Fenway
An inbound train at Fenway station in July 2019
General information
LocationPark Drive near The Riverway
Boston, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°20′42.15″N 71°6′17.37″W / 42.3450417°N 71.1048250°W / 42.3450417; -71.1048250
Line(s)Highland branch
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
ConnectionsBus transport MBTA bus: 47, CT2
Construction
Bicycle facilities18 spaces
AccessibleYes
History
OpenedJuly 4, 1959[1]
Rebuiltc. 2002
Previous namesFenway Park
Passengers
20113,488 (weekday average boardings)[2]
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Longwood
toward Riverside
 Green Line Kenmore
toward Union Square
Location

Fenway station is a light rail stop on the MBTA Green Line D branch, located under Park Drive near the Riverway in the Fenway–Kenmore neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It opened along with the rest of the D branch on July 4, 1959, when trolleys replaced Highland branch commuter rail service. The station is fully accessible from Park Drive via the Landmark Center parking lot, as well as from Miner Street. Named after the Fenway parkway rather than Fenway Park, it is further from the stadium than Kenmore, though still used during events.

Station layout

The station is located under the Park Drive overpass, with platforms stretching under the bridge and slightly to the west. A set of stairs connects the inbound platform to the bridge. Accessible sidewalks connect the inbound platform to Park Drive via the Landmark Center parking lot and to Miner Street next to the tracks. The outbound platform has no entrances of its own and is accessed via pedestrian crossings from the inbound platform. MBTA bus routes CT2 and 47 run on Park Drive, with stops on the bridge above the station.[3]

History

Chapel station was located 1,200 feet (370 m) to the southwest from the 1860s until 1893

The Boston and Worcester Railroad opened a 1.4-mile (2.3 km) branch from Brookline Junction to Brookline on April 10, 1848.[4] The Charles River Branch Railroad extended the Brookline branch to Newton Upper Falls in November 1852 and to Needham in June 1853, keeping the original B&W station for its service.[4][5]

The Boston and Albany Railroad bought back the line, then part of the New York and New England Railroad, in February 1883. It was double-tracked and extended to the B&A main at Riverside; "Newton Circuit" service via the Highland branch and the main line began on May 16, 1886.[4] No station was located at what is now Park Drive; the nearest stations were Chapel and later Longwood to the west.[5]

In June 1957, the Massachusetts Legislature approved the purchase of the branch by the M.T.A. from the nearly-bankrupt New York Central Railroad for conversion to a trolley line. Service ended on May 31, 1958.[4] The line was quickly converted for trolley service and reopened on July 4, 1959.[1] All pre-1958 station locations were kept (though many station buildings were demolished for parking lots) and a new Fenway Park station was added at Park Drive.[6]

Fenway station in 2005

The name of the station was criticized from the start, as it is significantly further from Fenway Park than Kenmore station.[7] In the mid-1970s, the MBTA began calling the station Fenway after the road of the same name; however, the old name was used on some maps into the 1980s.[8][9] Until the 2006 season, it remained well-trafficked by fans from Red Sox games because the MBTA did not collect fares at outbound Green Line surface stops, making the trip to Riverside free for those boarding at Fenway but not at Kenmore. At the beginning of 2007, the MBTA started collecting fares on outbound trips and the station's popularity declined.[10] Kenmore remains the primary Green Line station for Fenway Park, though Fenway is also used.[11][12]

In the early 2000s, the MBTA modified key surface stops with raised platforms for accessibility as part of the Light Rail Accessibility Program. The renovation of Fenway was completed around 2002.[13][14] Around 2006, the MBTA added a wooden mini-high platform on the inbound side, 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.[15][16]

Fenway was a proposed stop on the Urban Ring – a circumferential bus rapid transit (BRT) line designed to connect the existing radial MBTA rail lines to reduce overcrowding in the downtown stations.[17] Under plans released in 2008, the line would have been in a tunnel under and slightly offset from the D branch, with an underground station between Miner Street and Park Drive.[18] The project was cancelled in 2010[19]

In 2016, the MBTA considered adding one or two elevators to improve accessibility at the station, but it was not pursued.[20] There were no crosswalks to access the southbound bus stop at the station; the nearest crosswalks were at Riverway. A $170,000 state grant awarded in December 2020 funded the 2021 installation of an accessible crosswalk with flashing signals at the station.[21]

References

  1. 1 2 Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). Boston Street Railway Association. p. 290. Page numbers are accurate to the April 21, 2018 version.
  2. ↑ "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF) (14th ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014.
  3. ↑ "System Map". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Humphrey, Thomas J.; Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. pp. 21–24. ISBN 9780685412947.
  5. 1 2 Karr, Ronald Dale (1995). The Rail Lines of Southern New England. Branch Line Press. pp. 277, 288–289. ISBN 0942147022.
  6. ↑ Lufkin, Richard F. (1959), Metropolitan Transit Authority System Route Map, Metropolitan Transit Authority – via Wikimedia Commons
  7. ↑ "Kenmore Nearer Fenway Than New Fenway Stop". Boston Globe. July 7, 1959. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Transportation Map: Fourth Edition". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Summer 1976 – via Ward Maps.
  9. ↑ "System Route Map". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 1988 – via Ward Maps.
  10. ↑ Waltz, Vicky (11 November 2006). "End of the Line for Free T". BU Today. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  11. ↑ "MBTA, Red Sox Partner to Offer Fans Free Subway Rides from Kenmore Station After August 21 Guns N' Roses Concert" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. August 21, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Fenway Park". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Subway Service". Ridership and Service Statistics. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. October 2003. p. 2.19 – via Internet Archive.
  14. ↑ "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.
  15. ↑ "Settlement Agreement" (PDF). Joanne Daniels-Finegold et al. v. MBTA. April 10, 2006. pp. 10–11.
  16. ↑ "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.
  17. ↑ "Urban Ring Phase 2 Fact Sheet" (PDF). January 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011.
  18. ↑ "The Urban Ring Phase 2: Revised Draft Environmental Impact Report/Statement" (PDF). Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation. November 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 14, 2017.
  19. ↑ Mullan, Jeffery B. (January 22, 2010). "Re: Urban Ring Phase 2, EOEEA #12565" (PDF). Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.
  20. ↑ Brelsford, Laura (December 5, 2016). "MBTA System-Wide Accessibility Initiatives: December 2016 Update" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Department of System-Wide Accessibility. p. 10.
  21. ↑ "MassDOT announces $3 Million in Shared Winter Streets and Spaces Program awards" (Press release). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. December 28, 2020.
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