Sometimes you miss something that's right under your nose. Or I do, anyway.
I was talking to one of the regular riders on the #715 Franklin train, and she pointed out something that jolted me: there's only one staircase and one elevator for the entire commuter rail platform at Ruggles.
There used to be a second staircase, but it started crumbling about three years ago and the T blocked it off. They locked and chained the upper doors, and put up a section of chain link fence to block the bottom of the stairs.
And then they sat back and let it crumble. It's just been decaying for the last three years. The chain link fence is partially broken in, but the whole staircase is clearly a hazard - it's literally falling apart. Chunks of masonry are falling off of it!
This is one of those stories where a picture would be worth more than a thousand words. So tomorrow I'll bring in my camera and take a photo of it to post here.
I wonder...are there any laws about adequate access to commuter rail platforms? If there's ever an emergency that requires passengers to get off the platform and up to the station quickly, that lone staircase would be quite a bottleneck. Which it is every morning, come to think of it.
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The stairs in Salem have been crumbling. One set of stairs and one ramp, though at least you can get out through the (decrepit) parking lot.
A few years ago, the concrete on the stair landing at street level was decaying so there was a hole in the platform from 20 feet off the ground. I have not tried walking the handicapped ramp recently.
I want to see a new station but the T won't do it because the neighbors don't want it. Destroys their historic character. Salem is the busiest station on the north side with a rich transit history. No matter.
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