by David Dahlbacka in Assembly Square, Beat Reporter, Events, Orange Line, Transportation Projects
Posted on May 13, 2012 at 7:33 pm
Last Modified on May 13, 2012 at 7:34 pm
| May 13, 2012 | ||
| 6:30 pm | to | 8:30 pm |
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Assembly Orange Line T-Stop Community Meeting
Wed. May 23 6:30 – 8:30 PM
Michael Capuano Early Childhood School
150 Glen St.
Somerville MA (map)
MassDOT and the MBTA are holding a community meeting on the new Assembly Square T-Stop. It will include updates on the station project and proposed bus diversions.
Managing neighborhood impacts is necessary for the success of the Assembly Square T-Stop project.
For more information, see Assembly Square Orange Line T-Stop Project .
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Beat Report: 5/23/12 Assembly Orange Line T-Stop Community Meeting
Bottom Line on Top
The Assembly Square T-Stop is being built. Site preparation began in April and construction will go on for 33 months. The T-Stop is due to open in Fall 2014. There will be diversions of service to buses, usually on weekends, starting the weekend of June 9. MBTA offered to work with the contractor (S&R Construction) and Jobs for Somerville to direct work to Somerville residents.
Rough Notes
Meeting at the Capuano Center at 6:30. Usual hard time finding the place. Lightly attended.
Milestones:
Notice to Proceed to S&R Construction: Dec. 2011. There is a 33 month construction schedule. Site preparation begun 4/12.
1. Move southbound track. (Buses replace Orange Line.) Contractor has to move track, signals, etc.
2. Construct Station.
3. Build new southbound track.
4. Do finishing work.
Contacts: Terry McCarthy (Project Manager)
Lonny Fidalgo (Resident Engineer). S&R Construction Enterprises.
Service interruptions coming. First on a weekend in a few weeks. Work done after hours (1-4 AM).
Public-private partnership for funding (unusual).
Bus diversions. Friday 9PM or early access. Diversion might be Community College to Wellington.
Q: Will there be unified signage?
A: Notify at least 3 days in advance. Seat (leaflet) drops and notices at stations. Planned boundary from North Station to Oak Grove.
Will be 135 bus diversions. There will be a 6 month in 2013 will not be many.
Q: Stop buses at Assembly Square station location?
A: No plans, but a good idea.
Changes to boulevard almost complete.
Q: Drop off at Wellington Station garage?
A: Try to keep diversion buses separate from regular bus service.
Prefer to have in May. People aren’t around in July.
Want to be 3 months early on disruptions.
June 9 first weekend diversion. Another project (e.g. Red Line) can’t use a diversion, so we grab it.
Q: What other large diversions? Salt & pepper bridge?
A; S&P not ready. Red Line signals, Ruggles signals, Clayton Street bridge.
Q: Gov. Center project?
A: Not out to bid for another year.Gov Center station to close for 2 years, have a dedicated shuttle system for Orange, Green, Blue lines in area. Trying to disrupt as little as possible, but fact remains they are building within an active system.
Q: How to contact you?
A: Link on web site.
Q: What about hiring locals?
A: Have plan from 4 corners in Dorchester. Spoke to owner of S&R. Have 18% minority participation requirement. Is local union workforce for pile drivers, iron workers, etc. S&R worked with local business agents to foster local use. MBTA can’t tell them who to hire. Require certified payrolls. Have record of everyone who works and where they live. Not public info. MBTA has a workforce report on web site, maybe 3-4 months back.
Q: What percentages?
A: 18% minority and woman-owned business requirement.
Q: Including immigrants?
A: Using federally-prescribed lists.
Q: E-J lists? Does it conform with nonincome E-J definitions?
A: Title 6.
Q: Not same as E-J definition. Applies to all Federally funded projects.
A: 18% is racial and ethnic minorities.
Q: Would be helpful to see overlap between your definitions and Federal definitions.
Q: Where is web site?
A: http://www.mbta.com/projects
Q: Does it include community of origin? Somerville is a working-class community. Needs local jobs.
A: MBTA can’t go to union and say “you can only send Somerville people” to project.
Q: Why not?
A: City of Boston has local hiring ordinance.
Q: Somerville doesn’t. Trying to get one.
A: Funding sources dictate hiring policies.
Q: What about Science Museum?
A: Part Cambridge, part Boston. New York subcontracort says he’s using local because he’s using the local ironworkers.
Q: Have heard MBTA has a commitment to helping locals. We will hold up our end, talk to the unions, but it really matters to this community because a lot of money is going to the MBTA.
A: Will work with contractor on dialog with trade unions.
Q: Add community of origin or zip code to your reports.
Q: Will be happy to meet contractor.
A: General contractor is nonunion. Hiring union subcontractors.
Q: How did 4-corners deal with nonunion?
A: Were transparent about which subcontractors were being used. It’s on the report.
Q: Is there provision for apprenticeships?
A: Through the trade union programs. They start at apprentice level, may last as long as 4 years. Go to school 2-3 nights a week.
Q: Somerville has a jobs deficit of 6000 jobs/sq. mi. Cambridge has jobs excess of 5000 jobs/sq. mi. Trying to get workforce balanced with jobs.
A: We’ll work with you and contractor. We can’t tell contractor to hire particular people.
Q: Looking for a good-faith effort. Some contractors better than others.
Q: When will you have meeting with us about local job plan?
A: Will meet through the outreach person. (Tony)
Q: Seems you are making the decisions here. We should talk with the ones who are making the decisions.
A: I don’t go anywhere without Tony.
Q: Add some notices at Davis, Harvard, Central Red Line stations, so people can pick a bus instead of taking T and going through diversion.
Q: When will station open?
A: Fall 2014.
Q: Any design changes?
A: No.
Q: When is structure to be built?
A: Summer to fall need to relocate track. Then put in pile foundation and build new track. Need to reconstruct retaining wall at Dana Bridge. Earliest station construction Spring 2013. By end of 2013 you should see shape of structure, but takes 6-9 months to complete (signals, communications infrastructure).
Q: Open Fall 2014 (33 month). Will there be work after station open?
A: Open station when “substantially complete”, meaning it’s safe to operate. There is a break-in period of about 6 months. Temporary seating replaced, etc.
Q: What kind of public art planned?
A: Relationship with Artists for Humanity. They are to add color selection to Draw 7 Park side panels. There is also a budget item for A of H to take recycled materials and make them into things. For instance a stool made out of shopping bags. Contracted to design some benches in station.
Q: Important is way finding signs.
A: Have whole department that does way finding signs. Work with systemwide accessibility department. Two dedicated designers, have own sign shop.
Q: What will signs look like? Want to see what you have in mind.
A: Have pilot projects (Park Street, South Station). Have way finding review to add elements.
Q: Have you looked at storage facility designs? They’re adding green space and walkway. Guy who’s the project manager did the food facility at Boston Food Bank.
Q: Greenway has new art and sculpture program. Being built at Artisan Asylum in Union Square. Good location for outreach.
Q: Bus diversion June 9. Which stations?
A: Don’t know. Bus from Oak Grove to North Station (90% certain).
Q: Is it available on transit advisory? Put it on Transit web app. (Where Is The Subway?)
Q: Can you give us a date for meeting with local-hire group (Jobs for Somerville)?
A: I will get that organized.
Q: Will it be a parking garage or lot at the station?
A: MBTA has no plan to build parking.
Q: Developers have parking garages. Specific setside by IKEA, but IKEA project is soft.
Meeting closed 7:30.
[Mary Jo C. thanked me afterwards for tracking events. I asked her to pass on the suggestion that people write summaries as comments on event postings.]
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