Islington (MBTA)

So, after doing the Norwood duo, I took the 34E back, however there were two pieces of unfinished business. The first, was a block and a half away from the 34E in Islington. In fact, it was Islington’s Commuter Rail station. Let’s look at this station located in suburbia, shall we? To describe from what a reader said to me, “they built a station in someone’s backyard”, to which I say there’s two stations that fit the bill here. The other station will be the next entry on this blog. (wink wink nudge nudge)

So, who here remembers the 10ft6 bridge at East St. in Westwood? Anybody? If not, here’s a video to remind y’all of what it was. It’s since been raised to 13ft3 (or rather, more likely, the road was lowered to make that the clearance) and now trucks aren’t careening into it and exploding spectacularly like in years prior. See, look!

The walk was actually rather pleasant. Crossing East Street into Carroll Street, the entrance to the inbound platform seems innocent enough – enough so to where as Miles put it in his entry on this station, one could easily mistake it for someone’s driveway! It’s such a cute little station! I mean, it’s got a small amount of parking, a 135ft low level platform on each side, crossovers, some benches, shelters, and if memory serves me right even a bicycle rack! There’s also a red dot matrix sign. Bleugh. But, overall, a decent (if inaccessible) station. It’s so cute, too!!! And, it’s in walking distance of the 34E!!!

The good: It’s such a cute little station! Furthermore, Islington is kinda town center-y, so it’s in a relatively dense (vs. the rest of the town, which doesn’t say much as it’s still single-family housing) area. It’s also relatively walkable too, although it’s a shame US-1 is close by. Furthermore, the 34E is close by, too!

The bad: It’s all single-family housing!!! Yikes. It’s also inaccessible, which stinks. Also, it’s so damn close to Dedham Corporate Center (which is also cheaper!) that, odds are, if you’re driving, it’s better to drive there and park.

Nearby points of interest: Not a lot… A couple of businesses exist on Washington Street, but nothing stood out.

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Franklin, Foxboro)
MBTA bus (34E on Washington St.)

Overall, it’s a cute little station. I like it. Sometimes, a nice small suburban station without a major parking sink is nice to have, even. But, inaccessibility does take away from it, as does proximity to Dedham Corp. Eww.

Rating: 5.5/10