Second meeting — same content
The next public information meeting regarding the MBTA Symphony Hall Station Project will be held August 24 at 6:30 p.m. at Symphony Plaza, 334 Mass Ave in Boston.
First meeting
The MBTA has announced the first public meeting to discuss accessibility upgrades and design for Symphony Station on the Green Line. Symphony is one of the last inaccessible underground stations on the Green Line. This relatively high ridership station and serves many residents in the Fenway. A neighborhood that is home to many elderly and disabled residents, as well as some of the city’s most beloved institutions.
The meeting will discuss early designs for upgrades that will make the station fully accessible for everyone and also yield many other improvements.
Andrew Bettinelli
Chief of Staff
Office of State Senator William N. Brownsberger
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Invites you to a
Public Information Meeting
for the
Symphony Station Accessibility Project
Wednesday, July 26th, 2017
6:30 – 8:30 PM
Berklee College of Music
1140 Boylston Street, Boston MA
As part of the MBTA’s System Wide Accessibility Program, the MBTA is studying how to provide full accessibility to Symphony Station on the Green Line. This study includes the design of four new elevators, along with significant station modifications consisting of raising boarding platforms, new egress points at the platforms, a renovated station lobby, and reconditioning of the currently defunct restrooms.
A team of consultants has been hired to select a preliminary design for the retrofitted station. It includes lead structural engineer Thornton Tomasetti and lead architect DHK Inc, both of Boston. It is anticipated that modifications to the station, associated with construction and final build out, will have an impact on the existing streetscape in the area. The MBTA has allocated approximately $5 million for the design of the station. The construction cost is anticipated to be approximately $45 million, which is proposed to be funded by a Capital Funding Request starting in the 2019 Fiscal Year.
For more information, please contact Nathaniel Cabral-Curtis, the project’s public involvement manager, at ncabral-curtis@hshassoc.com or by phone at 617-348-3336. The meeting location is accessible. To request language or access accommodations, please contact MassDOT’s director of Civil Rights at 857-368-8580, TTD/TTY 857-368-0603, Fax 857-368-0602 or by email at MassDOT.CivilRights@dot.state.ma.us.
hurrah! us seniors who are having trouble with the stairs..not to mention the downdraft..applaud the improvement effort
I live on the corner of Mass and Huntington, and I use a wheelchair, so Symphony Station is inaccessible for me. I would love to be able to use this station, which is the closest station to my apartment.
My wife and I have been subscribers of the BSO for many years (30+++?), and the stairs out of the Symphony Station have always been troublesome for me, especially these days as I begin my 80s. It easier to take the Bus No. 39 to and from Gainsbough St. when attending events at Symphony Hall. I cannot fathom why this station has remained inaccessible for so VERY LONG.
I’m 72 yrs. old and use a cane. Live closest to Symphony stop, and the stairs are very difficult for me. Have been wondering about MBTA accessibility. Applaud your efforts – hope improvements happen in my lifetime.
I am in my 83rd year and try to attend about six musical performances and seminars a week, at Symphony Hall, NEC’s Jordan hall, and Friday morning piano seminars at NEC’s Williams Hall.
I’ve always marveled at the fact that there is no escalator (let alone elevator) at the Symphony Station that serves so many elderly (and younger disabled) music-lovers who find 20-30 stairs a bit difficult to ascend and descend in one evening. It took decades before the awful Charles Street Station on the Red Line, serving several hospitals finally did away with its hundreds of up-and-down stair-segments.
What were lame, crippled, or disabled patients supposed to do if they couldn’t afford taxis to get to their hospital? That was one of the great shames of Boston. The Symphony Station is another. At least an escalator, please!
Thanks for alerting us. This is encouraging news for us seniors who have struggled for years up and down those dingy steps against the awful downdraft. Patrons of the BSO, NEC, Jordan Hall and the Huntington wonder why it has taken so long. Hope there will be no bureaucratic stalling.