The MBTA has filed for a state environmental review of a proposed new bus maintenance facility in Quincy – a project that could be crucial to longer-term plans to expand bus service throughout the region.
In a project notification form submitted late last month, the MBTA seeks permission under the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) to build "a new two- to three-story bus maintenance and storage facility" at 599 Thomas Burgin Parkway in Quincy, the site of an abandoned Lowe's store next to the Quincy Adams Red Line station.
The proposed facility would replace the existing Quincy bus garage (pictured at right), which is one of the T's oldest bus maintenance facilities.
According to the T's MEPA filing, the proposed new garage would be significantly larger than the current Quincy garage, with space for up to 135 buses. The current Quincy garage can store 86 buses, and the MBTA's systemwide lack of garage capacity has been identified as the major limiting factor preventing the T from procuring more buses and running more service on crowded routes.
The T's garage proposal would also build a new shared-use path through the site and upgrade crosswalks across Burgin Parkway to give the new garage's neighbors in South Quincy a convenient route to the Red Line.
The T expects to employ the 450 employees at the new garage. In spite of the site's proximity to multiple bus routes and the Red Line, the project also proposes a 235-space surface parking lot for those employees.
The agency hopes to complete design and permitting for the new garage in the coming year, begin construction in 2022, and have the new facility open in mid-2024.
A 20-day public comment period for the project's environmental review is currently underway: comments can be submitted until September 29 through the state's online public comment portal.
