Thursday, May 9, 2013
Tour the Green Line Extension Team's new office, get updates about the project and ask questions at an open house in downtown Boston.
The Green Line Extension Team has a new office in downtown Boston, and the public is invited to check it out at an open house Thursday evening. The office, at 100 Summer St., will be home to MBTA staff, members of the HDR/Gilbane program management team, members of the design team, and representatives from the construction management/general contractor team—in short, all the folks who collaborate on the Green Line Extension project. According to an announcement from the Green Line Extension Team, members of the public are invited to tour the new office, meet staff, get updates about the project and ask questions. The open house is from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and there's a project update presentation at 6 p.m., the announcement says.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Two Medford House members voted against the bill while one supported it.
Two Medford members of the House of Representatives voted against the $500 million transportation funding bill that passed 97-55 Monday evening while one voted in favor. The one rep to give his approval was Rep. Paul Donato. Donato ultimately felt the bill was the best one the House could pass. "The truth of the matter is, there was nothing else that could be put forward that could sustain a vote of the House," Donato said, adding that it Rep. Carl Sciortino felt much differently with his vote against the proposal. "It's clearly inadequate to meet the needs of the Commonwealth going forward...[A transportation bill] is a rare opportunity to make generational investments, and the House bill just doesn't cut it," he said. Rep. Sean …
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Thursday, April 4, 2013
A $500 million transportation financing proposal released Tuesday could impact the Green Line Extension project.
A transportation financing proposal unveiled Tuesday by leaders in the state legislature likely won't improve the MBTA's finances enough to encourage federal investment in the Green Line Extension, according to the transportation authority. The proposal would raise $500 million through gas and tobacco taxes and corporate tax changes, but it falls short of the $1.9 billion plan for transportation and education needs called for by Gov. Deval Patrick earlier in the year, according to Boston.com. According to a statement regarding the Green Line Extension sent by MBTA spokesperson Joe Pesaturo, "The proposal released [Tuesday] does not appear to provide funding for the MBTA’s 'state of good repair' work, meaning the Federal Transit …
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
In a motion, state Attorney General claims Medford couple didn't explain how project would hurt them in their suit.
The Commonwealth is attempting to have a recent lawsuit brought against the proposed Green Line Extension thrown out of court. According to court documents, the state Attorney General filed a motion last Friday in U.S. District Court to dismiss the suit brought by Dr. William Wood and Carolyn Rosen of West Medford back in January on behalf of their group, the Green Line Advisory Group of Medford (GLAM). The state Department of Transportation is listed as the defendant in the case. According to the filing, the state is arguing for dismissal based on a "lack of subject matter jurisdiction and failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted." In addition, the state argues GLAM has failed "to allege facts sufficient to demonstrate …
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
The March 5 meeting is for abutters of the Harvard Street Bridge in Medford. Another meeting about Phase 1 of the Green Line Extension will take place in coming weeks.
The Green Line Extension team is holding a meeting, on March 5, about construction of the Harvard Street Bridge in Medford, according to an email from the team. The March 5 meeting, held at the Saint Clement Church cafeteria in Somerville, is for abutters of construction. However, the email says there will be a broader meeting about Phase 1 of the Green Line Extension sometime in coming weeks. Phase 1 consists of reconstructing two bridges and tearing down a building. It represents about 1.5 percent of the entire cost of the Green Line Extension. The other bridge that will be reconstructed during Phase 1 is the Medford Street Bridge in Somerville. Phase 1 would also tear down a building at 21 Water St. in Cambridge to make way for the new …
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Two Medford residents claim project hasn't taken environmental, social aspects into account.
Medford residents Carolyn Rosen and Dr. William Wood have filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in Boston against the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the Federal Transit Administration regarding the MBTA Green Line extension. The complaint, filed Jan. 18, alleges those two entities "failed to adequately address environmental issues pertaining to the human environment and its natural resources in the city of Medford" in formulating the plans for the Green Line extension, according to a statment from Rosen and Wood. In addition, the complaint "contends that civil rights of the environmental justice community and disability population of Medford have been violated throughout the Green Line Extension process," they said. …
Friday, January 18, 2013
In the governor's tax plan, all sales taxes would be dedicated to transportation and infrastructure needs.
In his State of the Commonwealth Address, delivered Wednesday night, Gov. Deval Patrick outlined a tax proposal that he said would pay for the state's education and transportation needs. In his statements, he mentioned the Green Line Extension as one of the transportation projects his plan would help fund. The plan calls to reduce sales tax in Massachusetts from 6.25 percent to 4.5 percent. All money from sales taxes would be dedicated a public works fund that would support transportation, school building and public infrastructure needs. In turn, the plan calls for an increase in income taxes from 5.3 percent to 6.25 percent. In regard to the state's transportation needs, the governor mentioned a number of projects, including the Green …
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
The plan calls for the state to invest $13 billion in transportation over the next decade.
Gov. Deval Patrick and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation unveiled a plan Monday to pump billions of dollars into the state's transportation infrastructure over the next decade, according to Masslive.com, WBUR and other reports. The plan, which lists the Green Line Extension through Somerville as one of a handful of projects on the state's transportation agenda, says Massachusetts needs to raise $13 billion—$1.02 billion a year—over the next 10 years, according to Masslive.com. It lists the state's transportation needs and proposes several options for raising the revenue. It says any one of the following options would raise $1 billion a year: The plan does not, however, recommend any particular option. WBUR reported on air …
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Patrick said the Green Line project would "absolutely" be completed, even without federal dollars.
"Today is the day that the doubters will become believers," said Medford Mayor Michael McGlynn, speaking in Somerville Tuesday about the Green Line Extension. "The shovels are now in the ground, and we all look forward to a cleaner environment, economic expansion, job creation, increased revenue, [and] transit-oriented development opportunities," he said. McGlynn also said phase one of the Green Line Extension, which will reconstruct the Harvard Street bridge in South Medford, will help relieve flooding problems in the area. McGlynn joined Gov. Patrick and other officials at a kickoff ceremony for phase one of the transit project. "Of course there are naysayers, there always are," Gov. Deval Patrick said at the event. "They say we should …
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Workers will reconstruct the the Harvard Street railroad bridge in Medford and Medford Street railroad bridge in Somerville, and tear down a building in Cambridge.
Gov. Deval Patrick will be in Somerville Tuesday to kick off the construction of Phase 1 of the Green Line Extension. The governor will be joined by Rep. Michael Capuano, Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone and Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation Richard Davey, according to an announcement from the Green Line Extension team. Phase 1 of the Green Line Extension consists of reconstructing two bridges and tearing down one building. Workers will reconstruct the Medford Street railroad bridge in Somerville and the Harvard Street railroad bridge in Medford. Doing so will allow both Commuter Rail and Green Line trains to use the bridges. Crews will also knock down an MBTA-owned building at 21 Water St. in Cambridge, which will help prepare …
Ken Krause
3:50 pm on Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Some statements in this article need clarification. 1. The state is in the process of applying for federal funding (final application due in September 2013) for about half of the cost of the Green Line Extension, which would come in the form of a reimbursement that could be used on other transportation projects. However, the feds said they will not “step up to the plate” for this or ANY other … more ›