Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership (STEP)

June 15, 2010

Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for Green Line published

The FEIR is essentially an addendum to the DEIR, with analysis and information that supplements the original document. It focuses on the following areas:


  • Detailed analysis of the other potential locations for the maintenance facility, with Option L as the new preferred site due to public and City support, operational efficiency, and beneficial Inner Belt development.
  • Refined conceptual design of the Lechmere station based on public feedback, including an additional station entrance, smaller platform, reduced parking, and modified roadways and bicycle and pedestrian paths.
  • Impacts of making the College Ave station a terminus until the Phase 2 extension to Route 16, including impacts to operations, access, traffic, noise, and vibration.
  • Clarification of air quality modeling.
  • Additional information on the impacts and mitigation for sound, vibration, traffic, and so on.
  • A Public Involvement Plan for community participation going forward, with a Design Working Group, various public meetings and workshops, and more.

Visit the Green Line site to download the report as many separate files, or download the combined PDFs here:
FEIR executive summary (PDF)
FEIR text/chapters (PDF)
FEIR figures (large PDF)
FEIR appendices (really huge PDF)

Give your comments on the FEIR at a public hearing on June 30. Written comments will be accepted until July 23. Keep reading for details.

The comment period for the document will be for 30 days; all comments will be due to the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) Office. All written comments MUST INCLUDE the EEA project file number 13886 and be submitted by the deadline to:

Secretary Ian Bowles
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
MEPA Office, Attn: Holly Johnson, MEPA Analyst
100 Cambridge Street, Suite 900
Boston, MA 02114
Fax: 617-626-1181
Email: Holly.S.Johnson@state.ma.us

You may have also received a postcard announcing the FEIR, which provided an incorrect email address for Ms. Johnson. Her correct email address is provided above.