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First phase of upscale South Bay mall extension opens soon
By adamg on Fri, 12/01/2017 - 11:03am
The Dorchester Reporter takes a tour of the 11-acre site, next to the old South Bay mall, and says parts - including a new cineplex - could open in a couple of weeks.
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Southies Flock To New Mall In
Southies Flock To New Mall In Dorchester Section of South Boston - The New York Times
South Bay? More like Southie Bae!- The Mercury News
How To Get There?
Traffic here is going to become a mess. Transit access is abysmal. I live in the South End and DRIVE here even though it's about a mile because there's no direct bus, or the alternative is to take OL to RL and walk from Andrew (Also not very convenient).
I always feel bad at the beginning of the school year when I see Northeastern students walking to/from the mall.
As they say in the article, they need to tear down the main part and do a much denser mixed use development. You could put SO MUCH housing there, in addition to all the retail. There are great examples of this from around the world (And even many new projects like it in other parts of the US).
But nope, right now we have a giant parking lot in sight of downtown and no easy way to get there except Uber/Lyft if you don't want to DUI after going out to all the new restaurants and bars.
Easy and affordably priced
Excelsior!
Maybe
At least until all that sweet, sweet VC money dries up.
There is a shuttle from Andrew
Number 10 Bus from Back Bay South End
https://www.mbta.com/schedules/10/line
but
yah, but it has a terrible schedule.
Bus?
Not that the buses don't create a traffic nightmare in and of themselves over there, but the #10 bus goes through the South End and makes a stop at the South Bay Mall. So do other bus routes such as the 16 and 8. Also there is a free shuttle from Andrew Station.
Bus Is A Poor Option For South Bay
Perfectly aware of the bus, my point is it's a poor option.
10 Bus - there is a bus 3x per hour (About every 20 minutes) from Copley that runs through the South End to South Bay. 20 minutes is a long time to wait for the bus (Especially if you don't have an alternative). The MBTA schedule claims it's 15 minutes from Copley to South Bay, but most any time of day with traffic that's optimistic. Had a friend who took the 10 from the SE to Andrew to commute to Quincy on the RL - it lasted about 2 weeks until she got fed up & switched to Hubway, then winter came so she said "screw it" and bought a car.
8 Bus - Even less frequent. Runs 2x per hour from Kenmore. For me, location to ho on would be easier than the 10, so points for that.
Really my point is this place has a lot of potential but it needs a better connection to our transit system. Newmarket should be part of the "great idea but never happening under Governor No New Transit Baker" Indigo Line. Buses to what should be am emerging & hopping destination should be more frequent & rationalized. A shuttle from Andrew is nice but how about a nice easy way to walk (Giant lit up path or just extend the mall all the way to the station, fold in the hotels and self storage along Boston St). Lyft & Uber are great alternatives for those who can afford them, but not all can. And building a car-centric restaurant and entertainment destination just begs for some lovely DUI action after a night out.
But what about the Newmarket train station?
Admittedly out of the way for the South End (Back Bay to South Station, then South Station to Newmarket) but there is a train station right behind Stop & Shop.
Also, Andrew Square to this location (as opposed to Stop & Shop) is really easy if you go up Boston Street. My grandmother lived at Edward Everett Square, and we used to make the trek all the time, and that's twice as far as this.
Clearly you don't take buses
Clearly you don't take buses often or walk. About 25 minutes to walk or wait a mere 20 minutes for the bus?
I can understand a physical limitation keeping you from walking, but cripes almighty, develop some time tolerance.
What the hell are you doing in that twenty minutes? Deploying a place saver and parking, locking, and walking across the lot takes about 15 minutes of that.
Buses should be part of the solution
They don't. They tend to get caught up in it though. A bus carrying 50 passengers should have priority over 30 people driving around 30 empty cars on Massachusetts Ave. At the very least, bus lanes should go in on Mass Ave between Harrison Ave and South Bay, and an exclusive bus lane should be run through the middle of the shopping center between Mass Ave and Andrew Square.
If you got a mile, ever
If you got a mile, ever considered walking?
Have fun walking through Newmarket
It's a very colorful area. Likely to step on a needle until we can figure out to help all those poor souls over there.
Eh...
Island and Reading Streets have been among the worst spots for that, but it ain't exactly a mindfield. Perhaps some more eyes off the phone and on the street might not hurt? The 10 may now be fallen from its glory, but it's there. (At the very least: SL4 thence Fairmount Line?)
Be honest--have you ever ACTUALLY walked the entire distance?
When I lived in Roxbury I used to walk, jog and bike up and down Melnea Cass Blvd and Mass Ave to get to/from South Bay--not once in three years did I step on a needle or run one over with my bike. I'm not saying they're not out there, but it's not exactly littered with them--you're more likely to step in some dog duty or some discarded half-eaten food container from the nearby McDonald's or Dunkin' Donuts.
And, as far as the poor souls, 95% of them are so strung out that you're biggest concern is not witnessing one stumble into traffic and get hit. I'd be more worried about the less-drugged-more-drunk stabby crowd Downtown--most of the people on Methadone Mile are so out of it they can't even lift their heads up. Now, do you want to see those people on your walk? Probably not, but that's a matter of urban aesthetics. There are just as many drunk and drugged-out people roaming around the side streets between North Station and Haymarket on the not-so-posh side of the West End--they just hide in the shadows better given the physical landscape.
Welcome to Boston
And check out the #8 bus
The 10 goes there
It starts at Copley Square, wends its way through the South End, then heads over to South Bay. Not the most direct of routes, but there is a direct bus from the South End to this area.
The 16 goes through South Bay
The 16 goes through South Bay during regular business hours (morning rush hour it goes up and down Boston Street)
DRIVE here even though it's
Why not just walk? Seems a lot of trouble to avoid what should roughly be a 20 minute walk, no? Or are there safety concerns?
Wait
Almost 20 comments under this post and no one mentioned direct train access by Newmarket Station behind Stop & Shop at South Bay?
Sure you have to go to South Station to get it.. but there is a train that goes directly there.
Sure, once an hour
for the most part of the day and on the weekends.
Come to think of it, that headway is even worse than the 10.
Now if we upgraded the Fairmount line to an actual Indigo line with electrification or DMUs, with 15-minute headways, it would be much more useful for all...
I did yesterday afternoon
Though to be fair, this development is closer to Andrew Square than Newmarket, as long as you take Boston Street.
No bus from the South End?
MBTA bus #10 goes from Copley down Dartmouth St and Dedham St to Washington, then E Newton, Albany, and Mass Ave to South Bay. It couldn't be easier.
Andrew Red Line and then walk
Andrew Red Line and then walk. The Fairmount Line too, if its running.