Transportation

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)

The key issue is allowing a larger supermarket in Assembly Square at a location that should be dedicated to high-rise office and R&D space.More…

The Open House provides an opportunity to tour the new office, meet the GLX project team, get project updates, and provide feedback on the current state of the project. More…

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…

The Green Line Extension and Assembly Square T-Stop may be at risk if inadequate funding is provided. Make your views known. More…

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…

Legislators on Beacon Hill are making important decisions this week about how much to invest in our state’s transportation system. They need to hear that we want them to solve our transportation funding crisis for the long term and to … Continue reading →

Somerville Library as a digital laboratory, community service, and creative resource to both city and national users.

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…

Remediation of contaminated industrial areas in the Union Square area has been an issue. It may be in your interest to comment on the Environmental Notification Form. More…

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)

Trains carrying large amounts of flammable alcohol would pass through Somerville, including Porter Square, Brickbottom, East Broadway, and Assembly Square. More…

This project is controversial because the proposed cycle track could remove parking spaces. More…

The state’s transportation infrastructure is long overdue for repairs and maintenance. Come to this forum to learn what options are on the table. More…

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.

Another public meeting for Beacon Street Reconstruction meeting is coming on up on Tuesday, March 5th at 6:00pm in the Argenziano School cafetorium (290 Washington Street). I strongly urge all with an interest in the…

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…

Massachusetts public transportation is perpetually strapped for cash. Innovative financing options might help. More…

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

Back when Union Square developed Washington Street and Somerville very much blurred.  There were no distinct sidewalks or roadways, just a big open space where wagons, cars, trolleys and pedestrians are moved through, sharing that common space. In the intervening … Continue reading →

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.

Ethanol trains carrying large amounts of flammable liquid would pass through Somerville, including right by Brickbottom, East Broadway and Assembly Square. More…

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

Agenda includes a presentation by Ian Lockwood and opportunities for citizen input ranging from spot improvements to larger scale network visioning. More…

From the City of Somerville: We are pleased to announce the next series of Somerville by Design: the Complete Streets series.  To achieve our SomerVision Comprehensive Plan goals, and to compliment the Green Line station area plans developed by the &#…

Agenda includes two buildings on block 2 of Assembly Square. One is a food-service building and the other is a mixed-use building with retail and office uses. More…

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)

Bicycle advocates turned out to the first meetings in support of a dedicated cycle track, which is opposed by neighborhood businesses. More…

Bicycle advocates turned out to the first meetings in support of a dedicated cycle track, which is opposed by neighborhood businesses More…

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…

If a grocery store is built at the IKEA site, it should be on the first floor of a multi-story, high-value R&D building, otherwise the location is underutilized.

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.

Federal Realty has acquired the IKEA site and is considering placing a grocery there. We need to preserve upper-story R&D space at the site as well as choose a good grocer.

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”

Small business owners worry that without lots of parking spaces available immediately outside their business their sales will drop.  As the City of Somerville this past summer repurposed curbside parking spaces for bike corrals, some business owners m…

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 …

Our recent post on possible changes to pedestrian signalization in Somerville attracted the attention of Greg Hill.  He shared this video, shot here in Union Square and in Davis. It shows bikes on the sidewalks in these busy commercial districts ̷…

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)

Governor Patrick, Secretary Davey, Congressman Capuano, Mayor Curtatone, and other state and local elected officials are holding a kickoff ceremony for construction of Phase I of Green Line extension. The shovels are going into the ground. The Green Line Extension is really happening!

Bicyclists, pedestrians, and other users of the Community Path should come to this meeting and ask that the CPX crossing over the Fitchburg Line be designed in.

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…

No, there hasn’t been a premature dropping of a local New Years Eve time-ball–City Hall has dropped the ball on long-promised bike enforcement and a companion public safety campaign—yet again…

Rutherford Avenue and Sullivan Square are just over the Somerville line in Boston. Somervillians who use the Sullivan Square T-Stop should come to the meeting and participate.

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…

Come, look, listen, and participate. Neighbors and other stakeholders should assert their interests early rather than late.

Come and participate. These meetings are part of developing a badly needed long-term financing plan for the state’s transportation system.

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…

Beacon Street Reconstruction Meeting #3 Tue. Nov. 13 6:00 – 8:00 PM John F. Kennedy Elementary School Cafeteria 5 Cherry St. Somerville MA (map) This is a community meeting on proposed changes to Beacon Street called by the Somerville Office of Strat…

Agenda likely includes discussing the Community Preservation Act, the coming Green Line Extension, the Davis Square Visioning process, and the Porter Square Visioning process.

Bicycle advocates have turned out to the first two meetings in support of a dedicated cycle track.

VOTE! In addition to the Presidential and Senatorial elections we all know about, there are seven initiatives on the ballot.

Andy Wiley-Schwartz will join Visiting Scholar Aaron Naparstek to discuss a groundbreaking approach to urban planning and design that has led to the construction of more than 50 new plazas and 21 acres of new public space in New York.

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.

This meeting is intended to solicit input from the community on ideas for reconstructing Beacon Street. Changes to Beacon Street can affect people from Porter Square to Inman Square.

This is a special meeting of the Somerville Redevelopment Authority. The agenda is to approve the 2012 Union Square Revitalization Plan as amended by the BOA on Oct. 2, 2012.

Tour Date: Saturday, 10/20 from 1:30 to 4:00 pm.

Rain Date: Sunday  10/21, same time.

Agenda includes resolving two continued Special Permits for parking in Assembly Square.

This is a special meeting of the Somerville Board of Aldermen to discuss and vote on the revised Union Square Revitalization Plan. Come and observe. Citizen presence is the most important check and balance in governance.

On Saturday, October 13, the Somerville Bicycle Committee will lead the 20th annual Tour de Somerville.

This year’s theme is “Edge of the City”. We’ll ride as close as possible to the Somerville city…

Little outright opposition was expressed to the city’s proposed Union Square redevelopment plan at a public hearing on the plan Sept. 19, though many Somerville residents urged city officials to tread lightly in implementing the long-range plan.

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…

Agenda includes a discussion and possible vote on the Union Square Revitalization Plan.

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)

This meeting is called by the Somerville OSPCD to describe planned changes to Beacon Street. Changes to Beacon Street can affect people from Porter Square to Inman Square.

Agenda will likely include parking lots in Assembly Square in addition to routine cases.

This is the fifth in a series of meetings on proposed changes to Davis Square. Participation is important for a satisfactory outcome.

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…

Key issues are responding to IKEA’s withdrawal from Assembly Square and monitoring the City’s progress with the Comprehensive Plan.

Agenda includes a Public Hearing on the Union Square Revitalization Plan and discussion by the Board of Aldermen meeting as a whole.

Agenda includes committee approval of Union Square Revitalization Plan and possible rescheduling of Public Hearing.

The MBTA and the MassDOT are holding their board meeting in Somerville City Hall. Agenda likely includes the Green Line Extension and the Assembly Square Orange Line T-Stop.

The Friends of the Community Path sent this letter to the George Proakis and the Planning Board on August 17, with no reply so far:…

The status of the Green Line Extension project, among others, will be presented.

Agenda includes report on whether covenants with IKEA and FRIT apply to future purchasers of the IKEA site at Assembly Square. Approval of Union Square Revitalization Plan.

Adam Auster of Arlington, in an Aug. 19 update, notes you may now walk on the boardwalk at the Alewife Greenway path, connecting to the Minuteman Bikeway to Somerville.

See an update and photos…

I’ve never met an IKEA representative I didn’t like. In negotiations they were honorable, and as companions they were enjoyable. But despite their many virtues, I’m glad they won’t be building a store in Somerville.

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

Agenda likely includes a Special Permit for parking lots in Assembly Square blocks 5 and 6 to serve retail in blocks 1, 3, 4.

Broadway is a key commercial corridor in Somerville. Its urban design can improve the commercial potential of the neighborhood as well as its livability.

Agenda includes the Assembly Square riverfront park along the Mystic between Rt. 28 and the Winter Hill Yacht Club.

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.

Union Square has just received its own Hubway kiosk, joining the network across Boston, Cambridge and Somerville of shared bikes. Hubway provides short-term bike rentals at automated stations.  Launched in Boston last summer the program proved wildly …

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…

Construction is underway at Assembly Row, Somerville’s great hope for economic development. The path to this point has been winding.

What will the way forward bring?

John B. Kelly, friend to all Somervillians and especially BFF with Community Access Project Somerville and human rights defenders throughout Massachusetts, receives a Proclamation from Boston’s Mayor Menino, who named today, July 26, 2012, John B. Kelly Day!

From Livable Streets MassDOT has agreed that McGrath’s McCarthy Overpass over Washington Street will be removed! The hundreds of “Remove McGrath” postcards you signed, and your voice at the May 31 public meeting, made this victory p…

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.

Agenda includes changes to the Assembly Row Special Permits requesting more parking spaces for blocks 4, 5, 6.

Plan includes money for extending the Somerville Community Path from Cedar Street to Lowell Street and money for the Green Line Extension to College Avenue and Union Square. To show support for these plans, send e-mail to publicinformation@ctps.org.

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…

Agenda includes the Assembly Square 2002 Revitalization Plan, the Union Square Revitalization Plan, and the proposed SRA website.

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)

Public participation on city square improvements is essential to their success.

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…

Fare hikes and service cuts hurt economically depressed areas first. Somerville will only get its transportation needs met if the legislature adequately funds the MBTA and other mass transit.

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…

The air quality determination governs whether the state is required to do all of the Green Line Extension or whether it can quit early.

Somerville will only get its transportation needs met if the legislature adequately funds the MBTA and other mass transit.

For more information, see MPO Transportation Im

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.

LivableStreets Alliance is a non-profit organization that challenges people to think differently and to demand a system that balances transit, walking, and biking with automobiles. Their foundational principle is that urban transportation has the powe…

Mark Chase of Livable Streets short a simple video documenting the changes on Bow Street before and after the installation of the new back-in angled parking. The goal was to make the road safer for cyclists and pedestrians, as well … Continue rea…

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…

Ward 6. which includes Davis Square and part of Porter Square, may be affected by the proposed zoning change for Elm Street and Somerville Avenue.

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)

Turning McGrath Highway back into a boulevard would relink parts of Somerville that have long been severed.

Assembly Row and Assembly Square T-Stop development has started. It’s time to move ahead with the Transportation Mitigation Plan.

This year’s theme will take us from one end of the City to the other, learning about Somerville’s wealth of parks and what they used to be.

Want to avoid getting a ticket? Watch the episode and find out how, as well as what you can do to stay safe in Somerville and how to find out more on the Somerville biking culture.

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…

Managing neighborhood impacts is necessary for the success of the Assembly Square T-Stop project.

Managing neighborhood impacts is necessary for the success of the Green Line Extension project.

Agenda includes the acquisition of 258 Somerville Ave., the status of Assembly Square and Union Square, and the creation of a web page for the SRA.

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…

Turning McGrath Highway back into a boulevard would relink parts of Somerville that have long been severed.

Agenda includes expansion of South Station (may replace the Grand Union project), and changes to the Draft Long Range Plan (currently still includes the Rt. 16 Green Line stop).

Ceremony marks the start of retail/residential construction of Phase I of the Assembly Square mixed-use development.

Now that the Somerville Comprehensive Plan has been endorsed by the city and adopted by the Planning Board, I would like to pass along a suggestion.

The state and the MBTA “are doing everything possible to hit targeted dates” for the opening of the Green Line Extension in the face of deep MBTA financial issues, a Mass. Department of Transportation spokeswoman said.

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…

The ResiStat meetings provide an opportunity for citizens to hear what the city government is doing and for the city government to hear citizen’s concerns.

The HUD block grants are a very important source of funding for affordable housing in Somerville.

The Gilman Street bridge design must be consistent with the Gilman Square Green Line T-Stop.

Agenda includes adopting the Somerville Comprehensive Plan.

Agenda likely includes a resolution of support for the Somerville Comprehensive Plan.

Agenda includes Magoun Square, Union Square, and the Somerville Comprehensive Plan.

Two years ago, I began making a Google Map of obscure stairways, ramps, paths, and shortcuts in and near Somerville. Since Google Map URLs are quite long, I gave this map a shorter one that’s easy to remember:

http://TinyURL.com/ObscureSomerville

The Inner Belt struggle was the first time Boston-area neighborhoods stood up for their own interests with regard to transportation improvements.

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…

This session explores how progressive transportation and planning policies can strengthen a city’s economy, encourage exciting new urban development, and improve quality of life and long-term sustainability.

This session explores how grassroots, Internet-empowered “tactical urbanism” concepts are changing the way we plan, design and program urban public space.

Agenda includes Magoun Square, Union Square, Somerville Avenue, planned bridge repairs by Mass DOT, and the Comprehensive Plan.

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.

Agenda includes Assembly Square Blocks 1 and 4 and small changes to the Assembly Square PUD. Adopting the Somerville Comprehensive Plan may be deferred.

This is a joint meeting of the BOA Land Use and Housing and Community Development Committees. The agenda includes adopting the Somerville Comprehensive Plan.

Agenda includes evaluating whether the City should adopt the Somerville Comprehensive Plan.

Progressive urban planning requires not only urban transformation, but also neighborhood enhancement and conservation.

Public participation in designing neighborhood T-stops is essential to their success. Come and make your views known.

Join Mass Senior Action in telling the MBTA…”Bail Out the Riders, Build Massachusetts!”

Massachusetts public transit is grossly underfunded. How do we address this problem? (Note: Morning event.)

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 …

Public participation in designing neighborhood T-stops is essential to their success. Come and make your views known.

Next to road repairs, community housing has the most immediate effect of all City programs on the day to day lives of Somerville residents. Come and make your views known.

Agenda includes status reports on Assembly Square and the Green Line Extension, acquisition of 258 Somerville Ave.

The McGrath overpass cuts Somerville in pieces. A boulevard would work better with the new Green Line T-Stop at Union Square.

This program considers the changes that were proposed to deal with the MBTA’s dire financial condition. Panelists are State Representative Denise Provost, Victory Allah of Urban Family Outreach, Ellin Reisner of STEP, and Rafael Mares, Attorney for the…

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…

Community corridor planning is essential to making the best use of the new Green Line T-Stops. Come and make your voices heard.

Agenda includes Assembly Square Order of Conditions (OOC) for changes to Block 3 and to Shore Drive in Ten Hills.

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).

This Monday, the Architectural Access State Board will hear the City of Somerville’s request to waive the necessity to place an accessible ramp adjacent to a proposed shortcut between the Lowell St. bridge and the future Community Path Extension. Public transportation stewardship begins at home! Let’s encourage Somerville’s deciders to sTop wasting local and sTate transportation resources on exclusive facilities- and instead, plan for the future by designing accessible multi-modal pedestrian routes at every step.

“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…

Agenda not available (2/20/12). The Design Review Committee provides design criteria, guidance and recommendations to permit applicants. Its mandate is to maintain and enhance the natural, aesthetic, and cultural heritage of the City and to preserve the value of land and buildings.

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.)

The Community Access Project and other disability rights colleagues appeared at a Hearing to hear how the City rationalized deferring corrections of recent streetscape construction mistakes. And we discovered that even the surveys are not being completed correctly.

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…

MBTA service cuts and fare hikes hit everyone in Somerville. Come and make your views known.

Somerville Representative Provost has just published a piece at bostinno called: MBTA Troubles Just a Symptom of Systemic Crisis.
This Monday February 6, 2012 at 11:30 will be the Public Hearing on Rep. Provost ‘s House Bill 2659, a bill relative to transportation finance and equity. Location: State House, room A-1.
Rep. Provost article link: http://bostinno.com/2012/02/01/mbta-troubles-just-a-symptom-of-systemic-crisis/

Agenda includes further discussion and possible vote on the Porter Square/Wilson Square zoning change, which has proved controversial.

Agenda includes the early bridge and demolition package, affecting the Medford Street Rail Bridge (Somerville), the Harvard Street Rail Bridge (Medford), and 21 Water Street (Cambridge).

Agenda not available (1/1/12). The Design Review Committee provides design criteria, guidance and recommendations to permit applicants. Its mandate is to maintain and enhance the natural, aesthetic, and cultural heritage of the City and to preserve the value of land and buildings.

This meeting will present five options for fixing the break in the Minuteman Trail at Mass Ave. and Rt. 60 in Arlington Center, which forces bicyclists onto the streets and sidewalks.

Agenda includes the proposed zoning changes to Somerville Avenue from Wilson Square to Porter Square, White Street, and Elm Street from White Street to Wilson Square. “What’s in it for us?”

Agenda includes converting the existing Mystic Water Works into a 25 unit affordable housing apartment building.

The City of Somerville is proposing zoning changes to Somerville Avenue from Wilson Square to Porter Square, White Street, and Elm Street from White Street to Wilson Square. While this zoning change can bring definite benefits to the city in tax revenue, some abutters are asking “What’s in it for us?”

The City of Somerville submitted a variance application on December 2, 2011 that stated that a “proposed secondary stair case” was being considered for the west sidewalks of Lowell St. Bridge into the future Max’sGreen. Since there’s already a staircase less than 200 feet away, why does the City want to waste 109K of public funds on that second staircase?

According to state law, Redevelopment Authorities are empowered to buy and sell property, acquire property through eminent domain, and grant tax concessions. Agenda not available (12/11/11).

Public participation in station designs is essential to making them work with the neighborhoods.

The CIP includes the Green Line Extension and the Assembly Square T-Stop.

Continuing the Green Line Extension to Mystic Valley Parkway will complete the integration of West Somerville and Medford into the Green Line.

Light rail mass transit is a good thing, but directing commuter rail trains, including diesel trains, through the middle of Cambridge is controversial.

This is the regular meeting of the Somerville Design Review Committee. Agenda not available (12/4/11).

Agenda includes 343-351 Summer St., a controversial development that includes residential and a replacement for the existing VFW club.

Interactive Somerville is running a design competition for the area around the proposed Gilman Square station.

This is the regular meeting of the Mystic River Watershed Steering Committee. This committee, sponsored by the Federal EPA, works to improve water quality and environmental conditions in the Mystic River watershed. Agenda not available (12/4/11).

The Mystic Riverfront Park upgrades are a big part of the improvements to Assembly Square resulting from the Assembly Square PUD.

Agenda includes the acquisition of 258 Somerville Ave. and updates on Assembly Square and Union Square. Note: the Somerville Redevelopment Authority does not have a web page.

Agenda includes an update on the Order of Conditions for Assembly Square and a new fence for the Bike Path Community Garden.

Agenda includes 343-351 Summer St., a mixed-use building including a new VFW hall near Davis Square.

Attend the launch party for interactivesomeville.org, a new forum for discussions about the Green Line Extension and other events. Managing the GLX extension and its integration with the community requires public participation.

This is a first look at the proposed design for the Community Path. All concerned with the path and the Green Line Extension should show up and comment.

Agenda includes an update on the Somerville Comprehensive Plan and a signage change at a restaurant at 379 Somerville Ave. Note change of venue.

It is very important that the public catch up with the Assembly Square T-stop project progress and decisions.

The comment period ends 11/23/11. This is your chance to provide input to Federal guidelines on access by persons with disabilities.

Over 80% of Somerville’s new sidewalks and curb cuts, installed since 2004, are hazardous for people with various types of disabilities (one-in-five). These infrastructure improvements don’t even adhere to basic, standard building code. See a listing of the first 50 locations that the City of Somerville promises to re-do, equalling about $500K wasted the first time around- for starters.

This meeting is called by the MBTA to discuss temporary changes in Red Line Service due to construction from Harvard to Alewife Station. The Red Line is a crucial connection between West Somerville and the rest of Boston. If you need it, find out what’s going on.

On Thursday, 6 pm, November 3rd, at the VNA, 259 Lowell St., the Board of Aldermen’s Public Safety Committee will discuss the Administration’s disinclination to implement a promised Bicycle Safety Campaign for the city’s cyclists…

Agenda includes Assembly Square Blocks 1 and 4 and sewer and drain work in Ten Hills. This work helps fulfill the financial conditions needed for the success of the Assembly Square DIF and iCubed programs.

Melissa Hoffer of the Conservation Law Foundation will speak on the role of legal advocacy in environmental protection and restoration.

The group will review the draft comprehensive plan document and discuss the stakeholder’s presentation.

Agenda includes a special permit for dry boat storage at 74 Foley Street in Assembly Square, possibly for boats from the Winter Hill Yacht Club.

Agenda includes 343-351 Summer St. for a special permit to develop a new two to three story mixed-use building consisting of a VFW hall and 31 residential units.

Agenda includes Assembly Square Block 3, a Special Permit for two levels of retail and restaurant, including a 12-screen cinema, with residential above. This development helps fulfil the financial conditions needed for the success of the Assembly Square DIF and iCubed programs.

At Chester and Elm Streets in Davis Square, the brick curb cuts have been replaced with concrete, compliant ones. People using wheelchairs and other rolling mobility devices at this location can now rock and roll to the beat of the Ville, knowing that they don’t have to “pull the hill” at either end of the crosswalk. Keep up the good work, Mayor Joe!

Completing the Green Line Extension to Route 16 is essential to Somerville’s future. Make your voice heard.

This hearing is preceded at 6:00 by a Shovel Ready Rally and Mock Groundbreaking in front of Somerville High School to protest Green Line delays. It is essential that the Green Line Extension be carried out on time with responsible attention to environmental impacts.

The Surface Option presented accommodates traffic from the redevelopment of Assembly Square in Somerville (IKEA). We should support it.

The Maintenance Facility is currently located at Option L, as far as possible from Brickbottom. This is a good opportunity to weigh in on this design.

Route 77 connects Porter Square, which adjoins Cambridge, with Harvard, Central, and Kendall Squares, along with Boston and Arlington. If you live near Porter Square, this can affect you directly.

Agenda includes 343-351 Summer St. developing a new two to three story mixed-use building consisting of a VFW hall and 31 residential units.

The Somerville Bicycle Committee invites you to ride our 19th Annual Tour de Somerville.  This year’s theme is “Arts in the ‘Ville”.

We’ll meet at 10 am on Saturday, October 15 in Seven Hills…

Agenda includes public hearings on proposed developments at Blocks 1 and 4 of Assembly Square. These developments help fulfill the financial conditions needed for the success of the Assembly Square DIF and iCubed programs.

Agenda likely includes Assembly Square mixed use buildings on Block 3, including a cinema. These proposals help fulfill the financial conditions needed for the success of the Assembly Square DIF and iCubed programs.

Agenda will likely include the Avalon Bay developments at Blocks, 1, 3, and 4 and may include prospects for further development.

We will present a summary of the City’s almost finished Comprehensive Plan, followed by discussion. The plan is the product of over two years of work by the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee.

The group will review the zoning change maps, begin to review the comprehensive plan draft document, and create a map describing future transportation improvements.

Extending the Community Path along the proposed Green Line spur will encourage people to bike and walk through central Somerville.

The latest robocall announced the 4th Annual Riverfest, Saturday, 9/17, featuring “fireworks, entertainment, food and family activities” for Somerville residents. The familiar and friendly voice of Jackie Rossetti encouraged residents to participate. The latter part…

The Boston MPO is a Federally-mandated organization responsible for conducting transportation planning for the Boston region. Among other documents, it produces a yearly Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP), which allocates funding for transportation improvements. A project must be included in the TIP to receive Federal funds. The Green Line Extension has been omitted from the 2012-2015 TIP. As a result, Massachusetts is in danger of losing its Federal transportation funding.

At this meeting the MPO will vote on whether to ignore the needs of Somerville and Medford residents and push back the Green Line Extension to 2018.

An important improvement to McGrath Highway would be to return it to its original concept, as a ground-level boulevard with predestrian crossings.

Agenda includes Assembly Square mixed use buildings on Blocks 1, 3, and 4, including a cinema. These proposals help fulfill the financial conditions needed for the success of the Assembly Square DIF and iCubed programs.

This is a critical meeting to give your comments on the Green Line extension delay. If you can’t attend either meeting, please send your comments by Sept 13.

The agenda should include removing a loading area from the Block 10 restaurant at 133 Middlesex Avenue in Assembly Square.

MAPC is working with neighboring communities to create a network of safe walking routes to connect neighborhoods with the lower Mystic River, Chelsea Creek, Mill Creek, and the Malden River. You can help.

At this meeting, the city will present a proposed rezoning map depicting zoning changes that will allow for mixed-use development in the key gateways of the Porter and Wilson Square areas.

The Community Access Project did a reality check of the 2010 East Somerville Safe Routes 2 School Map. We found that less than 20% of the pedestrian features are even up to basic standard code. “Safe” is a misnomer.

These streets ain’t fit for walkin’.

It is important to reunite neighborhoods, lower traffic speeds, and add more trees to make McGrath Hwy a boulevard.

The agenda includes upgrades to a building on 70 Inner Belt Road.

The agenda includes removing a loading area from the Block 10 restaurant at 133 Middlesex Avenue in Assembly Square.

The Green Line Extension, a legal obligation of the Commonwealth, has been dropped from the 2012-2015 TIP and delayed until 2018. This not only deprives Somerville of long-needed transit access, it jeopardizes the state’s access to Federal transportation funding.

Ward 7 Alderperson Candidate Joan Whitney Puglia is proving to have a keen awareness of conditions around town.  Her mention of Dilboy Field‘s tot lot and baseball field has the Community Access Project members…

The agenda includes a staff update on transportation plans for the Boston region, and most likely includes postponing the Green Line Extension another 5 years.

Inspired by SJ reporter Andy Metzger’s skeptical review of my investigative article Trends in Parking Ticket Appeals: Uncovered , I followed up about two months ago with the as-yet-unresolved email below to Traffic & Parking Director Matt Dias.…

The agenda includes 343 – 351 Summer St. (site of the existing George Dilboy VFW Post #529) to build a new two to three story mixed-use building consisting of a VFW hall and 31 residential units with parking lot.

Check out the conceptual proposals and make your views known. Written comments submitted will be posted on the DCR website.

According to articles in the Boston Globe, Somerville Journal, Somerville Patch, and Boston Herald this week, WalMart wants to open “a grocery store” at the site of the defunct Circuit City next to Home Depot…

This is a good chance for Somerville residents to help improve our river frontage in Assembly Square.

Black Swallowwort (AKA “dog-strangling vine”) is one of the most aggressive invasive weeds, and has spread throughout Somerville.

The agenda includes a public hearing on another extension of the IKEA permits and a continuation of the 378-390 Somerville Avenue development, which is controversial.

Among other business, extending a permit to replace a one-story commercial structure at 292 Beacon Street with a larger 2-1/2 story commercial and residential development.

City government should not misrepresent its hostile revenue-boosting scheme as a policy to improve parking conditions. For many residents it imposes greater hardship.

The agenda includes a (continued) public hearing for final approval of the PUD for Assembly Square Block 10 and a hearing for constructing a restaurant on the site. The 378-390 Somerville Avenue hearing is being continued to July 14.

The agenda includes annotating city maps with possible locations of transformational districts, neighborhood infill districts, and other land use categories.

The agenda includes a (continued) public hearing for final approval of the PUD for Assembly Square Block 10 and also a hearing for constructing a restaurant in Assembly Square.

Among other business, the agenda includes converting an auto parts warehouse business to personal trainer and artist studios.

Among other business, the agenda includes reviewing the PUD for Assembly Square Block 10 and a proposed restaurant in Assembly Square.

The Inner Belt, soon to have a new Green Line T-Stop, is one of the few locations in Somerville still available for transformation into an economic powerhouse for Somerville.

The agenda includes a public hearing for final approval of the PUD for Assembly Square Block 10 and also a hearing for constructing a restaurant in Assembly Square.

Among other business, the agenda includes establishing a bus and taxi rental, storage and servicing use on 21 Third Avenue in the Inner Belt. (Somerville could want to use the Inner Belt for a higher use at this point.)

MassDOT and the MBTA are hosting a series of Green Line station design workshops, one for each proposed stop. It is important to integrate the new Green Line stations with the community and with the proposed Community Path. Your participation can help with this process.

Potential zoning changes include architectural design, height, uses, setbacks, dimensional configuration, and parking for each of the key gateways: Wilson Square, Somerville Avenue, White Street, Elm Street, and Mossland Street, as well as the MBTA Air Rights.

When Watertown, MA resident Mark Pickering received a parking citation during a visit to a friend in nearby Somerville, he figured a simple letter to the Office of the Parking Clerk would result in a scheduled hearing or a ticket dismissal. Instead, he received an anonymous note of rejection with an extra $5 fine. [See Mark's letter in the SJ : Parking ticket appeal system needs work]…

Among other updates, the group will likely review an analysis by MassDOT and the MBTA on the feasibility of incorporating a light rail vehicle support facility into the Boston Engine Terminal.

This is one of the final hurdles for the long-awaited Orange Line T-Stop at Assembly Square. Please support this development. A T-Stop at Assembly Square will unlock the potential of the site and make possible what Somerville has wanted for more than a decade.

The agenda includes expanding an existing restaurant use on Washington Street.

This is the third in a series of meetings about extending the Green Line to Mystic Valley Parkway. This meeting is part of a visioning process examining the effects of a potential Mystic Valley Parkway station on the planned Green Line Extension to Somerville and Medford. This session will be an opportunity to share with them your ideas, questions, and aspirations for the project.

MassDOT and the MBTA are hosting a session to introduce the members of the new Green Line Extension project team. This session will be an opportunity to share with them your ideas, questions, and aspirations for the project.

The agenda includes developments on Somerville Avenue and an update on the Comprehensive Plan.

The agenda includes as item #8 (“Request of MassDOT Legal and Planning Departments to authorize the execution of a Public Funding Agreement for the construction of the Assembly Square Station on the Orange Line”).

This is the final discussion and vote on the DIF bond issue. The City should issue these bonds only with a signed commitment to the “best effort” of Federal Realty to bring R&D/office into Assembly Square.

The agenda is to discuss the Assembly Row Bond issue and a petition by 60 Somerville residents to ensure that development financed by the Assembly Row DIF yield jobs for Somerville residents.

This is a presentation and panel discussion on how to finance public transportation in Massachusetts. Paying for public transportation has proved a critical problem in the current economic and political environment.

The Committee is calling this meeting to further discuss the Assembly Row DIF Bond issue. If Assembly Row is not developed to produce a high enough tax base, the city could end up repaying this bond from general funds.

This is a continuation of the 3/31/11 Assembly Row DIF Bond hearing. If Assembly Row is not developed to produce a high enough tax base, the city could end up repaying this bond from general funds.

Following the last update on this story in late February, T&P Director Matt Dias offered and provided the requested data including a column indicating whether each ticket appeal was made online or not. Even better, the cost was $30 less than his original quote.…

This meeting includes, among other business, a zoning amendment to change the definition of “pervious area” and update minimum pervious area requirements (comment period closed).

Convened to discuss the Assembly Row DIF Bond proposal. If Assembly Row is not developed to produce a high enough tax base, the city could end up repaying this bond from general funds.

Agenda includes current GLX status, Community Path status, new consultant team, and station designs.

This is a public meeting of the Somerville Conservation Commission to review and accept the MBTA Assembly Square Station Order of Conditions.

Among other business, this meeting will hold a public hearing on the Special Permit with Site Plan Review for the Assembly Square self-storage facility, 50 Middlesex Avenue.

Among other business, this meeting will deal with the proposed self-storage facility at 50 Middlesex Ave. in Assembly Square.

If Assembly Row is not developed to produce a high enough tax base, the city could end up repaying this bond from general funds.

The master plan for the self-storage facility at 50 Middlesex Avenue in Assembly Square is to be presented.

Please join us in our efforts to connect the Minuteman Bikeway and Charles River path networks, by extending the Community Path!…

Join Historic Somerville on Thursday night, March 3rd, 7-8PM for a lecture by John Roderick, Somerville resident, train and RR enthusiast and past editor of the magazine of the Boston and Maine RR Historical Society

Among other business, this meeting will deal with the proposed self-storage facility at 50 Middlesex Ave. in Assembly Square, and with changes to the design of 100 Temple St. (St. Polycarp Redevelopment).

These meetings provide an important opportunity to weigh in on the direction Somerville is setting for its future.

The Governing Body determines how much of the tax increment from DIF districts is used for district improvements and how much is returned to the city general fund.

At this meeting the group will continue to build maps showing future development districts in Somerville.

At this meeting the group will continue to build maps showing future development districts in Somerville.

At this meeting the group will continue to build maps showing future development districts in Somerville.

This important connection was omitted from the current Green Line Extension due to lack of funds. It needs your support!

MA DOT holding a Public hearing on Broadway Streetscape improvement Project on January 26, 2011 at the Cross Street Senior Center, 7 pm. Public Comments are also accepted via mail.

This is the meeting to get to! The group will begin a city-wide land use map showing the proposed development areas and their categorizations.

At this meeting STEP is likely to discuss the current status of the Green Line Extension, the Community Path, and the Assembly Square Orange Line T-Stop.

Happy snow emergency! Do you know where your towing dollars go?

At this meeting, the committee will work toward a consensus on the Goals and Actions and begin work on land use mapping.

When Watertown, MA resident Mark Pickering received a parking citation during a visit to a friend in nearby Somerville, he figured a simple letter to the Office of the Parking Clerk would result in a scheduled hearing or a ticket dismissal. Instead, he received an anonymous note of rejection with an extra $5 fine.

Property owners need to keep snow and ice from accumulating on their walkways. But what is the City’s responsibility?

Cases include revision to a special permit for 199 residential units at 56-61 Clyde Street and review of six ZBA cases.

Somerville, Boston and Cambridge Human rights activists encouraged the BOA Public Health and Safety Committee to allow economic integration, safety, inclusion and accessibility to trump aesthetics at a recent Meeting.

Please join the Somerville Bicycle Committee on Saturday evening, Dec 18, to celebrate the coming of winter and year round cycling. We will enjoy a casual bike tour to see some of the city’s…

We will be prioritizing our action list this meeting. We are looking for new members to help us with our mission of extending the Community Path (along part of the future Green Line route) to the Charles River.
Meeting is at the VNA, 259 Lowell Street.

The agenda includes the MBTA Green Line Maintenance Facility, including air rights and a possible stadium, and impacts of the Green Line track layout around Brickbottom.

Putting the Grand Junction in use will increase rail traffic next to Brickbottom, which already lives with existing Commuter Rail service and shortly will live with the Green Line extension.

This is the true story of how the City of Somerville stonewalled my request for public records and then went out of its way to satisfy a very similar request by BU’s New England Center for Investigative Reporting (NECIR).…

On December 6 at 6 pm, Alderman White and the Public Safety Committee will hold a Special Hearing to understand the justification for using brick paver materials in the recently constructed Somerville Avenue crosswalks. The vibrations from such materials hurts wheelchair drivers, and causes additional discomfort for people with visual and balance impairments.

If implemented as planned, this DIF will very likely result in developments that only cover debt service on the DIF bonds themselves. The rest of Somerville will pay for the city services required by those developments.

There is now a $63 M gap in infrastructure funding for Assembly Square. The Orange Line T-Stop and the rest of the development is in jeopardy unless we close the gap by a combination of stopgap funding and a $25 M DIF in Assembly Square.

The public is invited to make suggestions about pedestrian, bicycle, and bus access to the station, as well as safety lighting, station design, comfort, signs and area maps.

Under the proposed DIF, increases in Assembly Square tax revenue would be diverted to pay for the infrastructure. If tax revenues were inadequate, the taxpayers would foot the bill.

The current issues are the status of the Green Line Extension and Community Path, extending the Green Line to Route 16, and funding the Assembly Square Orange Line T-Stop.

This meeting gives citizens a chance to provide feedback to the City on how things are going in their neighborhoods.

Large Retail Cluster Parking: Proposal is to double the parking requirement for large retail (> 25,000 s.f.). Staff believes that because Somerville has little parking available, the effect will be to discourage suburban format in Somerville. Developers would have to build parking garages, which is expensive.

The meeting will include:

* A brief history of the Friends of the Community Path
* An update on current status of the proposed Path extension
* An overview of our goals and activities
* A discussion of the kinds of help we often need (attending meetings/events, taking minutes, tabling, strategizing, making inroads, mapping, urban planning, writing, fund raising, research, press announcements, technical, web/blog, social networking, schlepping, etc.)
* Q&A

The joint subcommittee meetings will address conflicts between worthy goals. For instance, increasing tax revenue by commercial development may conflict with increasing affordable housing and maintaining neighborhood character.

At this meeting, the group will review the draft Comprehensive Plan. Somerville’s citywide development for the next twenty years will be shaped by the comprehensive plan. This is a public meeting; any citizen is entitled to observe.

Somerville’s disability culture should also be celebrated as part of our rich multicultural diversity. But as we see, even voting is still not routinely made accessible and integrated for voters with physical disAbilities. How can we reverse Segregation in Somerville?

Why do we have such deep and passionate opinions about our roadways? What is it about our transportation experiences that brings out so much frustration and unhappiness?

This project will close McGrath Highway or reduce the number of lanes available for several months. Detours and traffic congestion will result. Mitigation should be discussed at this meeting.

The agenda includes the following:

* Change to the zoning ordinance to allow self-storage in Assembly Square
* Changes to the zoning ordinance to revise the procedures for reviewing Special Permits, Special Permits with Site Plan Approval, and variances
* Changes to the zoning ordinance to revise the parking requirements for large scale retail
* Change to the zoning ordinance to allow Historic Carriage House as a use in certain districts
* Special permit to allow Federal Realty to exceed signage size requirements in Assembly Square.

This is the November meeting of the Green Line Extension design working group.

The Design Working Group is a key means for addressing neighborhood concerns relating to the Green Line stops in Somerville and Medford.

This is STEP’s regular monthly meeting. At this meeting STEP is likely to discuss:

* Current status of the Green Line Extension
* Current efforts to extend the Green Line to Route 16
* Current status of funding for the Assembly Square Orange Line T-Stop

According to the paper agenda, this meeting will be devoted to Zoning Board of Appeals matters. The Self-Storage change of use ordinance, along with others, will be dealt with at the November 4 public hearing.

The e-mailed agenda includes the following:

* MBTA Green Line Maintenance Facility, including air rights and a possible stadium.
* Support for Green Line Extension to Route 16
* Impacts of Green Line track layout around Brickbottom
* Traffic redesign for Union Square

A few volunteers are needed to help us evaluate a new pedestrian safety option for crosswalks in Somerville called a pedestrian-head-start.…

Last week I was riding through Union Square with my daughter on the back of our tandem bicycle. As I pulled up to stop at the red light, a woman rolled down the window on her mini-van/SUV and screamed at us: “Do NOT ride on this road with that kid!” Her tone and facial expression overflowed with anger and hostility as she whipped around the corner staring daggers.…

The Somerville Bicycle Committee will hold the 18th annual Tour de Somerville on Saturday, October 16. This year’s theme is “Paths, Present and Future: A Mystic River Ramble”.

This bike tour will explore current…

This is the regular planning meeting of the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee. At this meeting, the group will finish reviewing the policies and actions.

Somerville’s citywide development for the next twenty years will be shaped by the comprehensive plan. This is a public meeting; any citizen is entitled to observe.

This meeting will present details of the Craigie Drawbridge Rehabilitation project, which will block the Bridge and divert traffic. Traffic that would otherwise go along Memorial Drive may end up going to Route 28 instead and thereby into Somerville.

This meeting will likely deal with the proposed change of zoning to allow self-storage in the Assembly Square Planned Unit Development. There may be a public hearing in joint session with the Land Use Committee.

This meeting will present details of the Longfellow Bridge Rehabilitation project, which will block the Bridge and divert traffic.

Traffic that would otherwise go along Memorial Drive may end up going to Route 28 instead and thereby into Somerville.

These are two identical presentations on the Green Line Extension station design guidelines and requirements. The Tuesday presentation is in Somerville; the same presentation is being given on Wednesday in Medford.

The Green Line Extension stations are now being designed. If you want input into the design, attend one of these meetings and ask questions.

The Mystic View Task Force will hold its annual meeting at 1:30 P.M., Saturday, September 25, 2010, at the Third Life Studio, 33 Union Square, Somerville.

A change-of-use ordinance is being submitted to the Board of Aldermen to allow self-storage/wholesale storage in locations in Assembly Square near I-93 and not suitable for better development. I understand that the goal is to allow a developer to place a self-storage facility at the foot of Foley Street, replacing a truck storage facility near the current (poorly-maintained) pedestrian underpass from Assembly Square to the Stop & Shop on Mystic Avenue. The underlying urban design problem is how to use a development in this location to establish a pedestrian-friendly gateway to Assembly Square, given (a) the planned Assembly Square T-Stop at the head of Foley Street and (b) a proposed Foley Street connection under I-93 to East Somerville.

Land use planning is the primary function of municipal government. This ordinance provides an ideal opportunity to observe and participate in the public land use process, from Ordinance to Planning Board special permit.

The following is a letter that was submitted to the Board of Aldermen at last Thursday’s meeting by a group of concerned residents. Do you share these concerns?…

This meeting is expected to include a proposed zoning change to allow self-storage facilities in Assembly Square, which should be referred to the Land Use Committee.

Public input is needed on accessibility, waterfront and water activities design, and pedestrian and bicycle access along Foley Street.

The HUD grants are applied to the problems of homelessness, affordable housing, transit-oriented development, and parks and open space. Citizen input is helpful in setting priorities.

District Improvement Financing is useful in building tax revenue, provided the projects supported are high enough in density to provide adequate tax base. If they aren’t, the city is on the hook.

299 Broadway (Ocean State Job Lot): Denied. Assembly Square PUD (Assembly Square Drive subdivision): Approved. 90 Union Square: Continued. 425 Broadway (wireless equipment): Approved, on to ZBA. 221 Morrison Ave. (historic B&B): Approved, on to ZBA. 25 Hamlet St. (barn replaced with duplex): Approved, on to ZBA. 42-44 Boston Ave. (deck and stairs): Approved, on to ZBA. 270 Cedar St. (9 residences, parking space count variance): Special Permit withdrawn, variance approved, on to ZBA. Staff not available to do minutes, CD recording available on request.

This is the sixth in the 8-part Free Webinar Series on Designing for Pedestrian Safety being given by the Federal Highway Administration and the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center. Pedestrian and bicycle safety is essential to the success of the new Assembly Square roadways and Orange Line T-Stop and around the new Green Line stops.

This is the fifth in the 8-part Free Webinar Series on Designing for Pedestrian Safety being given by the Federal Highway Administration and the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center. Pedestrian and bicycle safety is essential to the success of the new Assembly Square roadways and Orange Line T-Stop and around the new Green Line stops.

This is the regular meeting of the Somerville Planning Board. The Planning Board holds public hearings and grants permits for special districts, such as Planned Unit Developments. This meeting deals with ongoing and sometimes controversial Somerville developments.

(Part 3) 61 Medford Street. Liquid Nitrogen tank at Biogen, safety concerns, approved. 13A Beacon. Expand windows, replace other windows. Approved. 26 Wheatland St. Condo construction without permit, halt order. Triple permit fee charged. 24 Fairmount. Permit to rectify a basement apartment, never legal. Accepted staff recommendation. 162 Highland. Vote to reaffirm previous rate.

This is the regular meeting of the MBTA Rider Oversight Committee, which provides recommendations to the MBTA to improve service quality. Somerville’s use of public transit, already high, will increase as the Green Line Extension and Assembly Square Orange Line stop come in.

(Part 2) Public hearing on Ocean State Job Lot at 299 Broadway. Four in favor, twelve against. One report of possible grocery store. Written testimony accepted until noon Friday, August 27. Discussion to resume Thursday, Sept. 2, at 6 PM.

(Part 1) The Planning Board voted 5-0 to DENY the special permit to subdivide One Benton Road to add a second condo development for the reason that no conditions could assuage the issues of public safety, devaluation of neighbors’ property, previous character of the site, and scale. [COMMENT: The city evidently expects litigation as a result of this decision.]

Seven new Green Line train stations are planned to open in 2015, impacting existing Somerville residents and housing in many ways. Community Corridor Planning (CCP) is a grassroots coalition made up of people who want to preserve and expand diversity and affordable housing in Somerville.…

Second community meeting. Mixed response from neighborhood. Some felt something was better than nothing, others thought we should stick to the new zoning plan. Key point: minimum 10 year lease, could be as long as 25 years. City expects change in neighborhood in 10 years, after Green Line comes in.

This is the regular monthly meeting of the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee. The Strategic Planning staff is drafting the Comprehensive Plan. Somerville’s citywide development for the next twenty years will be shaped by the comprehensive plan.

This is the regular meeting of the Somerville Planning Board. This meeting will deal with an ongoing and sometimes controversial Somerville development, Ocean State Job Lot at 299 Broadway. The Planning Board holds public hearings and grants permits for special districts, such as Planned Unit Developments.

This forum features Richard Devylder, Senior Advisor for Accessible Transportation to the Obama Administration. Accessibility is an important requirement for the new Green Line Extension and Orange Line T-Stops.