MBTA Holds Public Hearing on Renovating Hynes T Stop to Become Handicapped Accessible

The Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority held its first public hearing on Tuesday night at the regarding a new project to make the Hynes Convention Center station accessible to people with disabilities.

The project was introduced to the public before renovation at the suggestion of Rep. MartyWalz (D- Back Bay), who addressed the crowd before plans were presented.  Walz emphasized the importance of involving the community in the early stages of the planning process, citing the MBTA’s failure to include the public before starting renovations of the Arlington and Copley stations in 2006.

“We don’t want it to be the T and its consultants making decisions without us,” she said.

 Currently the Hynes station is only accessible via a steep flight of stairs at its Massachusetts Avenue and Newbury Street exits.  The layout makes it difficult to for disabled rides to access the trains, and practically impossible for anyone in a wheelchair.

“Thank God for Brodie, because I don’t know how I’d navigate Hynes,” said Rachel Tanenhaus, a visually impaired woman from Cambridge who rides the T with her seeing-eye dog.

 In order for the station to meet American with Disability Act standards, the renovation must include the installation of redundant elevators - meaning, one set of elevators and then a back up in case those fail - accessible bathrooms, clear paths for safe and efficient travel to and from train platforms and raising platforms to accommodate low-floor cars. Project managers from Kleinfedler SEA , the engineering and architectural firm hired to redesign the station, said the station has an intricate and sprawling underground design, which may present some challenges during the renovation process.

MBTA communication and coordination specialist Pablo Calderon stressed that the project is in its very early planning stages, which is why community input is extremely valuable at this point. Calderon also asked for public participation in the project’s working committee, which will meet for monthly meetings to discuss the progress of the renovation and address community concerns.

 At this stage, the MBTA does not know exactly how much the renovation will cost, or when construction will begin. MBTA project manager Margery Manning said the agency will have cost estimates once the project reaches the 15 percent design level, which she said should happen by the fall.

Larry Hail, a visually impaired man who lives in Brookline, said he’d like to see the MBTA install tackle wayfinding in Hynes so passengers with poor eyesight can make their way through the busy station.

“It’s like a yellow brick road to help you find your way,” he said.

Meanwhile, Cambridge resident Miriam Cooper, who attended the meeting with a friend, said she hoped the renovation will integrate disabled riders with other MBTA passengers, instead of creating a separate path that could effectively segregate them.

“Integration is key," she said. "Disabled residents are also a part of the Back Bay community."