STEP Op Ed: Somerville will be Green, Assembly Square will be Orange, but sooner is better than later and we sure could use your help

Act Now!

As you may have heard we have hit a few bumps in the road with the Green Line and the Orange Line. Our Governor and his Executive Office of Transportation have suddenly suggested that the Federal government “might pick up” half the tab for the Green Line, with the possibility of an additional two year delay. And it is unclear how the Assembly Square Orange Line T-stop will be Federally reviewed, though the money is available, or if there is the will to open it before 2013.
But we can get over these potholes with a concerted effort at critical meetings in Somerville and Boston, next Tuesday and Thursday, September 4th and 6th. The first meeting will focus on Assembly Square (IKEA and Assembly Square Drive), the second will take up the State Implementation Plan transit commitments (including Green Line progress). The only hitch is, we need help again from everyone willing to pitch in. No experience required, just a little heart.

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Continue ReadingSTEP Op Ed: Somerville will be Green, Assembly Square will be Orange, but sooner is better than later and we sure could use your help

Assembly Square settlement means progress on Orange Line stop

IKEA, developer Federal Realty Investment Trust, and the Mystic View Task Force signed an agreement aimed at creating a transit-oriented, mixed-use development in and around Assembly Square. Federal Realty and IKEA promised $15 million towards an Orange Line stop. In addition, $25 million from the federal government has already been earmarked for the station, which is expected to cost $40 million.…

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Boston MPO updates transportation plans

The revised 2007–2010 Transportation Improvement Program and Air Quality Conformity Determination (TIP) has been endorsed by the Boston MPO and still awaits federal approval. The Green Line extension is in the TIP as a recommended medium-priority project, but awaits action by the DEP on the revised SIP commitments. Also in the TIP is a large $25 million earmark for an Orange…

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Thanks for Boston MPO letters

Thank you to everyone who wrote letters to the Boston MPO about the importance of the Green Line and Orange Line in Somerville. 98 letters came from Somerville, which is almost half of all the letters the Boston MPO received regarding the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) document. 92 of those letters pushed for the Green Line extension, and 47 were about…

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