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Government Center Station now re-opening March 21st
By roadman on Wed, 03/09/2016 - 5:27pm
According to BDC.
http://www.boston.com/news/2016/03/09/mbta-moves-government-center-openi...
Now, what's the over/under that they will open the station early, but then close it on select weekends/evenings to actually finish all the work - like they did with Assembly Station on the Orange Line?
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Comments
Beautiful station!
Hopefully it will stay safe and clean with reliable service!
I see the Green Line level on my daily trips
to and from North Station. In a word - YUCK. In five words - bland white tiled transit bathroom.
And what's with posting "Copley (instead of Park Street) and West" on the westbound platform and "North Station and North (should be East to match Green Line nomenclature)" on the eastbound platform?
The MBTA
uses Copley as an indicator because it's the last stop before the E-line branches off.
So what's wrong with
stating "Park St, Copley, and West?" Park Street is as pivotal a point in the system as Copley is, especially for the touristas.
Hahahahaha
You are aware those square white tiles in bathrooms are called SUBWAY tiles, right? And not the other way around?
You're special, anon.
Function may be "subway"
But appearance screams "bathroom ". For 80 mil, you think they could have done better.
White never goes out of style, unless you'd prefere...
Some snazzy Harvest Gold or Avocado green tiles, perhaps?
"Subway Tile" Versus Bathroom Tile — Scollay Under Is Bathroom
Many kinds of tile are used in subway stations around the world, however when used to describe a decorative style for tile used in other places, "Subway Tile" refers to rectangular tiles positioned in a running bond "brickwork" pattern, like the lower wall tiles in this old picture of the Essex/Chinatown station:
Likewise, many different kinds of tile are used in bathrooms, but the simplest, cheapest, and most commonly used are plain white 4" square tiles, in a simple straight course pattern:
The new Scollay Under platform is exactly like the bathroom, but with no toilet.
Making it look like a bathroom seems like a really bad idea — it's only going to encourage the longstanding tradition of people urinating down there.
Exactly like the bathroom
Yes, because YOU CAN CLEAN IT EASILY.
In Fairness, I Love The Sparkly New Terrazzo Floor!
Just because you can clean something, doesn't mean the Ⓣ actually will. Tile surfaces are easy to clean, but the grout lines collect dirt and grime that is harder to remove, and after a while become stained. This will be particularly noticeable against the plain white tiles.
By contrast, the Aquarium station has much larger tiles in various shades of gray, arranged in an interesting pattern. Even though the ceiling and other parts of that station are falling into disrepair, (most of) the tiles are still pleasant to look at.
One thing I like very much about the new Scollay Under platform is the terrazzo floor. It's a light grey mixture of marble chips with little sparkly bits — what I saw of it when it was just finished being ground and polished, was gorgeous!
Terrazzo floors are exceedingly easy to clean. When I lived in Florida, I loved the sparkling white terrazzo floor in my house — it was as easy to clean as washing a dish. They need a periodic strip down, re-waxing, and polishing to look their best, but even very old terrazzo floors can be easily made to look like new again!
Bathroom--there'a a good reason for that
it'll smell like a bathroom right away.
I'm guessing we'll get maybe
I'm guessing we'll get maybe one of these things.
Maybe today?
When the B Train headed westbound arrived at Park Street this afternoon shortly after 4pm it already had passengers in it. Since Government closed this train has been terminating and originating at Park, so I'm not sure where this train came from. That was an unexpected scramble for a seat...
The smart ones got on at Park
On the east bound platform.
North Station
They do that with Riverside sometimes also.
Routing Riverside trains to/from North Station
, except during rush hours, was part of the original operations plan when Government Center closed. However, the T rarely honored that commitment.
As for BC cars, they are occassionaly operated as "run as directed". Typically, when they arrive at Park Street with passengers, they actually originated at Lechmere instead of North Station, and often go to Blanford instead of BC.
Honestly, it's just nice to
Honestly, it's just nice to have a story not involving a gun.
Did you say "gun" or "pun"?
?
Screw fancy ass station renovations
Big $ for basically cosmetic renovations (and comply with ADA), while actual un-sexy infrastructure like signal systems, new(er), reliable trains, etc. are where the $ needs to go. As it is now, trains, speed (signal issues?) on all lines to a degree, but especially the green and red lines, is at quasi-3rd world status, not what you'd expect for the world's #1 'super-power', with a massive economy and wealth. And the MBTA rail system is archaic and doesn't reflect the realities of the 2nd decade if the 21st century but rather, at best, mid 20th century Boston and Greater Boston. Heavy rail lines like the orange and blue lines should have been expanded south and north respectively, the greenline(s) is a hot mess (LRV-street cars are a poor substitute for heavy rail in a city as densely populated as Boston and immediate surrounding cities and towns), and the lack of an obvious extension (better than nothing) northwest of Park beyond Lechmere into Cambridge and Somerville should have been done a LONG time ago. That Lechmere Station has got to be the last, ancient, unrenovated one in the entire system, it's like going back in time 75 plus years.
Infrastructure across the board in the U.S. is in a shitty state; roads, highways, bridges, trains, etc.
You are obvious not aware
You are obvious not aware that new train and trolley cars are on order and will be delivered over the next few years.
I am aware
it shouldn't have taken this long.
Complying with ADA is pretty important
at a central, busy station like this one (and also Hynes). It benefits plenty of people who are not disabled as well (folks with strollers, shopping carts, etc).
Explain how a large steel and glass
edifice lined with multi-colored lights is necessary to meet ADA requirements.
Oh brother...
Of course the lights aren't necessary, but given that Government Center plaza will eventually undergo a renovation, and Center Plaza across the street is to undergo a major renovation, I think the accent lighting is part of the overall area "upgrade" (Center Plaza redo, Gov Center plaza overhaul, Faneuil Hall plaza redo)
As far as the entrance being "large", no offense, but I don't think you're looking at the overall picture again. If there was a fire emergency at the station, I'd rather be amidst a panicked group able to disperse out of that wider area than trying to squeeze through such a crowd in the very limited entrance area that used to be there. Plus, the entrance allows a better flow of foot traffic...I wasn't fond of the claustrophobic feeling the old entrance provided when the smallest of crowds started to build at the fare gates, causing a very compact build-up of awaiting patrons.
On a separate note, it says a lot about those that are so damn focused on the lights, when we should be thankful ADA compliancy is finally met, and riders have a refurbished station to wait comfortably in. The lighting cost is likely not even a tenth of a percent of the overall project cost, so I think the expense is justified, again, especially when considering the surrounding changes to the area that are forthcoming these next few years.
Besides, if the station never was changed, you'd still have people pissing & moaning about how gross, run-down, under lit & inaccessible the station was. As it is, people do that already (justifiably) about the old fleet of cars, signal non-reliability, and other station conditions. After 50 years, I think it was time for GC Station to be a well-deserved "reward" for people who use the system & see the station daily.
You don't need the excess height
of the new headhouse (which serves NO useful purpose) to accommodate the larger entrance area.
While we're at it...
We don't NEED the lights on the Zakim, we don't NEED a science museum or aquarium, we don't NEED street performers in front of TD Garden or Quincy Market, we don't NEED duck boats, we don't NEED a Government Center plaza overhaul, we don't NEED a 4th of July fireworks celebration on the Charles, and we don't NEED to win sports championships...some may argue these "don't serve a useful purpose".
But it sure is frickin' nice to have them. So just enjoy it (a hard concept in today's society, I know...but not everything in life needs to be crapped on, just because you don't agree with it.)
MBTA is crying poverty
Easing fares, and cutting service. But sure, let's build a large illuminated headhouse that serves
NO USEFUL FUNCTION because we "need nice things".
The answer you seek is above
Whether the Government Center headhouse needed to be rebuilt the way it was is one question. Whether it needed to be rebuilt at all, however, is another. Look up above for the ADA issue.
You are absolutely correct Adam
Unlike others who have posted in threads on this subject, I have always agreed that the station, including the
fallout shelterentranceway, needed to be rebuilt to meet ADA. Also, I have always understood that meeting ADA is more complicated than just "adding an elevator or two", and requires extensive work to implement at an existing underground station that you cannot change the basic layout of.Can't speak for others, but my major objections have been to the excessive design of the new headhouse and, to a lesser extent, posters on here who seem to go out of their way to defend the excessive design. IMO, a far more modest headhouse design would have been perfectly adequate to satisfy ADA.
Yes, it's far too late to do anything about this with Government Center, but it's something that needs to be seriously considered when the T proposes its next large station remodeling project.