It's a bus!

Submitted by ssachs on March 22, 2006 - 2:42pm.

Via the Cambridge Chronicle, it looks like the MBTA is thinking about putting a "Bus Rapid Transit" line through Cambridgeport and into Allston. The new line would go over the BU bridge and would follow the design of the Silver Line, with parts of the path on a dedicated lane, and other parts using normal city streets.

From the article, it appears that the folks in Cambridgeport are dutifully playing the role of NIMBYs, claiming that Cambridgeport is for families, not buses. There may be a bit of a chicken and egg problem here. Every time I do an apartment search I stay out of Cambridgeport precisely because of the lack of good public transportation. So it could be that Cantabridgeportians (is that a word? I hope not) don't need public transit and are therefore complaining about it. And on the other hand, it's not just residents of Cambridge port who would be served by such a route - anyone who lives near Central and needs to take a trip to BU would probably appreciate such a route.

City Councillor Craig Kelley and Jeff Rosenblum, founder of Livable Streets, both agree that the term "Bus Rapid Transit" is misleading, since the new line would be more of a bus than a subway. But that discussion is itself a bit of a sideshow: there's nothing wrong with buses. Any transportation system worth its salt will have heavier reliance on buses than subways, since bus routes are more flexible and cheaper to run (and are consequently more affordable for commuters).

So put me down as in favor of a bus route - or a BRT, if that's what the MBTA really wants - going from Central Sq. to Allston over the BU bridge. And while we're at it, let's increase the frequency of the 64. That's a great bus line and serves a wonderful purpose - connecting Central Square with Allston/Brighton - but it doesn't run nearly often enough.

But let's not ignore other parts of Cambridge, shall we? From my vantage point we could use better connections between Lechmere/East Cambridge, Kendall Square, and Central Square. And maybe a few lines crossing over from Kendall into Charles St. via the Longfellow. Luckily, it appears that the Urban Ring is already making some overtures in that direction, with routes from Kendall into Chelsea.

At any rate, I'm terribly biased - I live in Central and work in Kendall. What's your pick for new and improved bus service in Cambridge?

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( categories: Issues - Transportation )
The CT1 and 47 buses both
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on March 22, 2006 - 8:30pm.

The CT1 and 47 buses both run through Cambridgeport now-- and are a giant pain, frankly, because they are so slow and infrequent. (Well, the CT1 at least has a limited-stops setup).

I like bus rapid transit in theory-- but where would you put the bus lanes in CPort?

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oh yeah, the 47
Submitted by ssachs on March 23, 2006 - 4:05pm.

Somehow I forgot about the 47, sorry about that. I think part of the problem with the 47 is that it runs on streets which are in theory major thoroughfares, but are in fact pretty basic residential streets (Brookline, Pearl). I see your point about running BRTs through what are essentially very small residential streets, although I think River and Magazine could both handle bus traffic without too much trouble. The 64, running on Western and Magazine mostly, seems to be a bit better in that regard.

The CT1 runs on Mass. Ave., so did you mean to say the CT2?

I almost think the solution for Cambridgeport would be some smaller-than-a-bus type of vehicle - like maybe a 15-passenger van, or something like that? - that still had a regular schedule, regular stops, etc. I'm not too sure Cantabridgians would be thrilled with riding in such close quarters with one another, but those things would be a lot cheaper and more flexible than buses, and they'd be able to get through Cambridgeport streets easily. Of course, I'm not sure whether you could call such a vehicle mass transit.

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C-port transport
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on May 8, 2006 - 6:06pm.

There are some van-type things that run in/around Cambridge and C-port, from near the Hotel @ MIT to N. Station, for example. The Wave bus also runs from Kendall to Cambridgeside.

C-port will fight hard against more buses on Brookline and Pearl. Part of the reason people live in C-port is for a bit more quiet than in the City, which the warren of small one-way streets provide. Also, I don't think you can fairly say that we don't have public transport. I've lived 3 different places in C-port, and I've never been more than a 15 min walk from the T, i.e. the Red line in Central. If you live way past Putnam you might be a little farther than that, but then you can always walk across the B.U. Bridge to the Green line in a few minutes.

Anyway, I agree re: Magazine/River/Western.

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