Boston Globe Article on the Green Line Extension

The environmental report under review details an extension with seven stations — a new Lechmere stop, a spur at Union Square, and five more stops on a main line through Somerville and into Medford — ending at College Avenue by Tufts University. It will not cut across Tufts to Route 16, a final stop that state officials are putting off for a later phase. That has disappointed advocates who see the potential for greater ridership there and fear it will not be completed.

The working price tag of $954 million, half of which the state hopes will be reimbursed by the feds, covers those seven stations and rail improvements, new cars, and the maintenance yard, as well as planning and design costs for a 2-mile bike and walking path to connect neighborhoods and stations. It does not include the $30 million or so needed to build that path.

That path would be the final link on a bike network connecting Lexington, Arlington, and other suburbs on the Minuteman Bikeway to the cusp of downtown Boston and the Charles River Basin. Not constructing the path with the Green Line project could create insurmountable obstacles for it later, like the need to widen bridges overhead or interrupt transit service.

Several advocates for the path spoke at the T board meeting, including the Friends of the Community Path, the Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership, and the MBTA’s Rider Oversight Committee.

The city of Somerville is applying for a highly competitive stimulus-funded federal grant to cover some or all of the path’s cost. Should that fall short, the financially strained DOT would be challenged to add it to a project that just a few years ago was expected to cost $600 million.

But members of the MBTA/DOT board say it could be worth it, especially because none of the new stations are planned with parking lots.

“If you’re building a project like this, having a way for people to get to it that’s safe and convenient is critical,’’ board member Elizabeth Levin said. “To me it’s integral and it’s part of our sustainability.’’

The environmental report under review details an extension with seven stations — a new Lechmere stop, a spur at Union Square, and five more stops on a main line through Somerville and into Medford — ending at College Avenue by Tufts University. It will not cut across Tufts to Route 16, a final stop that state officials are putting off for a later phase. That has disappointed advocates who see the potential for greater ridership there and fear it will not be completed.

The working price tag of $954 million, half of which the state hopes will be reimbursed by the feds, covers those seven stations and rail improvements, new cars, and the maintenance yard, as well as planning and design costs for a 2-mile bike and walking path to connect neighborhoods and stations. It does not include the $30 million or so needed to build that path.

That path would be the final link on a bike network connecting Lexington, Arlington, and other suburbs on the Minuteman Bikeway to the cusp of downtown Boston and the Charles River Basin. Not constructing the path with the Green Line project could create insurmountable obstacles for it later, like the need to widen bridges overhead or interrupt transit service.

Several advocates for the path spoke at the T board meeting, including the Friends of the Community Path, the Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership, and the MBTA’s Rider Oversight Committee.

The city of Somerville is applying for a highly competitive stimulus-funded federal grant to cover some or all of the path’s cost. Should that fall short, the financially strained DOT would be challenged to add it to a project that just a few years ago was expected to cost $600 million.

But members of the MBTA/DOT board say it could be worth it, especially because none of the new stations are planned with parking lots.

“If you’re building a project like this, having a way for people to get to it that’s safe and convenient is critical,’’ board member Elizabeth Levin said. “To me it’s integral and it’s part of our sustainability.’’

Check out the full article HERE.