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Above, (L to R) Jamie Hellen, Jeff Roy, Kayla Nisbet, Ali Rheaume, Becca Raush, unidentified official, and Ryan Coholan.
The drenching rain, which rose to a crescendo just as the 10am ceremonies were getting underway at the Franklin-Dean MBTA Station, had the dozens of attendees clutching umbrellas and pulling hoods tighter, but smiles were all but universal.
The event was organized to officially ‘cut the ribbon’ on a new high platform and ramp, (a mini-high in MBTA parlance), allowing anyone with mobility issues to much more easily board or exit a passenger train. Simultaneously, it celebrated the mural project on the outside of the historic, 1928 train station.
According to an article from the town’s Department of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy, a ‘Call for Mural Artists’ was released in Aug. of 2024 for a special project: a history-inspired mural at the Franklin/Dean station. The mural was recently completed, ahead of schedules (See images at bottom).
While waiting for the event to get underway, attendees were permitted a glimpse inside the station, which once sold tickets an as recently as the 1990s, along with coffee and pastries. But right on time, personnel from Keolis and MBTA had multiple canopies set up on the platform outside as well as a lectern and PA system and things got underway under the direction of the first speaker, MBTA Chief Operating Officer Ryan Coholan. He was followed by Sen. Becca Rausch, who provided a $50,000 earmark to the Department of Arts Culture and the Creative Economy. She was followed by Jeff Roy, Jamie Hellen, the artist, Kayla Nisbet, and finally, activist and Chair of the Franklin Commission on Disability, Ali Rheaume.
Coholan, noted that the platform was constructed largely of recycled construction material. He said the MBTA long-term plan calls for all stations to be accessible. In his brief remarks, Roy credited Rheaume for her energetic research and letter writing that led directly to the platform installation and he also noted the efforts along the same line, going back more than a decade, by former Chair Mary O’Neil.
Hellen, gave particular emphasis to the need to now build on the improvements in access and the new murals at the station by actually bringing back a vendor, such as a coffee shop, at the station. “You folks here need to get the word out with help from Franklin Matters and Franklin Observer, because there must be someone who would be interested in this location,” he said.
Nisbet said winning the project was ‘pinch me’ moment. Her designs relate to the town’s status as the home of the nation’s first public library and draw from the story of the book donor, Ben Franklin, as well as the designs and titles of some of the books he gave, still preserved at the library. She also gave a shout out to her husband and three children, in attendance, one of whom explored the station and seemed ready to start brewing coffee and serving customers!
Rheaume, thanked all the people involved in helping the accessibility project get done and noted that access is about inclusion and makes things better for everyone – even someone simply toting a wheeled piece of luggage onto the train is now better off, she said.
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