by David Dahlbacka in All Ages, Beat Reporter, Development and Zoning, Environment and Open Space, Events, Green Line, Transportation Projects
Posted on October 9, 2011 at 8:38 pm
| November 2, 2011 | ||
| 6:30 pm | to | 9:00 pm |
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Mystic Valley Parkway Green Line Extension Final Public Meeting
Wed. Nov. 2 6:30 – 9:00 PM
Medford City Hall
Council Chambers
85 George P. Hassett Dr.
Medford MA (map)
This final meeting will focus on draft recommendations MAPC has developed regarding land use, zoning, economic development, and transportation for the area around a potential Green Line Station at Mystic Valley Parkway.
Completing the Green Line Extension to Route 16 is essential to Somerville’s future. Make your voice heard.
For more information, see Green Line Extension to Somerville Project .
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Beat Report: 11/2/11 Green Line Extension Meeting
Bottom Line at Top
Design to finish 2012, full funding to start construction in January 2014, after which there is a 50-month schedule to finish late 2018. Requires relocating commuter rail, reconstructing bridges, moving utility poles. Political leaders and citizens frustrated, say they aren’t going away.
Rough Notes
Commuter rail relocation and Green Line Extension (GLX). Need to move retaining walls (4 miles) then rebuild with GLX. Want to eliminate 3 bridges. Doing design thru 2012. Full funding to start Jan 2014. In total, a 50 month sched (2018). When relocating commuter rail, also building infrastructure and maintenance facility. Requires 39 takings of properties. Will reconstruct 5 bridges where there isn’t enough room for four tracks. Lots of utility poles to relocate.
Noise and retaining walls (5000 ft.) Once walls complete, GLX can start. Need to move commuter rail twice, once for utilities then again for tracks.
12000 ft. on other side. Corridor complete to start GLX proper 2015 to 2018.
Maintenance facility. Plan to start revenue operation in mid-June 2018.
Provost: Welcome. We were reasonable. Experienced frustration. Why is it news that bridges need to be rebuilt? You are doing whole projects in an untimely manner.
Desmond: The delay is the number one issue this year. The BLX is not a gift, we’ve been waiting for a long time. Concerned about children’s health. This issue won’t go away.
Somerville transportation director Rasmussen: Want Inner Belt bridge to accompany community path included in project. Both heavy rail and commuter rail, and Route 16 too.
Cambridge person: Wants GLX to go all the way to Rt 16. GLX was an important mitigation for big dig 10 years ago. Need mitigation for delays. Have list of cambridge projects.
Jehlen: We’re still here and we’re not going away. There was no delay on big dig payments. We are aware of your sincere efforts. We know the project needs federal and state money. Need more jobs from transportation and education.
White: No thanks. Shameful. The GLX should have been in operation in 2011. We changed our zoning in expectation of change. (Class warfare. Occupy transport building.)
Connolly: The Red Line bypassed Davis Square at first. Now Davis Square is famous. We’re not going away.
Sullivan: delay causes people to believe it isn’t happening. Kids have asthma. Newton and west have high walls, we have low walls falling down.
Morris : CPR lawyer. Commented on last ea. 2 problems: settlement should go to Medford hillside. Rt 16 would meet reqs. Not in compliance w priorities required. Dep has not petitioned for extension . Need to make all motivations within glx area.
Kaiser: Cambridge. Concerned that Cambridge is participating less. 20 ft higher than before. Lechmere sq crossing. Cambridge Moved turning intersection into ped plan. You should fix that.
Local 88 rep: we do good work in tunnels. Bike path on top fine. Utility tunnels.
Oliver: don’t understand why we can’t phase parts in. Why move comm rail first? Why not phase in stops ? Why can’t comm rail can’t stop at wash st?
Chase: livable streets. Think of interim offsets like discouraging car travel. Gas tax, congestion pricing. Raising money would help politics of car based tax. Spread dollar thru mass.
Blazic: long time brickbottom. Lots of idling trains. Look at 2015 to have zero idling plus tier 4 engines and switchers. Move idling trains into bet. Noise impacts after project not mentioned.
Milder: here we are again. Should be open now. Interim offset projects must benefit us here. What if projects elsewhere
Q:,every year Charlie brown would try to kick the football. Splat. Massdot not Lucy. Ask us what we can do here. MIT and Harvard have resources. Imagine we beat our schedules. Heroism. Get comm path too. You would make the trains on time
Van Allston: move of maintain from yard 8. Helpful changes near brickbottom. Time line unacceptable . Best offset is rt 16. Also less diesel emissions, idling. Plugin hybrids. Make offsets be here.
McGinnis: congrats. Problems: college ave doesn’t satisfy sipp commitment. Hope mirror l alternative still possible. Offsets: discourage car use. Lack of funding a serious problem. Discourage diesel use.
Weissman: thanks for support for comm path. Need funding for it. Hard for people to understand sipp commitment (acronym). Violation of clean air act. Length of delay shocking. no mitigation project can match glx so keep it here and move it faster.
Carter:
Reisner: support position that offsets should do rt 16 and comm path. Projects should be prioritized in tip. Design team working hard, but should work harder.
Moore: thank for your efforts. Done 99%well but too slow . Let us help you with money. Might be better to go with state money. Ea shows benefit. Details need to be changed. New glx track direct to maintain facility. Will brak comm path Acess to north point
Wig: thank those who mentioned health. Delays caused by gov not supporting this fast enough. rt 16 and comm path. Chart of affected comm. Particulate data out of date. Wary of diesel stops in inner communities.
Martins:
Woods: thank dot. Supports to college ave. Read risk assessment . You’ve been stopping dot. Never said Disabled could participate. Medfordians 99% african americans at meeting say don’t want glx rt 16. Medford too stupid. don’t want it yet. Mitigation will delay. Too
Rosen: believe ea not aligned w risk assessment. Eoc monitoring social equity of dot. Taking trees without offset to water table. Need to slant walls to not concentrate pollution. Hanging utilities off walls? Drainage to mystic river?
Bonham: cofc want bridge rt 16 plus comm path. Takings when? Need certainty of timeline. Heard abt glx when I ingrade school.
Cramer: get rid of step bt step approach. All these regulations. Mbta should privatize buses and use money for this.
Sullivan:
Newman: every day see benefit in davis sq. By important that comm path be codesigned. Temp comm rail stops in ball sq.
Elizabeth Bail: I want to remind you that many people in Medford want GLX to to all the way to Rt 16. People need clean frequent transportation. It’s a regional project, we are in this together. 2000 plus signed petition on Rt 16 and 1000 were from Medford.
Salvucci: When I was Secretary of Transportation I made commitments to mass transit. The Big Dig was not for clean air. Big Dig would increase car use, reinstate gridlock. You are unlikely to get Federal money. Prudent to assume none. Don’t expect North Adams to pay higher gas taxes. Massachusetts Port Authority was a big beneficiary of Big Dig. You could get money from the Port Authority. Half of the tunnel traffic is going to Logan airport. We should consider GLX a part of Big Dig left unfinished.
Dahlbacka: We are not going away. Make sure that mitigations go where the health effects are.
Bestor: There are serious problems with health problems in Somerville. You could help in North Adams with raising their consciousness.
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