Accessibility at T Will Finally Become a Reality

Above, Ali Rheaume, eyes the literally out of reach coaches of the MBTA at Dean Station.

There’s always a story. And, according to Ali Rheaume, founder of the local disabilities advocacy and support group, Rise Up, there is a long story that preceded a recent announcement that Franklin’s station will finally get a handicapped makeover.

Time constraints didn’t allow the full story to be shared but the gist is that over the past year, the MBTA has successfully developed an innovative design for freestanding mini-high structures that will provide level boarding on existing low-level platforms at select Commuter Rail stations. Crucially, the T decided that Wellesley Square on the Framingham/Worcester Line, West Medford on the Lowell Line, and Franklin and Walpole on the Franklin/Foxboro Line will be the first four Commuter Rail platforms to receive these accessibility upgrades by the beginning of 2025 with funding secured to begin design efforts for similar accessibility upgrades at Wakefield and Wyoming Hill on the Haverhill Line, Concord and Lincoln on the Fitchburg Line, and Endicott on the Franklin/Foxboro Line.

The Franklin work was announced by the Healey-Driscoll Administration along with a $67 million federal grant awarded by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) to improve accessibility for passengers on the Green Line. The funding comes from the All Stations Accessibility Program (ASAP) under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed by President Biden in 2021. ASAP funds projects that upgrade older transit-systems to make them accessible to people with disabilities or limited mobility. The project will make fully accessible 14 ground-level stops along the B and C branches of the Green Line in the neighborhoods of Allston, Brighton, and Brookline.

The MBTA has previously made the decision to move ahead on the commuter rail platforms.

As part of its plans, MBTA said that new trainings for frontline employees focused on how to provide best-in-class accessible service have been recently deployed and a number of innovative solutions to long-standing accessibility challenges will be piloted in the coming year – including indoor wayfinding technology for blind/low vision users.

In September 2023, the MBTA launched “Access in Motion,” a pioneering marketing campaign raising awareness of accessibility features and their benefits for all riders.