived from the original on June 3, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  14. ^ "Alerts: Green Line B". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. September 18, 2023. Archived from the original on September 18, 2023.
  15. ^ "Executive Summary" (PDF). Program of Mass Transportation. Boston Regional Metropolitan Planning Organization. January 2004. pp. 2–9. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 20, 2012.
  16. ^ "Subway Map" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 1, 2001.
  17. ^ "Accessibility Projects at the MBTA" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. March 2005.
  18. ^ "Chapter 9: Transportation and Parking" (PDF). Boston College Institutional Master Plan. Boston College. June 20, 2008.
  19. ^ a b c 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.
  20. ^ a b "Green Line - Boston College Station". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on July 19, 2017.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ "Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority FY23-27 Capital Investment Plan (CIP): Proposed" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. March 2022. p. 66.
  23. ^ "Green Line B Branch Improvements and Accessibility Upgrades" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. March 22, 2024.
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