The Final Environmental Impact Report shows that the Orange Line station will have a second entrance/exit that routes travelers right to Ikea. Thanks to feedback from disability experts, the station has “simpler lines of sight, and it will be easier to get in and out,” Wig Zamore said.
Somerville Journal: “Assembly Square footprint unveiled”
The Green Line Community Corridor Planning Project of Somerville is seeking:
to work on design teams with community members this spring to develop sustainable, attractive, easy-to-access light rail stations and station area designs for the new stations on the Green Line extension through Cambridge, Somerville and Medford. Workshop dates to be announced.
We seek volunteers from the professional design and planning communities to participate with community residents in station area design workshops for the Union Square, Washington Street/Brickbottom, Gilman Square, Lowell Street, Ball Square, College Avenue, and Route 16 stations.
The Urban Land Institute (ULI) Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing released the findings of an important real estate report which, for the first time, calculates the combined costs of housing and transportation for families living in the Boston region. According to the report’s findings, the average working household in the Boston region spends over $34,000 a year – or 54 percent of their income – on the combined costs of housing and transportation.
Boston Globe: "NorthPoint continues to go south" NorthPoint's owners told the MBTA they'd foot the bill for a shiny new Lechmere Station to act as the gateway for the Green Line extension. They didn't, instead sticking the all-but-bankrupt agency with the construction tab, and setting Green Line service to Somerville and Medford back by years.
U.S. Rep. Ed Markey is seeking $100,000 for MassDOT to plan the last leg of the Green Line extension, from College Avenue to Mystic Valley Parkway (Route 16). Funds would be used for "planning, land use analysis, and conceptual design of Green Line extension from Medford Hillside to Mystic Valley Parkway" (Markey's website).
As part of the upcoming Preliminary Engineering phase of the Green Line Extension project, MassDOT will assemble a group of local citizens, MBTA officials, municipal representatives and business representatives to form the Green Line Extension (GLX) Design Working Group. This working group will advise MassDOT on the design of six new stations proposed for the neighborhoods of Brickbottom, Gilman Square, Lowell…
Topics included the Conservation Law Foundation meeting, station design, and various in-progress projects. Meeting notes (PDF)
Boston Globe: "MassDOT pledges to push funding for Green Line Extension" The state Department of Transportation renewed its commitment to securing federal funding for the Green Line Extension today, pledging to formally initiate the New Starts application process by the end of the month. The New Starts program, which is the federal government's primary financial resource for supporting major transit projects,…
Boston Globe: "Green Line extension begins surveying in Somerville" Workers started surveying the train corridor the week of Feb. 8. Before the engineers can proceed, they need to know soil conditions, topography, groundwater, "what the bedrock is like... where we need to work on bridges," said DOT project manager Kate Fichter. The entire process should take six months. Somerville Blog: "Green…
Topics included Somerville's Comprehensive Plan, the Community Corridor Project, and the Green Line. Meeting notes (PDF)