MBTA plan would install 44 fixed stops, eliminate ‘flagging’ system for riders to hail a bus
/By Carol Britton Meyer
The select board’s agenda this week included an initial presentation on the MBTA’s 714 Bus Stop Project – involving the transition from passengers flagging down the bus to waiting at designated stops – and the continuation of last year’s pay-by-phone and parking fee discussion with Police Chief John Dunn.
Hull’s flagging system is one of the last of its kind in the state, and without the new bus stops, significant parts of Hull are at risk of losing bus service as the flag stops are gradually phased out, according to MBTA officials who spoke at this week’s board meeting.
“This project is in the preliminary stages,” Town Manager Jennifer Constable said. “We’re at a good launching point to start the design work and to get feedback from the select board and the community.”
The MBTA, which is exploring funding sources for the infrastructure improvements, including sidewalks, that will be part of the siting of potentially 44 bus stops – 22 in each direction – is asking the town to earmark money to pay for part of the project. Several of those stops would be on DCR-managed roads.
“There’s a request for $130,000 on the [May 5] town meeting warrant for proposed transportation improvements [which could be put toward the bus stop project], and I hope voters will support it,” Constable said.
The current proposal is to work with homeowners and businesses to ensure the new stops fit in with the surrounding area and don’t conflict with parking, under a phased-in approach.
Riders concerned about change
The project, which the MBTA said is geared toward providing more visible and safer bus stops, could include adding a second bus to the 714 run.
Officials said the goal is to make reaching popular destinations such as the Kenberma shopping area, the Paragon Carousel, town hall, Pemberton Point, and the library – among others – more accessible, enhance safety and improve passenger service.
Select board member Jason McCann, while saying he is appreciative of all the work MBTA staff has already put into this effort, said he is concerned that “some people who have been using the flag system for many years will have a really hard time switching to the new system.”
A number of residents also spoke at the meeting, noting that people with disabilities or mobility issues will have difficulty walking the extra steps to a designated stop, and that the elimination of the occasional stop at Manet Community Health Center has made it challenging for people without cars or other transportation to see their doctors.
The results of a recent survey with 200 respondents indicate that most riders find the 714 bus to be a reliable service, 14% of those responding said they have a disability, and many riders are using the 714 bus for weekday commuting.
Eighty percent said they would use this service more if the frequency improved, while 75% agreed that the 714 bus is necessary to their travel plans.
An interest in the MBTA offering bus service to the commuter rail was also expressed as well as more connections to the ferry and other buses. Other survey respondents requested fixed bus stops. The only ones now are at Pemberton Point and at Station Street in Hingham.
‘Just the beginning’
The MBTA will work with the town manager, community development and planning department, and the Hull Nantasket Chamber of Commerce in a collaborative effort, and the town will eventually sign a memorandum of understanding with the MBTA for the project.
Select board member Jerry Taverna, who took a bus tour with other town officials before Wednesday’s meeting to get an idea of what the project entails, said the new stops will be “a huge benefit during the summer” and that “the new large, beautiful, clean buses are what people want.”
Looking ahead, weekend ferry service resumes May 17; more accurate real-time bus arrival and departure time predictions are expected by mid-June; and 714 trip adjustments to meet the ferry will begin June 15.
The select board supported continuing the project.
Select board Chair Irwin Nesoff said that this “is just the beginning of the project, and there will be lots of opportunities for citizen input.”
In other business…
• The board approved changes to the current parking scenario proposed by Chief Dunn following a preliminary discussion last October. At that time, the board approved the removal of all parking meters townwide – basically accomplished – coupled with a proposal to move to a pay-by-phone app system that many other communities have already implemented. A change in parking fees was part of the chief’s recommendation then, and was addressed this week.
Upon the chief’s recommendation, the pay-by-phone system, which has already been installed but is not yet active, will affect Surfside, Kenberma, A Street, and the Helen Street commuter lot at Pemberton.
The pay-by-phone system will be in effect from May 1 through October 31, except for the Helen Street lot, which would be year-round. Residents with parking stickers won’t have to pay to park there.
The parking fee will increase from the current 25 cents per hour to $2 for two hours, with the ability to add two additional increments.
If someone doesn’t have a cell phone but has a resident sticker, he or she can park in the municipal lots when space is available. There’s also an option to call a number to pay by phone.
“This isn’t a moneymaking scheme, but to ensure that people don’t park in one spot all day long,” select board member Brian McCarthy noted.
The goal is to have the system up and running in time by Memorial Day this year.
The app allows police officers to log in to see who is in violation, and to issue tickets. The real-time data system keeps track by license plate number.
There will be a community outreach effort to ensure residents are aware of these changes, Dunn said.
• The select board approved a request by Henry Dunn of Dunn Rite Parking allowing him to use 350 of the Hull Redevelopment Authority’s parking lot spaces after recently being awarded the summer HRA parking lot lease, subject to other necessary town approvals. He plans to go before the board later in the season – which begins May 1 – to request an additional 350 once more space becomes available in the biggest of the three lots when a number of events slated for that location are scheduled for completion.
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