Students seem unimpressed by the newly renovated BU East and BU Central T stops that opened Tuesday, more than two years after their original projected completion date.
‘The new T stops look nice, but were they really worth the two-and-a-half years to renovate them?’ asked School of Hospitality Administration sophomore Mackenzie Amis.
The MBTA reminded the public the new stations will be fully accessible to all disabled riders in a press release two weeks ago, which anticipated the renovation’s completion.
‘In addition to new lighting, platforms and shelters, these stations are also fully accessible,’ the statement said.
The renovations were part of a 1989 Light Rail Accessibility Program, which aimed at making the transit system more accessible to people with disabilities.
‘The platforms were raised eight inches to accommodate the new low cars,’ MBTA spokesman Joseph Pesaturo said. ‘This will facilitate boarding not just for people in wheelchairs, but anybody with disability problems. Now it is completely compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.’
Most students did not realize the renovations were supposed to make the stops more accessible to handicapped people.
‘As long as it is handicap accessible now, the renovations were worth the wait,’ said Kristen O’Neill, a Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences junior.
‘I didn’t even know it was open,’ said Sargent junior Lisa Blethen. ‘I really think they should’ve just made one in the middle of BU East and BU Central, because there’s really no point in having two that are just five feet apart from each other.’
Other students agreed that after two years with only one BU station, two now seems unnecessary.
‘I haven’t had to use the T much,’ said College of Arts Sciences freshman Ryann Hobyak. ‘There seems to be a decent amount of T stops already so I don’t see a need for both of them.
‘I am sure it is inconvenient for riders already on the T to have to make two big stops at BU, but I guess it is more convenient for those waiting at BU stops,’ she said.
The renovations were originally scheduled for completion in September 2002, and the MBTA missed two other deadlines including December 2002 and March 2003, first because of unusually inclement weather and later because the project contractor went bankrupt. The MBTA delayed construction until a new contractor was signed last summer.
Over the weekend, the B-line was not running cars from Kenmore Station outbound because of track replacement along Commonwealth Avenue, Pesaturo said.
‘It was not directly connected to the work on BU Central and BU East stations,’ Pesaturo said. ‘The MBTA was replacing some of its track, and some of it may have been at those stations, but most of the work was done farther west down the road.’
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