Politics & Government
MBTA Opposes Possible Medford Square Bus Stop Move
City Council weighs moving or eliminating the stop near Cradock Bridge.
If the city decides to move or eliminate the MBTA bus stop near the intersection of High Street and Main Street in Medford Square, it won't be with the blessing of the MBTA.
“We are not in favor of moving it,” Stacy Bester, MBTA bus stop manager, said to the City Council Tuesday.
The council has previously debated either moving the stop by re-routing bus lines in a loop through Medford Square via Riverside Ave., Salem Street and River Street, or eliminating the stop all together.
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They held a committee of the whole meeting Tuesday at City Hall to discuss the stop. It was attended by the MBTA, local businesspeople who support the change and riders who oppose it.
The city has the authority to establish and change bus stop locations, but the MBTA decides the driving routes. It would likely not be receptive to any proposal that involves re-routing buses because it would hurt travel time, MBTA planner Greg Strangeways said Tuesday.
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"We will look at them, but we can tell you that will likely not be the case," Strangeways said.
, the MBTA will consider temporarily eliminating the stop or possibly re-routing the lines, but that would not be long-term, Strangeways said.
The stop, which serves the 95, 96 and 101 bus lines, is currently located in front of the soon-to-be opened Carroll's restaurant at 21 Main Street. Discussions to move the stop first started last year, when Councilor Robert Penta submitted a resolution calling for a review of bus stops in Medford Square.
Ralph Quinn, co-owner of the building that includes 21 High Street, said Tuesday he wants the stop moved not for business reasons, but safety. His building has been hit by cars six times since 2010 and he believes it has to do with the buses abruptly stopping in a lane of traffic, he said.
"It’s a matter of time before someone gets severly hurt," he said.
Quinn said he believes many people using bus are transferring from buses on Riverside Avenue, and moving the stop to that area would benefit the riders and businesses in that area.
Maury Carroll, co-owner of Carroll's also spoke in support of moving the stop, and to refute a flyer that had been distributed claiming the efforts to move the stop were motivated by business and had no regard for disabled people.
The possibility of eliminating the stop has drawn scrutiny because the nearest southerly stop is on the other side of where Main Street crosses Route 16, a potentially dangerous intersection for pedestrians.
“People with canes and walkers are now going to have to cross both sides of Route 16,” City Councilor Paul Camuso said. "...If we’re just going to eliminatie and not find another home for it, I just don’t think it’s fair."
North of the stop, the closest next stop for the 95 and 101 is near the intersection of Governors Avenue and High Street -- about one-tenth of a mile away -- and the 96 bus stops at Salem Street near River Street.
Diane McLeod, the city's disabilities director, said she had taken many calls recently from people opposed to a possible bus stop move because of the burden it would have on the handicapped.
“I haven’t heard anybody speak in favor of this,” she said.
The council closed the meeting by calling for the disabilities office and office of community development to review the current bus line to see if there is a place the stop could be re-located to that would appease handicapped riders and work for local businesses.
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