The State is exploring ways of bringing down the cost of the Community Path (and of course of the Green Line Extension overall). At the April 13 community meeting, they walked through an alternative and very stripped-down version of the Path, and the slides they presented are now available. Download the slides to see sketches of the new Path ideas and…
"Will the State Give the Green Light to the Green Line Extension?" (BostInno) "The extension will power a new wave of economic growth in the area. According to local and state officials, the Green Line project is expected to spur roughly $4 billion in private investment in our economy, creating 30,000 construction jobs and 30,000 permanent jobs. With the upcoming decision…
"New evidence of the dangers of living near highways" (Boston Globe) A new study of Boston residents who live or spend a significant amount of time near Interstate 93 and the Massachusetts Turnpike has found that their exposure to microscopic metals and chemicals spewed from vehicles increases their chances of suffering a heart attack or stroke.
Did the city of Boston have to pay for the Big Dig when it went way over budget? No. Did suburban communities have to pay when the commuter rail lines were extended? No. Will other cities have to pay for future T extensions? Unlikely. But for now, Somerville might be asked to pay up for the Green Line Extension. This critical project is…
"Transpo Chief Open to New State $$ for GLX Repair Facility" (State House News Service) Pollack said it's a "possibility" that the planned facility near the current Lechmere Station would work better for system-wide Green Line repair infrastructure. A consultant's December report to the control board said the vehicle maintenance facility, with room to store 80 cars, was about 11 percent…
"Green Line extension walking path redesigned" (Boston Globe) "Under the new design, the path would be farther away from the stations and tracks in some areas, so that the T could avoid building the walls. But that means some big changes. For instance, instead of running near the Green Line tracks in the section near Washington Street to around North Point,…
"Transit Activists, Unions Mince No Words As T's Control Board Weighs Next Moves" (WGBH) "In response to ballooning costs of the long-anticipated Green Line Extension project, the FMCB began considering starkly reduced iterations of that project, potentially cutting whole neighborhoods (Union Square, for one) out of the picture and reconsidering the long-anticipated extension of a community path in Somerville. With decisions expected…
"MBTA: Community path could be cut down or cut out of GLX" (Somerville Journal) "The community path extension may be cut or scaled down from the Green Line Extension and Medford, Cambridge and Somerville are still being asked to contribute to the overall cost of the billion-dollar project, according to MBTA officials." Come to Somerville High School Wednesday night at 6:30…
From The Somerville Times... Let’s talk about where you’re going to be next Wednesday. That evening at the Somerville High auditorium we have a big community meeting with state officials concerning the Green Line extension. Everybody is welcome to attend and that is roughly the amount of people we’d like see there: everybody. We may not be able to fit tens…