So what to call Yawkey MBTA station?
Jersey Station?
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If Yawkey Way will become Jersey Street, what then to call Yawkey Station?
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority said it would rename the Yawkey commuter rail station, after Boston officials Thursday agreed to rename the nearby street that lines Fenway Park. MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said the agency “will work collaboratively with its city partners to change the station name, and ensure consistency and familiarity for T customers, visitors to the area, and for public safety officials.’’
The Yawkey Way name change was pushed by the Boston Red Sox (whose principal owner, John W. Henry, also owns the Globe), because of allegations of racism against former owner Tom Yawkey.
Already transit wonks have suggestions for a new station name:
When in Jersey …
Since Yawkey Station was originally named for the street it’s on, then renaming it something like Jersey Station would make sense.
But technically speaking, the part of Yawkey Way over by the railroad tracks already had a new name—David Ortiz Drive after the Red Sox slugger. So David Ortiz Station would actually be more logical, and still maintain a connection to the Red Sox — if that matters to the T.
There’s always the ballpark …
A few transit advocates quickly tweeted that with Fenway Park as the station’s nearest landmark, the stop should be called Fenway Park Station. But that could be confusing, as the nearby Green Line station is called Fenway. But as Twitter user @brendankeegan pointed out, such concerns didn’t stop the T from having both a Longwood and Longwood Medical Center station.
It would also tie a station name to a private, for-profit company. To that end, Charlie Ticotsky, policy director for nonprofit group Transportation for Massachusetts, suggested Red Sox station — “and charge the team $.’’ The T, though, has come up empty in past efforts to sell naming rights to stations.
Still another user suggested Ballpark Station, in the spirit of the Blue Line’s Airport station, which does not directly reference Logan.
Just plain “Fenway’’ is easy …
Fenway Station “is good because it’s the name of the ballpark and the neighborhood,’’ said Ari Ofsevit, a member of the advocacy group Transit Matters. If that makes for too many Fenways on the T, then Ofsevit suggested renaming the Green Line stop— say, for nearby Park Drive, or Landmark for the adjacent Landmark Center shopping plaza.
@Scollayunder suggested Olmsted Station, for Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed the namesake parks in the area. That could be applied to either commuter rail or Green Line station, he said.
Another transit tweeter, @tylermachado, suggested the commuter stop be called Fenway-Kenmore Station, combining the names of the two Green Line stops for a distinct stop.
