Quincy Center station

Quincy Center is an intermodal transit station in Quincy, Massachusetts. It is a transfer station between the MBTA Red Line subway, MBTA Commuter Rail's Old Colony Lines and Greenbush Line, and a number of MBTA bus routes. It is located between Hancock Street and Burgin Parkway in the Quincy Center district. Opened in 1971, the station was covered by a large parking garage which was closed in 2012 due to structural problems. A project to remove and replace the garage is under way.

Quincy Center
A southbound Red Line train at Quincy Center station in 2018
Location175 Thomas E. Burgin Parkway
Quincy, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°15′07″N 71°00′20″W
Line(s)Red Line Braintree Branch
Old Colony Mainline
Platforms1 side platform (Commuter Rail)
1 island platform (Red Line)
Tracks1 (Commuter Rail)
2 (Red Line)
Connections MBTA bus: 210, 211, 212, 214, 215, 216, 217, 220, 221, 222, 225, 230, 236, 238, 245
Construction
Parking872 spaces ($5.00 fee)
16 accessible spaces
Bicycle facilities20 spaces
Disabled accessYes
Other information
Fare zone1A (Commuter Rail)
History
OpenedSeptember 1, 1971[1]
ClosedJune 30, 1959 (former station)
Previous namesQuincy
Passengers
FY20197,120 daily boardings[2] (Red Line)
2018773 daily boardings[3] (Commuter Rail)
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Wollaston
toward Alewife
 Red Line Quincy Adams
toward Braintree
JFK/UMass
toward South Station
 Greenbush Line Weymouth Landing/East Braintree
toward Greenbush
Kingston/​Plymouth Line Braintree
toward Kingston or Plymouth
Middleborough/​Lakeville Line Braintree
toward Middleborough/​Lakeville
Former services
Preceding station New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Following station
Wollaston Heights
toward Boston
 South Shore Line Quincy Adams
toward Greenbush

All buses and trains are accessible from the Hancock Street entrance. Access from Burgin Parkway was formerly through the garage; a new accessible entrance will be added as part of the current project.

History

Old Colony Railroad
Quincy station in 1911

The Old Colony Railroad opened its main line from South Boston to Plymouth on November 10, 1845.[4] Quincy station was located at Quincy Square behind the town hall. The station was rebuilt in the late 1890s; that iteration consisted of a low brick building with two side platforms (very similar to the extant building at Norwood Central) with shelters serving the line's two tracks.[5][6] Service on the former Old Colony lines, operated by the New Haven Railroad since 1893, ended on June 30, 1959.[4] The Quincy depot was later demolished.

Red Line

The 1926 Report on Improved Transportation Facilities and 1945–47 Coolidge Commission Report recommended the Cambridge–Dorchester line receive a branch to Braintree along the Old Colony right-of-way.[7][8] In May 1966, the MBTA began construction on the South Shore Line branch of the Cambridge–Dorchester line (which was renamed the Red Line in 1967).

The massive parking garage in 2010

The line was intended to be completed to Braintree by May 1969.[5][9] Although the South Shore Line was planned to extend to Braintree and possibly even to Holbrook or Brockton, it was temporarily terminated at Quincy Center due to disagreements about station locations and other issues.[10]

North Quincy, Wollaston, and Quincy Center stations opened on September 1, 1971.[1] The other two stations had large surface lots, but due to limited land availability, Quincy Center station included a 5-story parking garage located over the two tracks and single island platform, with 700 spots for Red Line riders and 200 spots for local shoppers. The $5.877 million station, located a block north of the Old Colony station site, was designed Samuel Glaser Associates and built by J.F. White.[1] The station signs included interpretive panels with historical images and information - a design soon copied at other MBTA stations.[11] The new stations required a double fare to be paid on entry and an exit fare upon leaving; this was also briefly put in place on the north end of the Haymarket North Extension.

Further construction began in 1977, and the line was extended to Braintree on March 22, 1980.[9] The exit fare was abolished from Quincy Center north at this time, though Braintree and Quincy Adams had the double fare until 2007.[12]

Commuter Rail
An outbound commuter rail train at Quincy Center

In November 1987, the MBTA indicated plans to repair the parking garage.[13] In 1991, the MBTA installed two elevators, making the station accessible for the first time.[13][14]

In 1990, the MBTA began construction on the restoration of parts of the former Old Colony system. A single commuter rail track was built through the west side of the station, with a full-length high-level side platform west of the track. Service began on the Middleborough/Lakeville Line and Kingston/Plymouth Line on September 29, 1997. The Greenbush Line opened on October 31, 2007, with some of its trains stopping at Quincy Center as well.[9]

Some seasonal CapeFLYER trains stopped at Quincy Center in 2013 and 2014, but did not starting with the 2015 season due to schedule changes.[15]

Garage closure and replacement
The garage completely removed in May 2019

On July 4, 2012, the Quincy Center parking garage was closed indefinitely due to structural issues. Built in 1970-71, the garage is the oldest anywhere on the MBTA system. Red Line, MBTA Commuter Rail, and MBTA bus service to the station continue as normal; however, the Burgin Parkway entrance is no longer handicapped accessible.[16]

In March 2016, the city released preliminary plans for a replacement structure, paid for by a $970,000 federal grant.[17] Three structures would be built: a new garage with the same number of spaces, a "justice center" with a new Quincy District Court, and an office building for the National Park Service and its bus shuttle to Adams National Historical Park. The garage would have street-level retail locations.[18] The busways would be relocated to the Burgin Parkway side and a roof added; the kiss-and-ride dropoff lane would remain on the Hancock Street side. The project is estimated to cost $52 million; the city proposes to use $10 million in state money approved in 2014, $20 million in federal grants, and $22 million from a private partner who would operate the facility for several decades.[19] No city money will be used to pay for the project.[17]

In July and August 2016, bracing was installed in the closed garage to stabilize it while the new structure was designed.[20][21] During September 2016, the USDOT granted $4.2 million for planning the new station.[22] In October 2016, Quincy mayor Thomas Koch announced that the courthouse part of the proposal would be withdrawn due to local opposition and a lack of available state funds, but planning for the station and office building would continue.[21] The MBTA will remove the former garage, replace the existing elevator, and add an accessible entrance to Burgin Parkway as a $25 million project lasting from July 2017 to December 2018, with future air rights development to come later.[23][24] A $67.867 million contract (which also included the full renovation of Wollaston station) was approved on June 19, 2017.[25]

Bus connections
Temporary bus terminal used during garage demolition
Buses on routes 238, 222, and 216 boarding at Quincy Center

Through the first half of the 20th century, Quincy was served by a number of Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway streetcar and bus lines, with both local routes and through service as far as Providence, Rhode Island. Some routes continued through Quincy to Fields Corner via Hancock Street and Neponset Avenue. After a legal battle, the MBTA acquired the remaining Eastern Mass lines on March 30, 1968. When Quincy Center opened in 1971, most of the Fields Corner routes were cut back to the new terminus.[9]

Quincy Center is now the terminal of 15 MBTA bus routes which provide local and short-distance intercity service. All routes loop through the surface parking lot and into a dedicated busway on the Hancock Street side of the station; there is no bus service on the Burgin parkway side.[26]

Under plans for redeveloping the station site, the busway would be relocated to the Burgin Parkway side of the station.

Station layout
Entrance from Burgin Parkway in October 2015
G Street Level Exit/entrance, buses, parking garage (closed)
M Mezzanine Station house, Red Line fare control
P
Platform level		 Northbound ←      Red Line toward Alewife (Wollaston)
Island platform
Southbound →      Red Line toward Braintree (Quincy Adams) →
Commuter ←      MBTA Commuter Rail towards South Station (JFK/UMass)
←      MBTA Commuter Rail towards points south (Weymouth Landing/East Braintree or Braintree) →
←      CapeFLYER do not stop here →
Side platform

References
  1. "Off Hancock Street". Historic and Architectural Survey Quincy, Massachusetts. Thomas Crane Public Library, Quincy, Mass. 1986. p. 77. Retrieved October 2, 2007.
  2. "A Guide to Ridership Data". MassDOT/MBTA Office of Performance Management and Innovation. June 22, 2020. p. 8.
  3. Central Transportation Planning Staff (2019). "2018 Commuter Rail Counts". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  4. Humphrey, Thomas J. & Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. ISBN 9780685412947.
  5. Cheney, Frank (2002). Boston's Red Line: Bridging the Charles from Alewife to Braintree. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 111–112. ISBN 9780738510477.
  6. Roy, John H. Jr. (2007). A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses. Branch Line Press. pp. 210–211. ISBN 9780942147087.
  7. Central Transportation Planning Staff (November 15, 1993). "The Transportation Plan for the Boston Region - Volume 2". National Transportation Library. Retrieved July 25, 2014.
  8. Boston Elevated Railway and Boston Department of Public Utilities (1945), Boston Rapid Transit System & Proposed Extensions 1945 - Metropolitan Transit Recess Commission Air View
  9. Belcher, Jonathan (December 27, 2014). "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). NETransit. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
  10. Jordan, Robert (April 3, 1977). "What the MBTA may look like in 10 years". Boston Globe. p. 32. ProQuest 747088683.
  11. Durso, Holly Bellocchio (June 2011). Subway Spaces as Public Places: Politics and Perceptions of Boston's T (MCP). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. p. 57.
  12. Waltz, Vicky (November 11, 2006). "End of the Line for Free T". BU Today. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  13. Sanborn, George M. (1992). A Chronicle of the Boston Transit System. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority – via Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
  14. Tran Systems and Planners Collaborative (August 24, 2007). "Evaluation of MBTA Paratransit and Accessible Fixed Route Transit Services: Final Report" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  15. "CapeFLYER Service Begins Memorial Day Weekend" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. May 13, 2015. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
  16. Bartlett, Jessica (July 3, 2012). "Quincy Center T garage closed due to structural problems". Boston Globe. Retrieved July 4, 2012.
  17. Ronan, Patrick (March 17, 2016). "Quincy official: City's taxpayers won't shoulder any cost of MBTA project". Patriot Ledger. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  18. Ronan, Patrick (February 17, 2016). "Three structures, new bus terminal in redesign for Quincy Center MBTA station". Patriot Ledger. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  19. Jackson, Scott (March 2, 2016). "Meeting On Quincy Center Station March 10". Quincy Sun. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  20. Drue, Nancy (August 5, 2016). "Quincy Center MBTA garage bracing continues". Quincy Quarry. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  21. Ronan, Patrick (October 4, 2016). "Courthouse no longer part of Quincy Center T plans". Patriot Ledger. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  22. Ronan, Patrick (September 9, 2016). "Feds grant $4.2 million to overhaul of Quincy Center MBTA station". Patriot Ledger. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  23. "MBTA Red Line Corridor Improvements: Public Meetings Set". MassDOT Blog (Press release). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. March 31, 2017.
  24. "MBTA Quincy Center Garage Demolition Plan" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. April 6, 2017.
  25. "Construction Contract A47CN01: Wollaston Station Improvements and Quincy Center Garage Demolition" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. June 19, 2017.
  26. "Quincy Center Station Neighborhood Map" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. July 2012. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
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