Teban54

Just another transit enthusiast

Thoughts from Everyone: Seaport and Silver Line Waterfront

The “Thoughts from Everyone” series is a collection of discussions and analyses of the current system contributed by other transit fans that I personally find interesting. For a full index with ideas on all topics, see here.

This post includes discussions of the Silver Line (SL) Waterfront system (SL1, SL2, SL3, SLW), as well as other analyses of the Seaport neighborhood and discussions of real-world proposals to improve its transit options.

Last updated: February 28, 2024 (added my analysis of SL3 travel time competitiveness etc)

Existing Silver Line Waterfront

SL3

My analysis of SL3’s travel time competitiveness and demand (Feb 2024)

  • Two-part comment: The first compares SL3’s travel times to a Red-Blue subway connection, and the second discusses its ridership and demand

Short-Term Improvements

Discussion of short-term realistic improvements (F-Line to Dudley, Feb 2024), and later comments

  • A list of cheap, tangible goals that can improve access to Seaport directly or indirectly (some of which are underway by MBTA)
  • Subsequent comments also mentioned that SL Waterfront’s capacity and frequency are not near its design throughput

Silver Line Phase III

Silver Line Phase III was a real-world project that was under active planning in the 2000s. Its goal was to connect the two halves of the Silver Line, SL Waterfront, and SL Washington St (now SL5). The project would have constructed a bus tunnel through downtown Boston as an extension of the SL Transitway, via Essex St to Boylston, then turning south and opening up to a portal in the vicinity of Bay Village. The project was put on indefinite hold in 2010, and the SL4 route was introduced as a compromise.

Wikipedia section on SL Phase III plans

F-Line to Dudley’s explanation of SL Phase III’s failures (particularly its engineering challenges)