The “Ideas from Everyone” series is a collection of proposals and fantasy maps contributed by other transit fans that I personally find interesting. For a full index with ideas on all topics, see here.
This post includes proposals for the Silver Line (SL) Waterfront system (SL1, SL2, SL3, SLW), as well as other means to serve the Seaport neighborhood.
Note: There are many ideas for converting the SL Waterfront route to Light Rail Transit (LRT) as part of the Green Line (GL). Proposals that closely follow the concept of Green Line Reconfiguration (GLR) (an LRT route continuing west to Back Bay) are placed in the “Ideas from Everyone: Green Line Reconfiguration” page. Proposals that convert it to a Green Line branch, but largely deviate from GLR, are placed in the “Ideas from Everyone: Green Line (General)” page.
Last updated: February 28, 2024 (added discussions on streamlining SL1)
Augmenting Silver Line Waterfront
This section describes proposals regarding the specific SL Waterfront routes. While some of them retain the Silver Line branding and/or the specific routes, not all proposals do so.
RailsRoadsRiverside’s ideas on moving SL1/2/3 out of the Transitway (Blogpost and ArchBoston comment, Nov 2023)
- The ArchBoston comment has more analyses of jobs and walksheds
Discussions of modifications for SL1, SL2 and SL3 routes (Feb 2024), and later comments
This is a series of proposals comments:
- RailsRoadsRiverside’s idea: Similar to the Nov’23 post above, but this version does not assume GLR and thus keeps SL3 in the Transitway
- TheRatmeister’s idea: SL1 becomes Logan Express, eliminate SL3
- Subsequent discussions contain analyses of SL3 and others
Streamlining SL1
This is a subset of SL augmentation proposals. Many of them aim to make SL1 a more direct bus route connecting Logan Terminals to South Station and the rest of downtown, often outside of the Transitway, instead of taking a windy route through Seaport.
My ideas on SL1 surface-running alignments (Feb 2024), and earlier comments
- Builds upon previous comments in the thread
- Several others proposed alternative downtown connector routes as supplements: “SL0” North Station – South Station – Logan Terminals, and “SL1” Back Bay – South Station – Logan Terminals
Bus Priority in Seaport Beyond Silver Line
Crosslist: Downtown bus priority corridors
- The section above has a bigger focus on the entire downtown Boston, but many proposals cover Seaport.