Ten years ago STEP came into existence to advocate for better transportation options in Somerville. One big focus was to ensure that the Commonwealth meets its legal obligation to construct the Green Line Extension. While we are still not able to board the Green Line in Somerville, progress is being made and we will continue to work toward its completion. A new Orange Line Station will open at Assembly Square in 2014, the first new transit station in the region in 25 years.

We want to extend a special invitation to you for your advocacy and work on the Green Line Extension and other important Somerville transportation improvements to celebrate our anniversary with us on May 20th – at Precinct in Union Square (back room) 7:30 – 9:00 pm for music, appetizers, and cash bar.

Before the festivities, we will hold our annual meeting from 7:00 – 7:30 to vote in steering committee officers for the coming year, pay annual dues, and other administrative business.

Wednesday, May 15, 6-8 pm
Argenziano School
290 Washington St (map)

Many were on hand Monday to celebrate the extension from Cedar Street to Lowell Street. Construction is scheduled for completion in fall 2013.

Thursday, May 9, 5-7 pm
GLX Project Office, 2nd floor
100 Summer St, Boston (map)

Phase I work is underway, including utility work and excavation support work northeast of Harvard Street Bridge in Medford.

Tuesday, April 29, 7-9 pm
VNA Assisted Living Facility (Community Room)
259 Lowell St (map)

It is a critical time to let your legislators know that you want a real solution to the state’s transportation finance situation to address current fiscal needs, meet needed Chapter 90 funds for cities and towns, address state of good repair needs, p…

Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance: “Half a loaf: the Legislature’s transportation plan”
“I believed that we had the chance to set a visionary course for a post-Big Dig transportation system. It’s like having the opportunity to invest in an exciting new business, but instead you just pay off one of your credit cards.”

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center: “The Joint Ways & Means Transportation Proposal”

Conservation Law Foundation: “MA Transportation Funding Framework: More (or really less) to the supposedly budget-minded proposal than meets the eye”
“The framework would not cover the maintenance of our transportation system, nor keep it in a state of good repair, let alone allow for any investment in modernization.”

CommonWealth Magazine: “Fear and loathing on the tax trail”
“Census data show that, as a share of their income, Massachusetts residents pay an exceedingly average tax bill. The Bay State’s overall tax bill falls squarely in the middle of the 50 states.”

State Senator Pat Jehlen’s newsletter
“I believe the Green Line Extension will be built anyway because it is legally required under the legal agreement between the state and Conservation Law Foundation to mitigate the Big Dig, and under the State Improvement Plan which is enforceable by the federal government under the Clean Air Act. But if we don’t have an adequate plan to get to a state of good repair, the federal government will turn down our application for $550 million in federal New Starts money. As I told the Globe, that will leave the state to pick up the whole $1.3 billion tab, leaving little for other projects or other needed repairs.”

Boston Globe: “Legislative transportation plan puts Green Line grant at risk, MBTA says”
“State House News Service reported that Patrick administration officials were warning that the legislative plan would eventually force ‘steep’ fare and toll hikes …

Boston Globe: “MBTA: Legislative transit plan would cost $500 million in Green Line project funding”
“The proposal released yesterday does not appear to provide funding for the MBTA’s ‘state of good repair,’ work, meaning the Federal Transit Administra…

Boston Globe: “Mass. legislative leaders unveil $500m tax plan to shore up transportation system”
The plan, while it represents a significant tax increase, falls far short of the $1.9 billion tax hike that Governor Deval Patrick has been seeking and wo…

Boston Globe: “State looks to have Green Line Extension lawsuit thrown out”
The state is seeking to have a lawsuit against the Green Line Extension Project thrown out, arguing that its main complaints surround a portion of the project that has not been…

Somerville News: “MBTA gets set to lay tracks”
“Contractor Barletta Heavy Division will start work this month on the first phase of the long-awaited project….An important first step in the $1.3 billion mass transit project, Phase One takes care of …

“Massachusetts voters see the potential benefits of raising additional revenue for transportation improvements and are open to several possible sources of revenue, according to a report on a series of polls and focus groups released today by MassINC an…

Thursday, March 14, 6-8 pm
Holiday Inn
30 Washington St (map)

The bond bill includes over $1.3 billion “for the purpose of implementing the Green Line Extension improvements; provided, that funds may be used for transportation planning, design, permitting and engineering, acquisition of interests in land, vehicle…

Summary from our friends at Medford Green Line Neighborhood Alliance…
Phase I of the project consists of three main elements: reconstruction of the rail bridges over Harvard Street in Medford and over Medford Street in Somerville to accommodate the e…

Tuesday, March 12, 7-9 pm
VNA Assisted Living Facility (Community Room)
259 Lowell St (map)

Boston Globe: “Davey defends transportation plan, renews commitment to Green Line extension”
On the Green Line extension, a project that broke ground last year and intends to extend the line through Somerville to a terminal stop in Medford by 2020, Dav…

Wednesday, March 6, 5:30-7:30 pm
Century Bank
400 Mystic Ave, Medford (map)

Tuesday, March 5, 7 pm
St. Clement School cafeteria
579 Boston Ave, Medford (map)

Somerville Journal: “Transportation key to Somerville’s future”
“We now have a unique opportunity to restore our transportation system and we must not let it pass. With crumbling roads and bridges, severely outdated MBTA vehicles, and the specter of fu…

Here’s a recent photo showing the Orange Line tracks temporarily diverted while the station construction gets underway.

MassDOT’s February status report for the Green Line Extension is out, and MGNA has written up a great summary:

Phase I Construction
The MBTA issued a Notice to Proceed to Barletta Heavy Construction on January 31, 2013. The contractor will be introduc…

Wednesday, Feb 13, 4-6 pm
Holiday Inn
30 Washington St (map)

The City of Somerville has posted the presentation from last month’s Somerville by Design meeting, including sketches and renderings based on community input. Download the presentation.

Monday, Feb 4, 7-9 pm
VNA Assisted Living Facility (Community Room)
259 Lowell St (map)

On SCATV, Wig Zamore, representing STEP, MVTF, MBTA ROC, and Logan CAC and Health Study, speaks with Ellin Reisner, President of STEP, and Lynn Weissman, Co-President of Friends of the Community Path about the progress of various transportation project…

Be sure the read the comments on the following articles. The vast majority of area residents want the Green Line!

Boston Globe: “Medford residents file suit over Green Line Extension”
“Medford residents Bill Wood and Carolyn Rosen have sued the state …

Monday, Jan 28, 7-9 pm
VNA Assisted Living Facility (Community Room)
259 Lowell St (map)

Somerville Patch: “Patrick Presents Ambitious Transportation Plan With Green Line Implications”
“The federal government, in accepting the Green Line Extension into the first stages of its New Starts program, which could fund much of the project, said o…

Somerville Patch: “Patrick Presents Ambitious Transportation Plan With Green Line Implications”
“The federal government, in accepting the Green Line Extension into the first stages of its New Starts program, which could fund much of the project, said o…

On Jan 8, city planners presented the results of the Somerville By Design process, envisioning future neighborhoods that will be getting new Green Line stops. The focus was Gilman Square, Lowell Street and Ball Square stations.

Somerville Journal: “Somerville planners outline walkable city vision”
The design strategy and process was outlined by DC resident and author of “Walkable City,” Jeff Speck, Principal at Speck & Associates and a consultant to the city helping to design new mixed-use, transit-oriented, walkable neighborhoods. Displaying photos from a chic walkway in Amsterdam to a blighted streetscape in Las Vegas, Speck said Somerville is already well on its way to becoming America’s most walkable city, as Mayor Joe Curtatone envisions.

Somerville Scout: “Somerville’s proposed Green Line makeover”
George Proakis, Somerville’s planning director, introduced Speck to more than 100 attendees at the Tuesday night gathering. “I’m incredibly impressed with the turnout,” Proakis says, adding that it’s extremely important for the community to shape the future of neighborhoods potentially affected by the proposed Green Line extension.

Somerville Patch: “Magoun Square Could Get ‘Naked’ … in a City Planning Kind of Way”
A “naked intersection” in Magoun Square, a tower in Gilman Square and a new bridge lined with storefronts in Ball Square: Those were some of the ideas presented Tuesday night for the future of those city squares.

Download the presentation from the Dec 11 public meeting, which shows the proposed route of the Path from Lowell St to Inner Belt.

Somerville News: “A large turnout gathers for discussion of the Community Path and GLX”

James Aloisi’s three short articles have excellent background information on our state’s increasingly dire transportation finance crisis, as well as thoughtful proposed solutions that go well beyond previous efforts that merely kicked the can down the …

Somerville News: “For the Green Line, a milestone; for Assembly Square, an upgrade”
“Despite the delays and the doubters, despite all the foot-dragging and hand-wringing by opponents of transportation investment, the people of this city have won a majo…

Representative Denise Provost

A good day for Somerville! Politicians, residents, and businesses gathered yesterday to celebrate the kickoff of Phase 1 construction of the Green Line Extension.

“Today, we’re here to reaffirm our commitment to seeing this project get under way. Fo…

Tuesday, Dec 11, 6-8 pm
Holiday Inn
30 Washington St (map)

Monday, Dec 10, 7-9 pm
VNA Assisted Living Facility (Community Room)
259 Lowell St (map)

The Green Line Extension Design Working Group met on Nov 15 and got an overview of station designs, including new renderings of the future Lechmere station. (Our Green Line map is updated with the latest images and plans.)

We also met members from the…

Source: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

“Somerville, Cambridge weigh Inner Belt bridge for Community Path”
“We still do not have a complete and safe route to Cambridge and Boston that is agreed to by all parties and funded,” says Alan Moore, co-president of Friends of the Community Path, whi…

Boston Globe: “Mass. tax hike on the table for roads and transit”
Nearly six years after a bipartisan commission sounded the alarm about a transportation system in a crisis so severe that it carried a shortfall of nearly $1 billion a year, Governor Dev…

From MGNA…
The MBTA Green Line Extension project team is working to modify the Ball Square station design in Medford to accommodate an unexpectedly problematic NStar electrical line.

At a meeting of the GLX Design Working Group Thursday night at Tuf…

Monday, Oct 22, 7-9 pm
VNA Assisted Living Facility (Community Room)
259 Lowell St (map)

Wednesday, Oct 17, 6:30-8:30 pm
The Armory
191 Highland Ave (map)

Somerville Patch: “Aldermen Authorize $8 Million Bond for Union Square Green Line Site”
Most of the bond – $6 million of it – would go toward acquiring land, between Prospect Street, Somerville Avenue and Allen Street, for the station and accompanying …

“Somerville Congressman Capuano continues criticism of Green Line Extension”
“This is not easy, it’s very, very hard,” Pat Jehlen told the Journal in an interview. “That’s why we have to do it together, so we need the support of the public and business…

Somerville Patch: “City Wants to Make Zoning Laws Less Byzantine, Plan for Green Line”
The city of Somerville is launching a urban planning initiative called “Somerville by Design,” which will kick off with a “visioning session” on Oct. 17.

Monday, Sept 24, 7-9 pm
VNA Assisted Living Facility (Community Room)
259 Lowell St (map)

Science Daily: “Near-Roadway Air Pollution a Major Contributor to Asthma in Los Angeles County, Research Finds”
“Our findings suggest that there are large and previously unappreciated public health consequences of air pollution in Los Angeles County an…

Tuesday, Sept 18, 1:30 pm & 5 pm
MassDEP Headquarters
Washington Street Conference Center, 2nd Floor, Rooms A, B, & C
One Winter St, Boston (map)

The MassDOT Board of Directors approved a contract for final design and preliminary engineering work on the Green Line Extension. It was awarded to a joint venture of AECOM Technical Services and HNTB Corporation. Construction on Phase I of the project…

Monday, Aug 13, 7:30-9 pm
VNA Assisted Living Facility (Community Room)
259 Lowell St (map)

Somerville Journal: “Somerville Community Path being extended – somewhat”
“We need MassDOT to fully fund Community Path construction as part of the Green Line Extension, or as mitigation for delays,” Weissman said.

Somerville Patch: “Agreement Says Union Square Green Line Station Operational by 2017″
“According to the announcement, the city will purchase land in Union Square for the station and then grant a permanent easement to the MBTA.”

Boston Globe: “Somer…

By Ken Krause of MGNA…

Groundbreaking for Phase I construction of the Green Line Extension (GLX), and the hiring of a new team to complete engineering and design work are among the milestones anticipated for the project this fall, according to a rep…

Monday, July 23, 7-9 pm
VNA Assisted Living Facility (Community Room)
259 Lowell St (map)

From The Atlantic…

Thanks to all who visited our booth at ArtBeat yesterday – and to all who stand with us to support the Green Line Extension! Click below for photos.

From our friends at MGNA…

The MBTA today began to solicit bids for Phase I of the Green Line Extension project with an advertisement in the Boston Globe.

Boston Globe: “Feds approve Green Line Extension environment plan”
“Without the environmental thumbs-up, the project would lose a shot at $557 million in federal New Starts grants requested by the state and currently under review by the Federal Transit…

Tufts Medicine Magazine: “Big Road Blues: Living Near a Highway Can Be Bad for Your Health in a Million Small Ways” (PDF)
“The goal of the study, expected to wrap up a year from now, is to understand how vehicular pollution affects the health of people…

Somerville Journal: “5 questions with Somerville Unsung Hero Ellin Reisner”
The Unsung Heroines, who were identified by the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women working in partnership with state legislators, are extraordinary women whose wor…

Wednesday, June 27, 7-9 pm
Brickbottom Artists Building
1 Fitchburg St (map)

Because the State will miss its legal deadline to open the Green Line Extension in 2014, it’s obligated to implement additional projects that will provide equivalent clean air benefits until the Green Line does open. These interim offset projects need…

Somerville Journal column: “Time for ‘adult conversation’ on Somerville Green Line Extension”
“The options are clear – either we roll the dice for an all-or-nothing approach and hope the legislature and future governors are committed to the GLX, or we …

Boston Globe: “Public transit ills called a health issue”
“You can get a significant amount of your recommended daily physical activity by simply walking to the local bus or T stop,” said Maddie Ribble, director of policy and communications for the Mas…

Monday, June 18, 7-9 pm
VNA Assisted Living Facility (Community Room)
259 Lowell St (map)

Somerville Patch: “Green Line Extension Takes Step Forward With Feds”
“The Green Line Extension has permission from the administration to enter the ‘preliminary engineering’ phase of planning. This puts the proposed Green Line Extension on a master lis…

Somerville Patch: “House Approves Non-Traditional Green Line Construction Method, Says State Rep”
The Construction Manager/General Contractor model has been used for buildings in Massachusetts, “but not for transportation projects,” State Rep. Denise P…

Thursday, May 31, 6-8 pm
Argenziano School
290 Washington St (map)

Somerville Patch: “Patrick Affirms Support for Green Line Extension After Somerville Campaign Visit”
“I want the project to happen … and it’s obligated [to happen],” he said. He said federal rules require the state to have a clear plan for completing…

MassDOT has posted its presentation on retaining walls and noise barriers, from the May 22 public hearing.

Boston Globe: “Massport should help solve T mess”
“Forward Funding dumped billions of dollars of state debt on to the MBTA, and assumed without reason that growing costs of service expansion into lower-density suburbs could be supported on a tax base t…

A Somerville Journal guest column…

It seems like the same old story for our city. The state continues delaying the long-promised Green Line but pushes unwanted repair of the McCarthy overpass ahead of completing the planning study to remove the over…

Somerville Patch: “Bus Diversions on Orange Line to Begin in June”
Construction on the new Assembly Square Orange Line stop, which has already begun, will lead to periodic bus diversions on the subway line beginning in June and lasting until the statio…

Wednesday, May 23, 6:30-8:30 pm
Michael Capuano Early Childhood School
150 Glen St (map)

Tuesday, May 22, 6-8 pm
Holiday Inn
30 Washington St (map)

Monday, May 21, 7-9 pm
SCAT meeting room
90 Union Square (map)

Somerville News: “Boston MPO approves funding for Route 16 GLX stop”
“The MPO recently approved $8.1 million worth of funding to go toward the research, development and construction of a Rt. 16 Green Line stop as part of the Green Line Extension Projec…

Statehouse News Service: “T board briefed on worker assaults, discusses Green Line project costs”
“Board members also approved a $19 million contract to Gilbane Building Company/HDR Engineering Inc. for design and engineering services for the Green Lin…

Boston Globe: “Panel to examine Somerville transportation systems”
The 13-member Transportation Research, Innovation and Planning group includes current elected officials, police, community groups, and consultants, and will have a broad mandate to reco…

At two pubic hearings in March, MassDOT revealed revised site plans and 3D renderings of the future Green Line stations for Gilman Square, Lowell St, Ball Square, and College Ave. To view the large images, go to our interactive map and click on the s…

Boston Globe: “MBTA unveils 23 percent fare hike; limited service cuts also proposed”
“I can’t emphasize enough this is a one-year solution. And all things being the same, we will be back in the same position a year from now, looking at service cuts an…

Sent to the Board of Directors of MassDOT

As residents of Somerville advocating for good transportation for our city and the region, we are writing to express our dismay over the rush to repair the McCarthy Overpass on the McGrath Highway. It was with…

On February 27, MassDOT held a meeting for potential Green Line extension designers and contractors. Download the slides for more details on construction phases and the Construction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC) process.

Somerville News: “MassDOT Secretary talks GLX plan”
“The FTA and the administrator, Peter Rogoff, are well aware of the Green Line Extension being a top priority of the Patrick Administration, and obviously the Governor enjoys some close relationships …

Boston Globe: “MBTA hearing on cuts draws rowdy, heartfelt crowd in Somerville”
“The MBTA is a lifeline, and what the MBTA wants to do would devastate the community,” said Ronald Leaks, a community organizer for Groundwork Somerville.

Somerville Patch…

The MBTA needs to hear from you about how the proposed fare increases and service cuts will affect you and your family as well as what you want them to do to address the transportation financial crisis. Please attend the Public Hearing on February 28 a…

Click to view maps of the area and station as well as 3D renderings. You can also download the Nov 2011 MassDOT presentation (PDF).

“Occupy Somerville protests potential MBTA cuts and fair hikes”
“The bitter debate over fare hikes and service cuts has given new and focused momentum to the Occupy movement, which has been criticized for lacking a specific agenda. In addition to talki…

At the Feb 8 pubic hearing, MassDOT revealed revised site plans and 3D renderings of these two future Green Line stations. To view the large images, go to our interactive map and click on the stations. (Or you can download MassDOT’s slides.)

Boston Globe: “Air pollution tied to stroke risk”
Car exhaust and other air pollution, even at levels considered safe by federal regulations, may substantially increase the risk of a stroke, a research team from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center rep…

The Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership (STEP) and the Medford Green Line Neighborhood Alliance (MGNA) are jointly hosting a community meeting to discuss the proposed extension of the Green Line service

Having the Green Line go to Route 16 will also serve Somerville residents so STEP hopes that you will support the goals of Green Line advocates in Somerville and Medford by signing the petition for the terminal stop at Route 16.  There are some Medford residents who opposed this location for the end of the line and want to end it the stop to be built  near Tufts.  Take a minute and sign the petition on line.…

There is still time to sign up to have your cat spayed/neutered at low cost on Saturday, April 26th.