Too much to review, too little time. I have a non-MBTA bus to write about, and that’ll certainly come out at some point, but I figured I’d get a few stations done first. Since I just reviewed the 60, here’s Chestnut Hill, the closest station to that bus. And being a D Line station, it’s pretty nice.

That wastebasket is convenient.

Chestnut Hill has two entrances. The first and more obvious one is on Hammond Street, which is mostly residential (though there are a few malls on Boylston Street to the south). It features a T symbol, a station sign, and a strangely-placed wastebasket.

A nice path for sure, but how am I supposed to know there’s a train station here?

The second entrance is on Middlesex Road. There’s a school and a post office near this entrance, but it’s much less obvious. It’s just a small path with admittedly cool streetlights along it. It doesn’t even have a T symbol on Middlesex Road! How is anyone supposed to know it’s there?

Not the best vantage point.

Chestnut Hill’s parking lot is pretty big for a local station – it has 70 spaces. There’s a big sign with lots of taped over and added sections that explains how the parking works. The system seems pretty old fashioned, with manual coin slots. I believe this is the norm for the D Line, though. The station also has a sheltered bike area, with eight spaces.

Lots of snow buildup on the platform.

The platform is as nice as any other D Line platform. It doesn’t have much on the outbound side, which makes sense this far west. On the inbound side, there’s a classic wooden shelter, painted green. There’s also one of those heated CharlieCard shelters, and an old, gross, glass shelter. It was a really quiet, tranquil wait for the train, another standard of the D.

The D Line looks so good in the snow!

Station: Chestnut Hill

Ridership: Pretty standard ridership for the D – about 1,400 boardings per weekday. These are mostly just local riders from surrounding residential areas, though some people may use the station for access to the malls to the south.

Pros: It’s a standard D Line station, so I really like it. It has a sizeable parking lot, and the platform has that tranquil D Line feel to it.

Cons: The entrance on Middlesex Road could really use some signage. Even a T symbol would be fine. Also, I really wish the yellow line on the platform was a bit clearer. In its current faded state, I couldn’t tell where the platform began and where it ended!

Nearby and Noteworthy: The malls to the south are the most you’ll get around here in terms of retail. The post office looked nice, but you know, it’s a post office.

Final Verdict: 7/10
All these D Line stations seem to be getting short reviews and 7’s across the board. Chestnut Hill has some flaws, namely a lack of signage and an unclear yellow line on the platform (which admittedly could mean the difference between getting run over by a train or not). However, that D Line tranquility always wins me over…

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