Boston Mayor Marty Walsh participated in a Reddit AMA Thursday afternoon. And though he’s not in charge of the MBTA, it didn’t take long for Redditors to ask the mayor about Boston’s transit situation, specifically when it comes to an Orange Line expansion.
User frankest asked, specifically, about an additional Orange Line station in Roslindale:
Is there anything you can do to get the MBTA to seriously look at adding an Orange line stop in Roslindale? There are 9 bus lines that run between the square and Forest Hills (combined ridership is in the 10s of thousands) – and the vast majority of these passengers never stop in the square. If several of these lines terminated there, this would be a boon to the local business district and to the neighborhood – and help make this area more accessible and potentially reduce traffic and commute times. The Arborway Yard is another issue that perhaps the city could force the MBTA to rethink – that area has tremendous potential to add much needed transit-orientated housing and office-space (now that the overpass is coming down).
Mayor Walsh responded: “… this is the first I’ve heard of it but will look more into it.”
A couple more Redditors chimed on the topic of a Roslindale station. “Yes,” one user said “an Orange Line stop would be huge.”
Another user suggested, “There have been plans off and on to extend the Orange Line for years, but they always seem to get shelved due to lack of funding. At the very least, extending the line one more mile to Roslindale Village would be a huge improvement.”
The Orange Line, for those uninitiated, travels between Oak Grove and Forest Hills, making stops at 19 stations in Boston (Roxbury, the South End, and Financial Districts), Charlestown/East Somerville, East Medford and Malden.
Forest Hills, at the end of the Orange Line, is the closest station to Roslindale; it’s specifically the closest Orange Line station to Roslindale Village Main Street, which is a hub of activity.
In terms of transportation, Roslindale Village is home to a Needham Line commuter rail stop; six nearby MBTA bus stops – routes 14, 30, 35, 36, 37 and 51; and 160 parking spaces.
However, Forest Hills, located in Jamaica Plain, is about a 30-minute walk or eight minute bus ride away from Roslindale Village.
So, Roslindale – the Village, at least – isn’t necessarily a dead-area when it comes to transit, though it still lacks a subway stop. And regardless of whatever Orange Line delays may occur, subways tend to be more convenient for a bevy of reasons. Unfortunately, an extension into Roslindale seems out of the picture, for now.
“There are no plans to do so,” T spokesperson Joe Pesaturo said in an email.
Images via Google Maps and Creative Commons/Flickr; infographic via Roslindale.net
