Government

MBTA Officials Looking For Ways to Improve Watertown Transit

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With crowded buses in Watertown and new developments the MBTA is looking for ways to improve public transportation. Mass. Department of Transportation and MBTA officials discussed possible ways to improve public transportation in town at a meeting held in December a the Arsenal Center for the Arts. Around a dozen bus routes serve Watertown, but the most heavily used ones are the 57 from Watertown to Kenmore Square (more than 12,000 riders a day), the 70/70A along Main and Arsenal streets (7,357 a day), the 73 down Belmont Street to Harvard Square (6,424), and the 71 down Mt. Auburn Street to Harvard Square (5,548).

Government

Town Council Will Prod MBTA About Transportation Improvements

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The Town Council wants to make sure that the MBTA has not forgotten about the transportation problems and needs in Watertown. 

In May, transportation advocates and elected officials invited MBTA General Manager Beverly Scott to town. She came to tour the town and speak with residents about the problems with the 71 and 73 buses, as well as other services – such as the 70 and 57 buses. (Read about her visit here). She talked about ways to make improvements in the short and long term. Along with improvements to the heavily used routes to Harvard Square – the 71 and 73 buses – a group of elected officials, business owners and advocate groups requested a study of improvements to the 70/70A line that operates along Arsenal Street – an area expected to have multiple new large development projects.

Government

Study of 70 Bus Sought in Effort to Improve Transportation on Arsenal St.

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A study of what can be done to speed up buses on the 70 and 70A bus routes has been requested by a group interested in improving public transportation on the Arsenal Street Corridor and beyond. A the transportation summit held Wednesday, elected officials, town officials, developers and members of groups interested in transit in the area met with MBTA officials. The group brainstormed ways to improve the service, which even T officials agreed can be slow and crowded. The area is one of the hottest areas of development in the Boston area. Developers of more than one project on the street have promised to contribute to a shuttle system to serve the area, but all agreed the MBTA service must be improved too.