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Comments
Acronyms Make For Bad T Stops
This is a bad idea.
Just leave it Copley for ease of use.
Naming something BPL, when it means Boston Public Library makes no sense. If you are from out of town, BPL will mean NOTHING to you.
This idea is almost as bad as putting BCEC on all the signs leading to the "Boston Convention and Exhibition Center".
Those signs should say "CONVENTION CENTER" on them. Please!
other such T stops
I'm sort of indifferent towards this idea, but we do have other such stops -- Kendall/MIT, Charles/MGH, JFK/UMass. We used to have Hynes/ICA, but then the ICA moved elsewhere.
Why not
Why not Copley/BPL/TC/NSC/CFH?
Park Street/BC/BPG/FT/GBG/SH
The planners of the T had it figured out long ago... to navigate the city by non-pointed but bounded landmarks: squares, circles, corners.The system is actually clearer without naming extras like MGH. What is so hard about finding out where something is before you go there?
Forest Hills
I simply will not be able to find my way to either the Arboretum or the West Roxbury District Court until the T renames Forest Hills as Forest Hills/Ahbs/WRDC.
For years I have been advocating for...
Forest Hills/DWC, as the Dogwood Cafe is a sentimental favorite of mine.
I would also suggest Ashmont/TGWSBDVD, but The Guy Who Sells Bootleg DVDs doesn't come around any more. :(
Further refinement
Forest Hills/BPSDWC, for Forest Hills/Breakfast Pizza on Sundays at the Dogwood Cafe.
OMFG! BPSDWC!
Having never realized that the DWC does brunch, I have never heard of a Breakfest Pizza!!!!
"Dogwood Breakfast Pizza |$9 | Scrambled Eggs, Breakfast Sausage, Applewood Bacon, Home Fries & Mozzarella Cheese"
This does not even sound remotely appealing to me; nonetheless, I have to go an order this just to say I survived eating a breakfast pizza without a heart attack! Maybe we could order one and send it over to Glenn Ordway and cross our fingers? Better yet, send 10.
God bless the Dogwoods.
Oh, yeah, gotta try it
Brunch is fairly new there, I think.
The home fries come on a separate plate. Do NOT try to eat one of those pizzas all by yourself; trust me on this :-).
Why not just "Public library" or something?
I do like the idea of naming the T stop (and other ones) with the name of utilitarian landmarks, rather than street names or area names. I think the library in particular is something that could be given more visibility. When I worked with urban teens, a lot of the teens and their parents thought that the central library was only for people with some sort of academic credentials and/or that you could only use the library in the neighborhood where you lived. I have neighbors who've also said similar things about not realizing their card works downtown. Particularly given the history and mission of the BPL, I'm in favor of anything that advertises the library. It would seem to me that having a T stop called "Public Library" would increase the message that the library is for everyone, and not some academic library requiring a special card.
Another FYI for everyone
"If you are a resident of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, you are eligible for a library card."
Any one who lives in Massachusetts can borrow fom the BPL.
And in many cases, vice-versa
My wife used to take videos out at the Wellesley library.
And download audio
BPL has an entire website that let's you download books and albums. LOVE IT!
To some extent, the BPL
To some extent, the BPL invites this confusion because the circulating stacks are right next to the non-circulating research library. Actually, the research library may be intimidating to some youngsters, with the grand surroundings and sturdy wood furniture. The posted signs are by no means clear if it's your first visit to the library. With the different architectural styles, would you think to walk into the modernist building next door, or would you think it was a bank or office building that shared the same block?
(One might also note that the New York Public Library does not have a circulating section at its central library. As much as Bostonians hate being compared to New York, newcomers can perhaps be excused for getting confused.)
It's kind of wistfully sad that the T has lost its formerly-simple one-word station names. Again comparing to New York City's MTA, the T's station names were elegant in a way that "34th St." is not. However, since we already have Charles/MGH, Kendall/MIT, etc., we might as well go all the way and assign a secondary name to every station. Not as elegant as one-word station names, but at least it has more logic than the current mishmash. (Though I'm at a loss what to subtitle Harvard Square.)
Add this to the list of
Add this to the list of Menino's plans to fix problems that don't exist.
We need to move city hall!
Despite the fact the current building - while not fitting in with the current architectural fads - does its job well enough. The only real problem that needs to be addressed is the mediocre plaza, but why do that when you can build an entirely new complex that isn't even served by a real rapid transit line!
We need to append an acronym to Copley Station's name so people will have an easier time finding the library.
If you can read any of the hundreds of maps of Boston floating about, then you can find the library. Adding "BPL" would be as effective as renaming Government Center to "Scollay Square - CH". The letters mean nothing to anyone who would not otherwise know where the library is.
We need to build an 80 story building!
I'm a tall building fanatic, but I'm still waiting to hear what purpose it will serve and who is expected to fill it.
All in all though, sometimes
All in all though, sometimes placing landmark names with the stops isn't all that bad. I think Copley/BPL is a bad idea, but why not just Copley/Library. I think it'd give the clueless an idea as to what's there.
The T does need to reconsider some of their naming conventions, however. One that's always bothered me is Fenway. Yes, that is the name of the area, not just the park, but to idiot joe out-of-towner, it seems ideal, much to the chagrin of many D-Line commuters.
Interestingly enough, they just changed many of the signs at park street from "FENWAY PARK: TAKE ANY B, C, D TROLLEY TO KENMORE" to "FENWAY PARK: TAKE AND B,C TRAIN TO KENMORE, D TO FENWAY". Which undoubtedly will clog Riverside trains with clueless baseball fans this Summer. Yay.