The MBTA is contemplating a number of Silver Line Extension bus routes to find out one of the best ways to attach Chelsea and Everett to their neighboring communities.
Seven choices — three that might join Chelsea to the Orange Line by the present Silver Line 3 route, and 4 that might hyperlink Everett and Chelsea to Kendall or downtown Boston as a part of a brand new SL6 service — might be mentioned throughout a public assembly on Dec. 13.
MBTA spokesperson Lisa Battiston mentioned the Silver Line Extension challenge staff might come to the conclusion that one of the best ways to attach these communities is thru “a combination of an SL3 alternative and SL6 alternative.”
“The project team modeled the SL3 and SL6 alternatives separately, with the intent of then modeling a combination of alternatives depending on the results of the initial model run,” Battiston mentioned.
A scarcity of entry to quick, dependable transit in Everett and Chelsea, the place many residents depend on public transportation, prompted the MBTA to begin wanting into an extension of Silver Line service, in keeping with its web site.
The T launched the Silver Line Extension, SL3, from South Station to Chelsea, in 2018. And it’s conducting an evaluation for additional enlargement, based mostly on the outcomes of the MBTA’s Focus40 Plan, which beneficial that the service be prolonged into Everett and past.
The SLX evaluation is learning the advantages, feasibility and price of recent Silver Line route choices that would offer top quality transit from Chelsea by Everett, and onto Somerville, Cambridge and/or Boston.
“Extending the Silver Line beyond Chelsea could lessen crowding on existing bus routes and provide service at near-rapid-transit levels for those living just beyond the reach of the Orange and Blue Lines,” the plan said.
All three SL3 Extension alternate options observe the identical path from the present Chelsea Silver Line busway till Everett Square, the place their paths cut up to succeed in their last Orange Line locations: Malden Center, Wellington in Medford or Sullivan Square station in Boston.
Two of the SL6 alternate options would start at Glendale Square in Everett and finish on the Kendall Red Line station.
One would function alongside McGrath Highway and supply connections to the Green Line at Lechmere and the Orange Line at Sullivan. Another would run alongside Rutherford Avenue and supply connections to Lechmere, Sullivan and Community College stations.
A 3rd SL6 different would start at Glendale Square and finish at Haymarket station in Boston, function alongside Rutherford Avenue and supply connections to the Orange Line at Sullivan.
A last possibility for SL6 would start on the Eastern Avenue station in Chelsea and finish at Kendall Square in Cambridge, function alongside McGrath Highway and supply connections to Lechmere and Sullivan.
A last assembly might be held this winter, the place SLX route suggestions might be made, Battiston mentioned.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”