News on Green Line to Somerville

Pete wrote:

efin98 wrote:

Pete wrote:Compared to what? The opposition might be nothing compared to other places but opposition is opposition and even minor opposition grows.

I said it's not a center of opposition to the Green Line because it isn't. I don't know how else to say it.

We aren't talking about the whole Green Lin(that honor belongs to the people of JP). What we are talking about is the segment in Somerville.

What does JP or the rest of the Green Line have to do with Brickbottom?[/quote]

You brought up the "Center of opposition" so I gave you an example of where real opposition is on the Green Line. It ain't Brickbottom or close to there.

This thread's about the Somerville extension. There's no opposition to it to speak of coming out of Brickbottom. I don't understand what isn't clear about this.

Read above from someone actually from Somerville and folks who have reported otherwise. They seem to have firsthand knowlege stating otherwise.

efin98 wrote:You brought up the "Center of opposition" so I gave you an example of where real opposition is on the Green Line. It ain't Brickbottom or close to there.

If you couldn't infer that when I referred to potential Green Line opposition from Brickbottom referring specifically to the Green Line in Somerville, I apologize. I thought that was self-evident from the topic of this thread.

Read above from someone actually from Somerville and folks who have reported otherwise. They seem to have firsthand knowlege stating otherwise.

I live in Somerville. I live near Brickbottom. I read the Somerville newspapers, mailing lists, newsletters, etc., do my shopping in the neighborhood in question, talk to many friends and neighbors in the area... if there's opposition from Brickbottom I'm missing, the people behind it are doing a really bad job.

As for comments above, there's some past complaints about freight movements mentioned, some idle speculation about hypothetical future complaints, and a comment that people around Somerville in general and at Brickbottom in particular support the project.

So my question is: What study are they talking about and when was it released and where can we find it ?
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http://www2.townonline.com/somerville/l ... eid=240262
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MBTA study: We think you really want the Green Line, Somerville
By / Journal Staff
Thursday, May 5, 2005

An MBTA study shows huge demand and strong environmental benefits for extending the Green Line through Somerville and into Medford.

The study projects building a Green Line Extension through Somerville will add 63,000 more riders a day to the train line and cut a large amount of pollution created by vehicle traffic.

The benefits of the project, compared to its cost, could qualify it for federal funding, said MBTA Planning Department Director Joe Cosgrove.

"The numbers kind of indicate it would be competitive for federal funding," Cosgrove said.

Here is a link to todays Boston Globe article about the Green Line. You might have a problem viewing it as after I read it and hit refresh it asked me to register or some crap.


http://www.boston.com/news/local/massac ... _extension

I just read that article myself, and also saw on the New Charles/MGH Blue Line to Red Line connector, and the Silver Li(n)e Phase III project, plus the E Arborway line. Very interesting article.

Arlington wrote:So my question is: What study are they talking about and when was it released and where can we find it ?

It hasn't been released yet. Only preliminary numbers were presented to the Advisory Committee at this point.

Arlington wrote:The study projects building a Green Line Extension through Somerville will add 63,000 more riders a day to the train line and cut a large amount of pollution created by vehicle traffic.

According to Channel 7 news, the extension will only add 15,000 more riders per day.

BC Eagle wrote:

Arlington wrote:The study projects building a Green Line Extension through Somerville will add 63,000 more riders a day to the train line and cut a large amount of pollution created by vehicle traffic.

According to Channel 7 news, the extension will only add 15,000 more riders per day.

I'll happily believe the higher number. It always amazes me how many people get off the Red Line at Davis every evening, and the extension will go through a lot of very dense residential areas.

Of course, it will undoubtedly take some riders away from the Red Line and nearby bus lines. But I think the huge and pretty-much-unanimous support for the project in Somerville is a good indication of how popular it will be.

The higher number is total boardings for the nw extension. The lower number is projected new trips on transit...i.e., trips diverted from other modes.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articl ... on_t_plan/

It reads in salient part:

Medford, Somerville differ on T plan
Green Line project inspires mixed views
By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff | May 13, 2005

With state officials expected to soon announce plans to build the Green Line extension to Somerville and Medford, reaction in those cities differed dramatically yesterday.

While Somerville officials were ecstatic about the project, Medford officials were cautious.

(Oh no, I just lost the rest of the article from my hands, so click above to see the rest of it, thanks!)

*****

To me the most damning part is that instead of actually doing, or having done a study about the economic impact, or looking to leverage new transit, Mayor McGlynn is relying on constituent phone calls. Pathetic.

Running the proposed line along the current Lowell commuter rail corridor may pose problems for Medford. That portion of the city is already dealing with parking issues around the current West Medford commuter rail stop, where a street-level crossing currently ties up traffic on Route 60. Nonresidents are parking on West Medford's main thoroughfares after city officials pushed them off residential streets by issuing resident-only parking permits, officials said.

Sounds like a problem that could be easily be solved by consistent enforcement of the parking laws in the vicinity of the stops. With the economic benefits the Green Line would bring...I very highly doubt that it would be any kind of crushing burden for the city to ticket nonresidents and/or enforce 2-hour parking limits on thoroughfares. It's not like Medford is so far out in the sticks that it would be a major lifestyle change to not let people park all day on any damn street they please.

Since when did lackadaisical enforcement of parking violations become a quality-of-life virtue worth derailing beneficial public transit expansion over? If you're concerned about outsiders parking on your streets, Mayor, then have 'em towed and I guarantee they'll stop doing it pretty quickly.

Nonresidents are parking on West Medford's main thoroughfares after city officials pushed them off residential streets by issuing resident-only parking permits, officials said

I believe some towns have addressed this by adding meters or a two hour limit. If the goal is to prevent commuters from hogging spots, a four hour limit could even work sense.

So will there be a parking garage in West Medford? I would imagine that if there was it wouldn't be as ugly as the Red Line ones built in the 80's. It ouwld add nneded parking but also add traffic. Also, if the line is extended the grade crossing would be eliminated with a subway or elevated (probably subway). Then they could rebuild the road and make traffic better.

Arlington wrote:
With state officials expected to soon announce plans to build the Green Line extension to Somerville and Medford, reaction in those cities differed dramatically yesterday.

The Globe sounds positive that the state is going to do the Somerville extension. I hope it finally happens - it's long overdue. I think building the two branches - the short branch to Union Sq and the longer one to West Medford would be best.

Since it seems that enough people want it to happen, and it has become so publicized, it is my belief that it will happen at some point, although ground breaking may not be for another 10 to 20 years.