Wikipedia

Brookline Hills station

Brookline Hills station is a light rail station on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line D branch in the Brookline Hills neighborhood of Brookline, Massachusetts. The station has two side platforms serving the line's two tracks. It was closed from April 2021 to January 2022 as part of adjacent construction on a Brookline High School building, which included renovations to make the station accessible.

Brookline Hills
An outbound train at Brookline Hills station in 2024
General information
LocationTappan Street at Cypress Street
Brookline, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°19′53″N 71°7′36″W / 42.33139°N 71.12667°W / 42.33139; -71.12667
Line(s)Highland branch
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
ConnectionsBus transport MBTA bus: 60
Construction
Parking9 spaces
Bicycle facilities6 spaces
AccessibleYes
History
OpenedJuly 4, 1959[1]
RebuiltApril 12, 2021–January 8, 2022
Passengers
20131,225 (daily average)[2]
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Beaconsfield
toward Riverside
 Green Line Brookline Village
toward Union Square
Former services
Preceding station New York Central Railroad Following station
Beaconsfield
toward Riverside
 Highland branch Brookline Village
toward Boston
Location
Map

History

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The Shepley, Rutan, and Coolidge depot pictured on an early postcard

The Brookline Branch of the Boston and Worcester Railroad was extended west to Newton Upper Falls by the Charles River Branch Railroad in November 1852. Cypress Street station – later Brookline Hills – was added after 1858.[3]

After 1886, loop service was run on the Highland branch via what is now the Framingham/Worcester Line, and later via the Needham Line. In March 1892, a new station designed by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge was opened.[4][5]

The station agent was removed in May 1949, but the station building remained in use as shelter for passengers.[6] The final trains on the line ran on May 31, 1958. The line was converted to light rail by the M.T.A. and Brookline Hills reopened on July 4, 1959, along with the rest of the D branch.[1] The 1892 depot is no longer extant.

Accessibility

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The station in 2016, prior to reconstruction

In the early 2000s, the MBTA modified key surface stops with raised platforms for accessibility. Brookline Hills was not among those initially outfitted with portable lifts, nor was it retrofitted with raised platforms.[7][8] However, portable lifts were installed by 2003.[9]

Around 2006, the MBTA added wooden mini-high platforms on both platforms, allowing level boarding on older Type 7 LRVs. These platforms were installed at eight Green Line stations in 2006–07 as part of the settlement of Joanne Daniels-Finegold, et al. v. MBTA.[10][11]

The station was renovated with fully accessible platforms as part of an expansion of Brookline High School, which included a new school building partially over the eastern end of the platforms.[12] Construction began in late 2019; the station closed on April 12, 2021 for the final phase.[13][14][15] The renovated station opened on January 8, 2022.[16][17]

References

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  1. ^ a b Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). Boston Street Railway Association.
  2. ^ "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF) (14th ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014.
  3. ^ ABC Pathfinder Railway Guide. New England Railway Publishing Company. 1858. p. 12 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Morgan, Keith N.; Cushing, Elizabeth Hope; Reed, Roger (2009). "Appendix VI: The Brookline projects of Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge" (PDF). Community by Design: The Role of the Frederick Law Olmsted Office in the Suburbanization of Brookline, Massachusetts, 1880 to 1936. Boston University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  5. ^ Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl (June 1988). "Architecture for the Boston & Albany Railroad: 1881-1894". Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. 47 (2): 130. doi:10.2307/990324. JSTOR 990324.
  6. ^ "B. & A Drops 4 Station Agents, 4 Sunday Trains". Boston Globe. May 10, 1949. p. 24 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Executive Summary" (PDF). Program of Mass Transportation. Boston Regional Metropolitan Planning Organization. January 2004. p. 2-9. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 20, 2012.
  8. ^ "Subway Map" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 1, 2001.
  9. ^ "Subway Service". Ridership and Service Statistics. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. October 2003. p. 2.19 – via Internet Archive.
  10. ^ "Settlement Agreement" (PDF). Joanne Daniels-Finegold et al. v. MBTA. April 10, 2006. pp. 10–11.
  11. ^ "Green Line Stations Upgraded to Improve Accessibility" (PDF). TRANSReport. Boston Regional Metropolitan Planning Organization. June 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 16, 2011.
  12. ^ "BHS EXPANSION ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING" (PDF). Town of Brookline. April 22, 2019.
  13. ^ Brelsford, Laura (November 30, 2020). "System-Wide Accessibility Initiatives—November 2020" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Department of System-Wide Accessibility. p. 4.
  14. ^ "Alerts: Subway". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. April 12, 2021. Archived from the original on April 24, 2021. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  15. ^ "System-Wide Accessibility Initiatives—December 2021" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Department of System-Wide Accessibility. December 2021. p. 4.
  16. ^ "Alerts: Green Line D". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. January 7, 2022. Archived from the original on January 7, 2022.
  17. ^ "Brookline Hills Station Accessibility Improvements". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. January 10, 2022.
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