MBTA Begins Long-Awaited Improvement of Route 73

Almost a year to the date after a community meeting at Belmont's Beech Street Center to discuss the changes it would propose, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority yesterday, Monday, June 17, announced improvements to the Route 73 bus/trolley line, one of the MBTA most heavily-used lines running from Harvard Square to Belmont's Waverley Square.

The work will take place through August, according to the MBTA press release.

The MBTA said it will begin consturction for its "Key Bus Routes Improvement Program," which will include the Number 73 – which serves 2,400 users daily – and 14 other bus routes throughout the T's service area during the summer months.

The selected 15 routes are the busiest in the network, according to an MBTA press release, and service about 885 bus stops in eight communities.

According to a press release from the MBTA, the Key Bus Routes Improvment Program is intended to "improve the overall quality of service for the bus-riding public by making improvements and adjustments to both physical characteristics and service."

Improvements will include consolidating bus stops and reducing them by 25 percent, which is expected to reduce trip times by 13 percent. Currently, many bus stops are visible to one another, the press release reads.

Last year, a MBTA consultant said the stops along the 73 Route most likely to be closed are:

• Trapelo at Hawthorne Street outbound.

• Trapelo at Poplar Street.

• Belmont at Oakley Street inbound.

• Belmont at Carver Road.

• Belmont at Templeton Parkway.

• Belmont at Oxford Avenue.

Additional work will included making stops ADA accessible and improving or adding amenities such as shelters, benches, trash barrels and signage.

"The MBTA is looking forward to improving the quality of amenities and service on some of our most utilized services,” said MBTA General Manager Beverly Scott said. "This aggressive and ambitious project will reduce trip times, enhance customer comfort, accessibility, convenience and safety, and make service more reliable and cost-effective."

The work is being completed as part of $10 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant.