Danvers Stop Left Out Of Loop In MBTA's Better Bus Project

DANVERS, MA — State Rep. Sally Kerans (D-Danvers) had high hopes when the MBTA began its "Better Bus Project" that it would result in a better way for Danvers residents to travel around town on public transportation, get to the Salem commuter rail station and ultimately go back and forth to Boston.

But when the T released its revised route redesign plan last week, where 85 of the 133 bus routes were tinkered with and tweaked in some way from the May plan based on public feedback, Danvers was once again left out of the loop.

The redesign plans not only do not include the restoration of the 435 route that used to run through town but also do not include the desired change to one of the routes that go to the Liberty Tree Mall to include a stop in Danvers Square.

"We had three routes," Kerans told Patch on Monday. "They eliminated one of them and didn't make any changes to the other. These bus routes don't serve Danvers residents at all."

Kerans said that while Danvers is making strides toward becoming more public transit-oriented development, including the Maple Square project, the MBTA is not rewarding those efforts with service that would make it easier for someone living downtown to be able to Salem and into Boston without needing a car.

"We want people out of cars onto trains and into rapid transit," Kerans said. "We couldn't have gone out of our way (as a town) anymore to accommodate that. So why can you make this one change to help connect the downtown to the train? It doesn't make sense.

"It's not a big lift for them to add in a Danvers Square stop. It's literally an extra 1 1/2-mile route. What we're asking for is doable. I really think they haven't focused in on it."

Kerans and supporters of a Danvers Square stop are hoping that that will change during a public forum process leading up to the redesign being implemented. The next virtual forum where Danvers residents can have their voices here on the matter is Wednesday.

"I am not suggesting the 435 was packed with riders but it was important for those who relied on it," Kerans said. "Without it, we don't really have rapid transit in Danvers. To use the commuter rail you have to hop in your car and drive to Salem, which can take 30 minutes."

Kerans also noted that the former 435 route, or the proposed addition to one of the current Liberty Tree Mall routes, would include going past the Rebecca Nurse Homestead, adding a potential tourist boost to the town each October based on the significant — if often understated — role it played in the Salem Witch Trials.

"We're going to keep at it," Kerans said. "The plans have come out. But they can change it. Hopefully, they will see this plan is reasonable.

"We're not going to give up. We're going to keep trying to get it done."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)