Public Transit – Page 21 – chelsea's corner

Boston Landing (MBTA)

New Balance is a major manufacturer of athletic footwear and apparel, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. They also own the Warrior Sports brand, who manufacture ice hockey equipment. So, if you’ve ever gotten your hands on a Bruins player’s hockey stick, odds are good it’s a New Balance product. Hell, if you ran cross-country or track for a college or high school team, odds are good you probably also used a New Balance product. They also happen to own the practice arenas for both the Boston Bruins and the Celtics and located their headquarters to the Boston Landing development. Now what the HELL does an athletic apparel & equipment company have to do with trains, buses, or whatever else I normally talk about here?!

I’ll tell you what: they paid for a train station to be built here!!

Being the newest station on the line (opened in May 2017!), it’s got enough things you’d expect from a newer station. Full-length highs, a pedestrian bridge, and amenities on the platform are all accounted for. Now, as this was the point I realized “holy CRAP, it’s cold!” (this was visited before Newtonville), I didn’t spend too much time on the platform, however there was garbage disposal and benches. There’s elevators though, and they work! Neat! In a way, this place feels kinda like a prototyped version of Pawtucket, actually, now that I think of it. Only downside is the lack of the Spun sculpture. Also, my biggest pet peeve is the only MBTA bus to stop here, the 64, doesn’t deviate in, although there isn’t much room for that anyways. But, I still stand by the fact the nearest stops for the 64 are a bit of a ways away. One thing I apparently missed (likely because I just wanted to skedaddle due to the cold) is there’s an elevator on the Everett St. overpass. Neato! But, outside rush hour, who the heck is going to want to wait that far away? Offpeak trains only board in the two cars closest to the engine anyways! And, it’s not even the most pedestrian-friendly entrance either, as you have to go around if you need accessibility! Actually, now that I think of it, the biggest improvement would probably be a pedestrian overpass to the other side of the Mass Pike.

The good: It’s in a new development paid by New Balance! It’s also ADA compliant and is a short distance to downtown Boston in a largely transit-starved (though not to the same degree as some other areas!) region. Plus, outside of the New Balance area, it’s largely residential in nature, so there’s reverse commuting opportunities to Natick, Framingham, and Worcester as well.

The bad: I guess the worst part would have to be the lack of pedestrian access to the other side of I-90, and the relative lack of pedestrian friendliness on Everett Street. Also, the relative hike to catch the 64 to either Oak Square or Kendall/MIT.

Nearby points of interest: The associated development’s seemed to have attracted some interesting businesses and restaurants, by the looks of it. You’ve also got New Balance’s flagship store, and the Warrior Ice Arena (the Bruins’ practice arena) along with the Auerbach Center (the Celtics’ practice arena), so there’s that. And there’s also a Dollar Tree nearby! Neat. And, for those who watched WGBH as a child, their headquarters (and Newbury Comics HQ, for those into music & comics!) is nearby too.

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Worcester Line)
MBTA bus (64)

Overall, it’s a nice little station, designed primarily to serve a development in Brighton. I gotta check this place out more, and if you’re an athletic person who happens to buy New Balance, I’d say it’s worth at least a consideration.

Rating: 7/10

Newtonville (MBTA)

Ah, Newtonville. What a lovely little villag- oh, what? You mean I gotta check the Commuter Rail station? Well, how bad can it be? It doesn’t- OH MY GOD!!!

OH YOU KNOW IT’S GOOD WHEN THE SIGN IS HELVETICA CONDENSED, RATHER THAN HELVETICA BOLD!!!

NOW, BECAUSE OF THE TRAFFIC WHIZZING BY, AND THE IMMENSE AMOUNT OF IT, I’M GOING TO HAVE TO YELL JUST TO BE HEARD!!! SO, LET’S LOOK INTO THIS HELLHOLE OF A STATION!

WOW, WOULD YA LOOK AT THAT! NOT EVEN ACCESSIBLE!!! HARVARD STREET’S OVERPASS IS THE SAME CASE, EXCEPT THAT ONE HAS HELVETICA BOLD INSTEAD OF HELVETICA CONDENSED!

NOW, WHY THE HELL IS THIS A SINGLE SIDE PLATFORM ON A DOUBLE TRACKED MAINLINE?! WHAT IS THIS, MADISON?! HOLY SHIT THIS IS AWFUL! LET’S SEE WHAT ELSE IS ON THE PLATFORM, WHICH GOES ON FOR FAR LONGER THAN ANY TRAIN’S DOORS WILL OPEN UP FOR. SO, YOU GOT A SHELTER, DOT MATRIX SIGNS IN BOTH RED AND YELLOW! WHOOP DE FUCKING DOO!!!!! AT LEAST THERE’S A GARBAGE BIN AND BENCHES IN THE SHELTER. NEAT.

ALSO, AS A FUN TIDBIT, I LIKE HOW SOMEONE GRAFFITIED “NEWTONVILLE” ON ONE OF THE HUNKS OF WOOD. ALSO, THE FACT THE GLASS DOOR FOR THE SCHEDULE PLAQUE IS BROKEN, MEANS THEFT IS POSSIBLE HERE! I WAS LEGITIMATELY TEMPTED TO TAKE THE SCHEDULE PLAQUE, BUT I DIDN’T. AS THEY ALWAYS SAY ON THE RADIO, I’M A GOOD PERSON! I PAY MY TAXES! IT’S A CRIME TO PAY MORE THAN A DIME! OH! IT’S THE LAKE SHORE LIMITED! AND FINALLY, MY TRAIN IS PULLING UP! YAY!!!!!!! OH YEAH, THERE’S ON-STREET PARKING!

AND HERE COMES MY TRAIN! TO BACK BAY WE GO!

The good: UHHHHH, IDK. THERE’S BENCHES AND A SHELTER???

The bad: EVERYTHING. THE EXISTENCE OF THE STATION, THE SINGLE TRACKING OPERATION, THE SINGLE PLATFORM, THE MASS PIKE, THE LOW-LEVEL PLATFORM, THE STAIRS – BY THE WAY, DON’T LOOK DOWN!!!!!

Nearby points of interest: I GUESS IT’S COOL THERE’S A STAR MARKET ABOVE THE PIKE! ALSO, NEWTONVILLE LOOKS LIKE AN INTERESTING AREA!

Transit connections:
COMMUTER RAIL (WORCESTER)
MBTA BUS (59, 553, 554, 556)

Overall, THIS STATION SUCKS! I’VE SEEN BETTER UNDERNEATH I-95 IN CONNECTICUT! THIS MAKES WESTERLY LOOK LIKE FREAKIN’ BRIDGEPORT OR STAMFORD!

Rating: 1/10

344 (Glenbrook Rd./Darien)

Alrighty, the second bus route I rode this day! Initially, I was going to take the New Canaan but uhhhh, yeah, my plans got derailed (literally). So, this’ll have to do.

So, off to the races we go! We leave the under-I95 bus terminal at the McKinney TC, taking a few turns up Washington Blvd., Tresser Blvd./US-1, and Atlantic Street, passing by the Stamford Town Center shopping center in the meantime. We’d then turn right onto Broad Street, which becomes East Main Street (US-1), crossing the Northeast Corridor.

Ridership was low at first, but as we turned down a side street, Hamilton Avenue, and Glenbrook Road, it got steady with a modest amount of people. We kept passing by residences, even turned right crossing the bustituted New Canaan branch and Glenbrook’s Metro-North station. At this point, there wasn’t a lot to remark about, aside from the fact we were waist-deep in a residential neighborhood, a deviation into Noroton Heights’s Metro-North station, and a shopping center. Pressing on down West Ave., we’d reach Darien without much of note.

They say a group of Karens is called an HOA.

The good: Well, it serves a lot of residential stuff! Uhhh, yeah, that’s pretty much it. Also, Glenbrook’s and Noroton’s train stations.

The bad: While hourly is probably enough, the weekend schedule is just “nah”. No Sunday service and the last normal trip is in the 7PM hour! Just, why?!

Nearby points of interest: The three Metro-North stations! There’s also a park near Glenbrook and a few shopping centers!

Overall, it’s okay, however the lack of Sunday service hinders this route’s potential greatly. Which is a shame, since people still need to use Darien and Noroton Heights on weekends.

Rating: 6.5/10

Greenwich (Metro-North)

Alrighty, the last of the four Greenwich Metro-North stations, and this one is in Greenwich’s town center! So, let’s see how decent this is. Here we go!

Alrighty, so getting off the train after Port Chester, and we’re in a modern-ish station. It does feel vintage, though, and rightfully so as this was built during the Penn Central era. As a plus, unlike the other three Greenwich-area stations, it’s accessible! Yes, elevators exist for crossovers!

Yeah, I don’t think exposed wires are supposed to be where the fire alarm goes. That’s safe! I didn’t give the elevators the piss test, but it’d probably pass due to the rich NIMBY nature of the town.

Crossing to the other side, there’s a waiting room, fare vending machines (which, iirc, exist on BOTH sides! Woah!), along with shelters (also on the other side). Now, what’s in the waiting room? Well, there’s benches, a shuttered ticket office, and BATHROOMS ON THE LOWER LEVEL?! WOAH! Okay, save for the shuttered ticket office that closed in 2016 (and apparently the ticket guy was well-beloved locally), this is pretty much perfect. And, outside on Railroad Avenue, connections can be made to both CTtransit’s 311 and Norwalk WHEELS’ Greenwich Commuter Loop shuttle. It was here that I decided to get lunch at Planet Pizza. Would I recommend? Yes!

The good: It’s got an indoor waiting area that’s open during service hours! YAY! And it’s accessible!!! Furthermore, it’s right in downtown Greenwich, with nearby Greenwich Ave. being the main hub of the city. WOOHOO! Also, there’s a commuter loop and CTtransit! Departure boards, too!

The bad: The ticket office is closed! And, it’s been that way for 6 years! And to be honest, it makes the station feel a little devoid of life. Heck, per the article I linked above, from what I can tell even the locals liked the ticketing agent. I get it’d cost money, and probably more money than what Metro-North or ConnDOT are willing to spend, but it’d be nice for a station agent to be present and to have the station buildings be open. Even if it’s not for ticket sales, just to have someone there to assist passengers in general.

Nearby points of interest: Greenwich Avenue is a big one. Apparently there’s an Apple Store out here! There’s also a park nearby as well.

Transit connections: Metro-North (New Haven)
CTtransit (311)
Norwalk WHEELS (Greenwich Commuter Loop)

Overall, I really like this station. Objectively, it’s up there for being among the best Metro-North stations. And, while I’m not a big fan of the moves ConnDOT did to nerf the station, nor am I big on the architecture, it’s largely not a bad station. As such, I think it’s worthy of a high score, albeit not a 10. Oh yeah, bathrooms.

Rating: 8/10

Stamford (Amtrak/Metro-North/CTrail)

“You are NOT the father!”, Maury would say. Oh, this is a STATION entry, not Maury. Right. Well, welcome to the Stewart B. McKinney Stamford Gateway Intermodal Transportation Center. Or, the Stamford Transportation Center. Let’s see what the….

*checks notes*

SECOND MOST-USED METRO-NORTH STATION?! Yeah. Let’s see what this sucker has to offer. This is gonna be a big one. So, buckle down, and let’s get this show on the road!

So, pulling into Stamford on the Acela, first thing I notice is the style of architecture and the new platform (from what I understand is to be for New Canaan dinks so they don’t occupy a through track). And, I’ll have to admit, I dig this kind of architecture. Platforms are concrete, modern, and have adequate lighting and shelters. However, there were no benches. This wasn’t a big deal, as there was a waiting room above the tracks. I’ll add, this was also pretty cool, and I dig the cross-braces in the windows. Speaking of the concourse, there’s Amtrak and Metro-North information desks, a convenience store, and yes, a Dunkin. Meanwhile, the northern exit will bring you out to the street with another convenience store, and the southern one to a parking garage. On the outside is another garage under construction, and a sign reading “Stewart B. McKinney Transportation Center”. Who was he? It turns out, he was a Republican representative from the ’80s, who died of AIDS and was bisexual. Yeah, bisexual Republicans. Don’t see that one every day.

Once on street level, you can go down further into an underground passageway, and you’ll find MTA police, a CTtransit vending machine (turned off, free fares!), a shuttered Subway, and a Greyhound office. Don’t tell Miles!

Now lastly, there’s the bus terminal. This has got to be among the sorriest-looking bus terminals I’ve seen. It’s like Cos Cob in that it’s under I-95, but it’s worsened by the fact it’s in the middle of a city. Yeah…… But, the berths are labelled clearly! So, props to CTtransit on that. You can also walk to track 4 on foot without entering the station’s concourses too, neat! As a downside, the elevator down here smells like urine. At least, the one I took did.

The good: It’s a beautiful piece of architecture! It really is, I legitimately dig the style of the station in general. It’s also got pretty much everything a passenger might need or want. Furthermore, you’ve got multiple ways to access the platforms, all the Stamford-area bus routes, and a crazy amount of Metro-North trains! Plus, it’s in the heart of the city as well.

The bad: …I genuinely cannot think of much. I was annoyed by the fact there was construction, but whatever.

Nearby points of interest: The city of Stamford and the bus routes, and the New Canaan line can take you to its namesake town! You’ve also got various local-owned shops, restaurants, breweries, etc., and a mall nearby. AND THERE’S A DINER?! HOLY FUCKING SHIT!

Transit connections:
Amtrak (Northeast Regional, Acela, Vermonter)
CTrail (Shore Line East, temporarily suspended)
Metro-North (New Haven, New Canaan)
CTtransit (311, 312, 313, 321, 324, 326, 327, 328, 331, 333, 334, 335, 336, 341, 342, 344, 345, 351, I-BUS)
Greyhound

Overall, it’s a great station. Easily among the best I’ve seen even. It’s in a decent location, has good service for both Metro-North and CTtransit, and every Amtrak train stops here as well. As such, I think it’s worthy of a special score I reserve for a handful of stations.

Rating: 10/10

These brochures actually proved HELPFUL for research for once!

Old Greenwich (Metro-North)

Another station in Greenwich, oh my! Well, it’s not that bad. Besides, I-95 isn’t close by for once and it’s in a sleepy neighborhood that, *gasps* has things to do!!! Woah!

So, getting off the platform, it’s the same story as Riverside and Cos Cob. Honestly, it’s kinda exhausting at this point since I may as well copy-paste. But, ’cause I love y’all, I’ll beat the dead horse.

You got benches, wastebaskets, shelters, and vending machines. Parking is on either side, permit only (as is also the case with Riverside & Cos Cob), and sorry, the station building is closed. Man, they should really have the station building open outside the morning rush, maybe with a small convenience store for the local neighborhood as well as restrooms. After all, headways can get a bit wonky, especially at rush hour. Anyways, the area around the station itself is a small village with shopping and restaurants. Nothing stood out to me, and no I’m not counting Dunkin’ here, because of course there’s gonna be a Dunkin’ in every small CDP in New England. CTtransit also stops here, peak hours only.

The good: It’s in a suburban area, and unlike the other two suburban park & rides in Greenwich, it’s actually got things around it one can do! It also has a CTtransit connection, peak hours only though.

The bad: It’s still suffering many of the problems Cos Cob and Riverside suffered. Those problems being no departure board and a lack of ADA compliance. Also, I’ll have to nitpick that the CTtransit connection is peak-only, and the station building is only open during the morning rush. There’s also no bike racks.

Nearby points of interest: Old Greenwich seems like a nice little village! There’s also a park on the other side of the tracks, and a golf club nearby.

Transit connections:
Metro-North (New Haven)
CTtransit (324, limited service)

Overall, I think outside of Greenwich, this station’s probably the best one of the bunch. It’s got stuff to do, has a decent amount of parking, and it also has bus connections (albeit limited). So, I think this one deserves a decent score.

Rating: 7/10

Port Chester (Metro-North)

Ain’t no way, I’m reviewing a station in NEW YORK?!

Yep, and it’s only the first out of…. *counts on fingers* 21, I think? And four of those don’t even exist yet. Nevertheless, welcome to New York, here’s Port Chester.

We uhhh, got a little bold there, I guess.

So, first thing is there’s an elevator on the Stamford side (sorry, no local to New Haven!) and a ramp to the Grand Central side. So, of course, I did the piss test (that is, ride to see if the elevator reeks of urine), and to my surprise it passed! Way to go, Port Chester!!! Furthermore, there’s heated waiting areas on the platforms, fare vending machines on both sides, departure boards that actually LIST intermediate stations, and announcements! Woah, this is REALLY nice. And, it’s got parking, Bee Line connections, and (if you walk a little), a CTtransit connection! Holy crap!

Just be ready to hear “Attention customers! Please step back from the edge of the platform! Standing on or near the yellow edge strip is dangerous! Stand back; be safe! [END BEEP]” every few minutes when a train expresses through. Would a simple “TRAIN APPROACHING, PLEASE REMAIN BEHIND THE YELLOW LINE!” like on the NEC north of State Street have sufficed instead? Who knows.

The good: It’s in a dense area! I mean, it’s dense as far as suburban areas go, and it feels like a small city in its own right. Plus, there’s all sorts of shopping nearby.

The bad: I mean, the fact Bee Line and CTtransit don’t deviate into the station is a bit annoying, and I do have to ask if the amount of parking is excessive.

Nearby points of interest: The many small shops nearby, the Waterfront at Port Chester (a mall), and there’s a few theaters nearby too!

Transit connections:
Metro-North (New Haven)
CTtransit (311)
Bee-Line (13, 61)

Overall, this place is probably the best of the bunch for stations exclusively served by Metro-North and not Amtrak. Like, it’s got everything to not just be passable, but also an actually decent place to wait at. Sure, it’d suck to be stranded, but at least you can wait in relative comfort.

Rating: 9/10

311 (Greenwich/Port Chester)

Alrighty, so the first of two CTtransit entries! Let’s check out the only regular bus service Greenwich has throughout the day. And…..

*looks at route map*

Oh no. No, not New York…..

So, at the McKinney TC (Stamford MNRR), we board a bendy bus under I-95 and the bus is already pretty full. Damn, good thing we have a bendy bus to work with! So, off to the races we are, and down Route 1 we go! So, of course, it gets very suburban really fast. However, hints of urbanization and density still exists, as there’s a mix of apartment complexes and single family housing in sight. We even pass a ShopRite and a Stop & Shop, and quickly enough we’re in Greenwich. Yay!

Finger lickin’ good! …if you want bowel issues, that is.

I don’t know why the bus stop there, but whatever.

Apparently there’s an ACME in this plaza. Don’t tell Wile E. Coyote!

So, as we progressed down US-1, we pass several office buildings and whatnot. There’s also several churches, a school, Interstate 95, and the Mianus River to be seen here. It’s all pretty much suburban, and after we passed the high school, it started to look a little more walkable. However, it was still car-centric as parking existed on both sides of the street. Boo….. But, we deviated! Wooo! Deviation to Greenwich’s Metro-North station! Yay! And, it was here where the 311 splits into two. One variant goes up Field Point Road and follows US-1. However, I was on a B variant route, which continues down Hamilton Avenue. It pretty much felt like a residential side-street, if anything, and it felt weird snaking under the Northeast Corridor in a 60 foot bendy bus, to be quite honest. From here, we’d be crossing under I-95 and closing in on the New York border in an increasingly urban area.

And then I fizzled out of existence entirely upon entering New York!!! The end!

…nah, I’m just messing with you (the reader). What happened was we entered Port Chester, passed what can be described as an old industrial area (I think?), and we made it to the general area of the train station. Yay!

The Byram River, forming the state line!

The good: Well, it definitely serves a lot! It goes into freakin’ New York, for crying out loud! It’s also the only regular bus service through Greenwich, not counting the I-BUS or the Norwalk WHEELS-operated commuter shuttle. This probably plays into why it’s got high ridership and why it uses a 60ft bendy bus.

The bad: Two branches? Really? And with that it also means headways are WORSE on the branches, with upwards of bi-hourly on weekends! Darn it, CTtransit!

Nearby points of interest: Well, you got a shopping center in Port Chester, and a few parks in Greenwich (not counting office parks!). Also, the shopping on Railroad and near Greenwich Avenues.

Overall, it’s a decent route, it gets the job done, and serves a lot of people with where it serves. I’m also thankful I didn’t vaporize into thin air.

Rating: 7.5/10

Cos Cob (Metro-North)

Next to arrive in the backlog from my journey on the 14th, is Cos Cob! What a weird place name. But, yeah, it’s still largely rich NIMBY hell. Let’s look at this station.

Bike parking?! I didn’t recall seeing this at Riverside (or, really, any of the other Greenwich stations)

So first off, Interstate 95 runs directly above the train platforms, making it feel oddly dingy for a suburban park & ride. That’s a new one for me. There’s also bike parking here as well, which I don’t recall noticing at Riverside, Greenwich, or Old Greenwich. However, predictably, no bikes are parked here. There’s also a station house and the usual Metro-North amenities on the Grand Central side while the Stamford and New Haven side are lacking. And, just like Riverside, the crossover isn’t ADA accessible, but it’s a down & under, instead of up & over. But hey, at least it’s still segregated from Sound Shore Dr.! As for nearby things to do, there’s not much, just a park and a few offices and houses. Speaking of which…

Oh yeah, the vending machine gave me $1 coins when I bought my ticket to Riverside

Now, if you promise not to tell on me, there’s a nice little railfanning spot where you can get a view of the trains and the Mianus River bridge. So, all you have to do is walk to the park and behind the soccer field. That’s it. Here’s some shots I got from there.

The good: Well, it’s another residential park & ride, but this time we also have some offices and a park mixed in! Woooo!!! It’s also kinda scenic!

The bad: It’s under I-95! Also, no departure boards either, like Riverside, and it’s not accessible!

Nearby points of interest: Cos Cob Park, if you want some cool foamer shots!

Transit connections:
Metro-North (New Haven Line)

Overall, it’s a nice station, however I think it’s dragged down greatly by I-95 being above it. But hey, shelter if it rains! Sadly the actual station building is only open in the AM rush, so there’s that. I think the foamer spot nearby redeems the station a little, though.

Rating: 7/10

Riverside (Metro-North)

Riverside? Didn’t we do this already? Oh, it’s a Metro-North station, not the Green Line on the MBTA. Let’s look.

Getting off the train, it’s clear that this is a park & ride in the middle of what may as well be NIMBY hell. You got two parking lots, one on either side of the tracks. There’s also no ADA compliant crossover, so there’s that, and the platforms and stairs look like they’re falling apart. Uhhhhh…..

Oh yeah, the station building is only open in morning rush hours on weekdays. But hey, at least the crossover is segregated physically from Riverside Avenue! Vending machines for tickets can be found on the Grand Central-bound side as well. Yeah, not a lot to say about this one, aside from the fact it’s relatively niche in use cases. I guess this is pretty much why it’s among the least-used stations on the line.

A Regional! Or, the Vermonter? I don’t know.

Looking towards New York, with the decrepit-ish crossover.

The good: It’s in the middle of a residential neighborhood! So, there’s that at least! And, for being a primarily commuter station, it still sees decent service (about half-hourly on weekdays, I think? Please correct if I’m wrong!)

The bad: There’s no other transit connections. Also, there’s a lack of ADA-compliant crossovers, so screw you if you need that. No departure boards either. C’mon!

Nearby points of interest: Not a lot around here. Houses, I guess?

Transit connections:
Metro-North (New Haven Line)

Overall, it’s an alright station. However, it still has some glaring flaws, namely stemming from the lack of any ADA accessibility for crossovers. The lack of departure boards is also very irritating, moreso if your phone is dead.

Rating: 6/10