Mattapan (MBTA station)

MATTAPAN
A PCC streetcar at Mattapan station
Location	500 River Street at 1670 Blue Hill Avenue Mattapan, Massachusetts 02126
Coordinates	42°16′03″N 71°05′35″W / 42.26750°N 71.09306°W / 42.26750; -71.09306Coordinates: 42°16′03″N 71°05′35″W / 42.26750°N 71.09306°W / 42.26750; -71.09306
Owned by	Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Line(s)	Red Line– Ashmont–Mattapan High Speed Line
Platforms	1 side platform (deboarding) 1 island platform (boarding)
Tracks	1 track on balloon loop; splits to 2 tracks for inbound boarding platform
Construction
Parking	100 spaces ($4.00 fee) 4 accessible spaces
Bicycle facilities	8 spaces
Disabled access	Yes
History
Opened	December 21, 1929
Rebuilt	December 22, 2007
Traffic
Passengers (2010)	1,504 (daily boardings)[1]
Services
Preceding station   MBTA   Following station Capen Street toward Ashmont Red Line Mattapan High Speed Line Terminus

Mattapan is the southern terminus of the Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Line, located at Mattapan Square in the Mattapan neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. At the station, trolleys use a balloon loop to reverse direction back to Ashmont. Mattapan is also an important bus transfer station, with ten routes terminating there.

Mattapan station is fully handicapped accessible, with mini-high platforms for boarding trolleys.

History

Mattapan station before the 2006-2007 renovation

The Ashmont–Mattapan Line follows the right-of-way of the Dorchester and Milton Branch Railroad which opened to Mattapan in December 1847. The line was converted to an interurban-style trolley line in the 1920s, with the final section to Mattapan opening on December 21, 1929.^[2] The stone depot building, now a restaurant, stands adjacent in Mattapan Square.

The MBTA closed the line on June 24, 2006 to allow a new viaduct to be constructed at Ashmont station.^[2] During the closure, all stations on the line were modernized and (except for Valley Road) made handicapped accessible. The decrepit 1929-built shelter and old platforms were replaced by modern platforms with canopies; a new building for MBTA police and bus operations with a community room was built.^[3] Trolley service resumed on December 22, 2007.^[2]

In 2014, the MBTA proposed to make $500,000 in additional renovations to the station. These included upgraded shelters and heating in passenger waiting areas, pedestrian improvements, improved signage, and bicycle storage.^[4]

Transit-Oriented Development

As part of the first round of modernization, the MBTA began planning for mixed-use transit oriented development (TOD) to be built on the underused station parking lot.^[5] The planned development was not built, even after a second request for proposals was issued in 2012.^[6]

In July 2014, a local charter school announced plans to build a new building on the site, despite calls for a third RFP to be issued to attract TOD instead.^[6] In January 2015, after opposition from local officials about the school's $1.5 million offer, the MBTA announced it would instead issue a third RFP that March.^[7]

Bus connections

Mattapan serves as a major transfer station for MBTA Bus operations, with nine routes converging on Mattapan Square from six directions. Most routes use the busway located on the north side of the station, but some use the bus loop on the south side.

• 24 Wakefield Avenue & Truman Highway - Mattapan or Ashmont Station via River Street
• 27 Mattapan Station - Ashmont Station via River Street
• 28 Mattapan Station - Ruggles Station via Dudley Station
• 29 Mattapan Station - Jackson Square Station via Seaver Street & Columbus Avenue
• 30 Mattapan Station - Forest Hills Station via Cummins Highway & Roslindale Square
• 31 Mattapan Station - Forest Hills Station via Morton Street
• 33 Dedham Line - Mattapan Station via River Street
• 245 Quincy Center Station - Mattapan Station via Quincy Hospital & Pleasant Street
• 716 Cobbs Corner - Mattapan Station

Mattapan is also the origin point for the 191 Mattapan - Haymarket via Ashmont, Fields Corner and Dudley Station route. The 191 is a single daily early-morning round trip, intended for use by MBTA employees but open to the general public.^[2]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mattapan (MBTA station).

• MBTA - Mattapan

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Subway lines (List of stations) Heavy rail      Blue      Orange      Red Light rail      Green "B" Branch "C" Branch "D" Branch "E" Branch      Ashmont–Mattapan      Commuter Rail lines (List of stations) North Station lines Fitchburg Haverhill (Wildcat Branch) Lowell Newburyport/Rockport South Station lines Fairmount Framingham/Worcester Franklin Greenbush Needham Old Colony (Kingston/Plymouth Middleborough/Lakeville      CapeFLYER) Providence/Stoughton Bus routes (List of routes)      Silver Crosstown routes Key routes Trackless trolleys Routes East Boston, Chelsea, Revere Melrose, Reading, Stoneham, Wakefield South Boston Other services      Boat The Ride Component parts of system lines      Boylston Street Subway      Haymarket North Extension      Lechmere Viaduct      Tremont Street Subway      Washington Street Subway Under construction           Government Center closure      Green Line Extension      South Coast Rail      Wachusett extension Proposed      Lynn extension           Red Line—Blue Line Connector Urban Ring Project      North–South Rail Link      Plaistow extension      Nashua extension      Westerly extension      Indigo Line (Fairmount Grand Junction Track 61) History Predecessor companies Boston Elevated Railway Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway Middlesex and Boston Street Railway Newton and Boston Street Railway Former lines      Atlantic Avenue Elevated      Causeway Street Elevated      Charlestown Elevated      Green Line "A" Branch      Lexington Branch Streetcar lines      Washington Street Elevated      Woburn Loop      History of the Green Line Other Accessibility Arts on the Line "Charlie on the M.T.A." CharlieCard Police Nomenclature Yards and maintenance facilities