Packards Corner station explained

Packards Corner
Style:MBTA
Style2:Green
Coordinates:42.3521°N -71.1247°W
Other: MBTA bus:
Platform:2 side platforms
Tracks:2
Passengers:2,654 (weekday average boardings)
Pass Year:2011
Other Services Header:Former services
Other Services Collapsible:yes
Mapframe:yes
Mapframe-Marker:rail-light
Mapframe-Zoom:14

Packards Corner station (announced as Brighton Avenue/Packards Corner) is a light rail stop on the MBTA's Green Line B branch located at Packard's Corner—the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and Brighton Avenue—in Allston, Boston, Massachusetts. The station is located in a median between the westbound travel lanes and frontage road of Commonwealth Avenue.

History

The Green Line A branch formerly diverged just north of the platforms; its trolleys stopped at separate Packards Corner platforms on Brighton Avenue. The Brighton Avenue streetcar reservation was removed from July 1 to October 5, 1949, and the side platforms for the Watertown Line were replaced with an island platform.[1] The A branch was closed on June 21, 1969, and replaced with the route bus, though the trackage was retained for non-revenue moves to Watertown Yard. The line was finally abandoned in 1994; a several-hundred-foot stub track was left until the mid-2000s to temporarily store disabled trains. The switch and the last few feet of track were not disconnected until track work in 2014.

Packards Corner was not made accessible during the initial 2001–03 round of Green Line station renovations. In 2019, the MBTA listed Packards Corner as a "Tier I" accessibility priority.[2] Track work in 2018–19, which included replacement of platform edges at several stops, triggered requirements for accessibility modifications at those stops.[3] Design for Packards Corner and four other B Branch stops was 30% complete by December 2022.[4] By November, construction was expected to begin at Packards Corner in spring 2024, ahead of other B Branch stations.[5] A design shown in March 2024 called for the platforms to be rebuilt at their current locations, with a new track crossing and crosswalk to the west sidewalk at the south end of the station.[6] In May 2024, the Federal Transit Administration awarded the MBTA $67 million to construct accessible platforms at 14 B and C branch stops including Packards Corner., construction is expected to start in fall 2025.[7]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Clarke, Bradley H. . Streetcar Lines of the Hub - The 1940s . 2003 . Boston Street Railway Association . 0938315056 . 110.
  2. Web site: Preview of 2019 Recommendations: Presentation to the FMCB . Plan for Accessible Transit Infrastructure (PATI) . 12 . April 1, 2019 . Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  3. Web site: System-Wide Accessibility Initiatives—May 2021 . May 24, 2021 . Laura . Brelsford . Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Department of System-Wide Accessibility . 4–5.
  4. Web site: System-Wide Accessibility Initiatives—December 2022 . December 6, 2022 . Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Department of System-Wide Accessibility . 4–5.
  5. Web site: System-Wide Accessibility Initiatives—November 2023 . November 27, 2023 . Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Department of System-Wide Accessibility . 4–5.
  6. Web site: Green Line B Branch Improvements and Accessibility Upgrades . March 22, 2024 . Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  7. Web site: Accessibility Initiatives—June 2024 . June 25, 2024 . Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority . 4.