MBTA officials are proposing changes to city bus routes, which includes expanded service to Trapelo Road.
The MBTA is preparing its 2008 service plan and holding a series of public hearings to glean feedback on proposed additions as well as cuts in service. One was held Wednesday in Waltham.
Every two years, the MBTA looks at its bus service and makes changes based on consumer demand.
Among the changes in the 2008 plan, the MBTA proposes to add new service to Trapelo Road, where buses would make six additional trips - three outbound trips from Carter Street to Belmont's Waverly Square in the morning, and three inbound trips from Waverly Square to Carter Street in the afternoon and early evening. The morning trips would arrive via Trapelo Road at 6:55 a.m., 7:19 a.m. and 7:56 a.m., while the evening trips would depart at 5:20 p.m., 6:15 p.m. and 7:15 p.m.
Under the proposed changes some service will be discontinued along a section of Beaver Street near Bentley College, where ridership has been light. Those passengers would be able to take a short walk to a new stop on Forest Street.
State Rep. Thomas Stanley, D-Waltham, who is also a city councilor, said he and state Sen. Susan Fargo, D-Lincoln, and Waltham Transportation Director Frank Ching worked with the MBTA to expand bus service in Waltham after listening to concerns from commuters in that area about a lack of transportation options.
"This is not a solution, but I think it's a step in the right direction," Stanley said at the hearing.
While a handful of Waltham residents attended Wednesday's hearing, there were others from outside the city who took issue with the MBTA'a plan to eliminate another route, Rte. 500, an express bus which operates on weekdays during commuter hours between Riverside Station in Newton and downtown Boston. MBTA officials said that route has long been underused and that passengers can use the Green Line between Riverside and downtown Boston.
Sandra Clarey, a service planner for the MBTA, told those who attended the public hearing that the proposal was not a "final plan" and ultimately had to be approved by the MBTA's board of directors.
The MBTA will accept written comments on the service plan until the end of this month. In addition to Wednesday night's hearing, public hearings have already been held in Allston, Quincy, Boston, Weymouth and Jamaica Plain. Three more sessions will be held this month in Boston, and one each in Lynn and Malden.
PDF: Check out the proposed route
Richard Conn can be reached at 781-398-8004 or rconn@cnc.com.
