Church Street is the only station between the city’s waterfront and the split in service in Taunton. Is it any good? Well……..
Church Street is located off, well, Church Street in New Bedford’s North End. Without any direct fixed-route bus service, it does have peak-hour microtransit connections. The parking lot is huge, intended to be a parking sink for Route 140 and a park & ride station for Acushnet, eastern Freetown, and Rochester. There’s also some houses nearby, as it is pretty suburban. There’s a transit-accessible U-HAUL next door, and across the tracks there’s a shopping plaza with a Saver’s, Dollar Tree, and even an Ollie’s Bargain Outlet! However, you can’t get across easily. As for the platform itself, it’s normal. Sheltered area, departure boards, benches, fully high level, ya know. It’s not bad. As for fixed route, the nearest SRTA stop is served by the 204 on Ashley Blvd., about a half-mile away.
The good: It’s a park & ride for the North End & surrounding communities (eastern Freetown, Acushnet, Rochester)! There’s also some housing nearby so people can conceivably walk here without it coming off as a stupid or dangerous idea. It’s also fully accessible and whatnot.
The bad: Neighborhood access to the other side of the tracks is kinda bad. Also, no bus connections outside peaky microtransit. The North End shuttle doesn’t even deviate here! That’s kinda shitty.
Nearby points of interest: TRANSIT-ACCESSIBLE U-HAUL YEAH BABY!!!! Lesbian jokes coming from a lesbian aside, you also have places like Ollie’s Bargain Outlet on the other side of the tracks. The area is also your normal suburban neighborhood otherwise.
Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (New Bedford)
SRTA (MicroConnector)
Overall, it’s not bad, but there are some noticeable problems that inhibit it from being a “great” station. At the least, improve neighborhood access to the other side of the tracks, and deviate the 204 here!
Rating: 6.5/10
