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Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Memo to MBTA GM Rich Davey - Please re-open Bowdoin Station FULL TIME

Bowdoin Station info on MBTA.com

Bowdoin Station overview - Wikipedia

Bowdoin Station is the forgotten orphan of the Boston subway system. It is the downtown terminus of the Blue Line and some 30 years ago the station became a Monday-Friday station and closes at 6:30 PM. The reason given at the time was the T said it could no longer afford a token seller there at night due to budget cutbacks but it would reopen the station in a few months.

They also said the A Line (Watertown) would only be temporarly suspended in 1969.

About 5 years ago the T said Bowdoin would close forever when Government Center was remodeled and that would occur in 2009. Well as we all know not much has changed at Government Center and given how long the State Street remodel on the Orange and Blue line has taken we can assume it may be awhile. I am willing to wager we will see Green Line service to Somerville and Medford before Government Center is renovated. My hunch is the T is waiting to see what may or may not happen to Boston City Hall before breaking ground.

I am asking in the meantime reopen the station for fulltime service. With the Charlie Card/Ticket system it would be pretty much like Symphony and Prudential on the Green Line. The trains have to go through the station anyways to turn around.

Since the station was shuttered, nearby Massachusetts General Hospital has expanded, and there is more foot traffic on Cambridge Street itself.

All I am asking is try it for six months and see if there is a demand now that wasn't there 30 years ago.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Sometimes I go to Whole Foods on Cambridge Street and Bowdoin Station is the closest one to it on the Blue Line. There is no elevator at Bowdoin or Government Center so I have to carry my groceries down the stairs and I am a senior citizen with aching knees.

I would like to see elevators installed in both Government Center and Bowdoin Stations and Bowdoin open full time.
MBTA riders don't care if the Stations are old and decrepit. We just want them open and accessible.