STEP will have information and maps on the Green Line extensions on display as part of the Brickbottom Gallery's exhibition from March 30 through May 6. There's a reception April 1 from 4-6 pm, and the gallery hours are Thursday-Saturday 12-5. It's located at 1 Fitchburg Street; please drop by! Learn more.
Governor Deval Patrick and legislative leaders proposed an emergency $1.47 billion borrowing package for a variety of uses, including the Green Line extensions. $100 million is for designing four transit projects tied to the Big Dig, estimated to cost a total of $739 million, and of course one of these is the Green Line extension. Boston Globe: "State seeks $1.4b in…
The Citizens Advisory Committee continues to study possible options for the Urban Ring, and new maps have been posted for consideration. Somerville is best served by the first option (click below to view all the options), which links to the future Green Line. Other options eliminate all of Somerville except a stop at Assembly Square on the way to Lechmere, and a new loop to Harvard Square via Harvard’s new Alston campus. The choices will mostly be made between now and May, so get involved by coming to the public meeting April 10!
This long-range plan is the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization's (MPO) proposed program of planned highway and public transit improvements for the region through 2030. The Green Line extensions are in here, but the status is a little vague because the new State Implementation Plan (SIP) regulations haven't yet been approved by the Federal EPA. To keep the Green Line extensions…
For a visual, historical summary of the Green Line extension and what lies ahead, check out the updated Green Line timeline (large image file).
The Central Transportation Planning Staff released a document presenting the supporting material associated with the reevaluation of the State Implementation Plan (SIP) transit commitments. It includes background of the process, history of the analysis, transportation network assumptions, modeling methodology, and the results of the analysis that were used in this reevaluation. Download the SIP supporting material (PDF)
TransReport, the newsletter of the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization, contains two articles covering the Green Line extensions, basically reiterating what's already been covered here. Download the newsletter (PDF)
The State's Executive Office of Environmental Affairs has called for an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Green Line extensions, which is a normal step in a project such as this. The plan calls for Draft and Final versions of the EIR, rather than just one Single EIR, which means there will be adequate time to study questions such as where…
Boston Herald: "State agrees to extend Green Line, funding shaky" "A legal agreement to extend the MBTA's Green Line to Somerville and Medford and enhance regional transit services will alleviate pollution and traffic backups, but it could also plunge the state deeper into a financial quagmire, officials say." Boston Globe: "State agrees to design link between Red and Blue lines"
Last year the Conservation Law Foundation sued the state for not keeping its transportation commitments, and today a settlement was announced in which the state confirmed its commitment to extend the Green Line in two spurs to Medford and to Union Square by 2014. Other projects were announced or confirmed as well, including the completion of the Greenbush commuter line, improvements…