West Roxbury could soon be home to a new MBTA commuter rail station, despite the plans for a larger project which had included the station being scrapped.
The station on the Needham commuter rail line was originally proposed to complement a planned project to move the John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science from its current location in Roxbury.
While backlash from Roxbury residents who wanted the school to remain in that neighborhood led to the cancellation of the move, Mayor Michelle Wu said this week that the station is still in the works.
“The transportation issues in West Roxbury we had not solved in the first presentation (of the project). It’s a very different geographic location,” Wu said in an interview on GBH News’ Boston Public Radio on Tuesday. “Now, many months later, we have a commitment from the MBTA to build a commuter rail stop there ... We figured out how to work with the MBTA to make a major investment in public transportation that would be reliable.”
Wu said that while the O’Bryant School would not be moving to the site, the former home of the West Roxbury Education Complex until its closure in 2019, she would like to place a different school there, meaning the access to public transportation was still very important for the neighborhood.
Currently, the closest MBTA station to the property is the West Roxbury stop on the Needham Line, about a 30 minute walk or 5 minute drive away, according to Google. The Forest Hills Orange Line station and the Eliot Green Line station are each about a 12 minute drive.
The city had also proposed running shuttle buses from key transit stations to the future school for students, like it currently does for Boston Latin School and Boston Latin Academy, according to the project website.
In a statement to Commonwealth Beacon, MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo indicated that the new station was not yet a done deal.
“We have had meaningful meetings with the city of Boston regarding a potential city-funded project to build a new commuter rail station in West Roxbury,” he told the news site. “As a valued partner, we will offer our expertise and support on this effort or any other initiative they are considering.”
Wu has long advocated for improvements to Boston’s public transit, recently starting a TikTok series where she rides with Boston commuters on their way to work and documents the experience. She has also pushed for making the system fare-free, and instituted a pilot program making the 23, 28 and 29 bus lines free. The program was recently extended through 2026.
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