Bicycle facilities 8 spaces Opened 21 December 1929 Platforms in use 1 | Address Boston, MA 02126, USA Rebuilt 22 December 2007 | |
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Location 500 River Street
at 1670 Blue Hill Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts Owned by Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Line(s) Red Line– Ashmont–Mattapan High Speed Line Tracks 1 track on balloon loop; splits to 2 tracks for inbound boarding platform Parking 100 spaces ($4.00 daily)
4 accessible spaces Owner Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Similar Milton, Ashmont, Chestnut Hill, Eliot, Melrose/Cedar Park | ||
Mattapan is the southern terminus of the Ashmont–Mattapan High Speed Line, located at Mattapan Square in the Mattapan neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. At the station, trolleys use a balloon loop to reverse direction back to Ashmont. Mattapan is also an important bus transfer station, with ten routes terminating there.
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Mattapan station is fully handicapped accessible, with mini-high platforms for boarding trolleys.
History
The Ashmont–Mattapan Line follows the right-of-way of the Dorchester and Milton Branch Railroad, which opened to Mattapan in December 1847. The line was converted to an interurban-style trolley line in the 1920s, with the final section to Mattapan opening on December 21, 1929. The stone depot building, now a restaurant, stands adjacent in Mattapan Square.
The MBTA closed the line on June 24, 2006 to allow a new viaduct to be constructed at Ashmont station. During the closure, all stations on the line were modernized and (except for Valley Road) made handicapped accessible. The decrepit 1929-built shelter and old platforms were replaced by modern platforms with canopies; a new building for MBTA police and bus operations with a community room was built. Trolley service resumed on December 22, 2007.
In 2014, the MBTA proposed to make $500,000 in additional renovations to the station. These included upgraded shelters and heating in passenger waiting areas, pedestrian improvements, improved signage, and bicycle storage.
Transit-oriented development
As part of the first round of modernization, the MBTA began planning for mixed-use transit-oriented development (TOD) to be built on the underused station parking lot. The planned development was not built, even after a second request for proposals was issued in 2012.
In July 2014, a local charter school announced plans to build a new building on the site, despite calls for a third RFP to be issued to attract TOD instead. In January 2015, after opposition from local officials about the school's $1.5 million offer, the MBTA announced it would instead issue a third RFP that March. The third RFP was issued in November 2015.
In July 2016, the MBTA Fiscal and Management Control Board selected the winner from two proposals for the property. The winning bidder, POAH/Nuestra, will pay the MBTA $4.89 million over the first 20 years of a 99-year lease of the site, upon which they will build 135 rental units and 12,000 square feet (1,100 m2) of ground-floor retail. 50 parking spaces will be reserved for MBTA riders.
Bus connections
Mattapan serves as a major transfer station for MBTA Bus operations, with nine routes converging on Mattapan Square from six directions. Most routes use the busway located on the north side of the station, but some use the bus loop on the south side.
Mattapan is also the origin point for the 191 Mattapan - Haymarket via Ashmont, Fields Corner and Dudley Station route. The 191 is a single daily early-morning round trip, intended for use by MBTA employees but open to the general public.