There are a couple of articles worth perusing in today’s Globe on the proposed Green Line extension. This one has a brief note from "Susan of West Medford" noting that West Medford already has easy access to the commuter rail plus several bus routes that go to Red, Green, and Orange Line T stops, and concluding that "West Medford does not need the Green Line extension being proposed." And in a "Starts & Stops/NorthWest" column in the "Globe NorthWest" section that I can’t find in the online edition, there is a longer story noting one of the big concerns:
The plan calls for running Green Line trolleys along a train track now used by Boston-to-Lowell commuter trains. The current plan has the trolleys running five minutes apart from each other. Robert Pasquariello, owner of Shore Pharmacy in West Medford, said people are worried about the Green Line’s impact on the neighborhood. Traffic is already a problem because when the commuter rail trains cross Route 60, traffic comes to a halt. "It depends on the impact to the neighborhood. If there is a parking program and a bridge [so trains travel above the street] people probably wouldn’t be against it," he said.
I’m not sure I fully agree with "Susan" that West Medford has no need of the Green Line – buses are less convenient than trains, and the commuter rail is difficult to deal with in the evenings or on weekends because it runs so infrequently. However, I have some experience with the West Medford railroad crossing, and I’ll tell you this: there’s no way it could handle the crossing gates going up and down every five minutes. The only way the Green Line could make use of the Lowell line tracks without destroying the West Medford neighborhood would be by building either a bridge or a tunnel so that traffic on Route 60 doesn’t have to stop every time a Green Line train goes through. And parking is another concern, because I just don’t know where the extra cars would go. West Medford is pretty built up already.
So…let’s see the plans. The NorthWest article reports that state Rep. Carl Sciortino (D-Somerville) will be meeting with Medford Mayor Michael McGlynn this week, and that public hearings will follow. Stay tuned.
lynne says
I still wonder what happened to the plans to extend the Lowell commuter line up to Nashua…As I understand it, there were issues as to who should help pay and subsidize it (MA or NH). NH isn’t too fond of paying for things. Live free or, I dunno, die, or something.I don’t have too much experience with Medford, but I’ve driven through it, and it always seemed really crowded to me…this will have to be done very carefully. If Medford was presented with a reasonable plan, there would be no reason they wouldn’t want this.
stomv says
Hopefully a result of this project is automobile traffic reduction (at least in the near term). Heck, the bridge being discussed is a perfect example. Right now, the gates get closed a dozen times a day (guess!!)… with the bridge, that would be reduced to 0, thereby reducing that backup.So, throw ’em a few carrots, so they don’t feel like they’re motivated wholly by stick. But, make sure those carrots make both rail and auto a better service.
the-troll says
I would bet the residents of west medford come out strongly against this. Besides monsterous traffic jams and parking problems, it could make west medford square into a mini uion or davis square, thus forever changing a solid long time historical middle class neighborhood.
the-troll says
P.S. it will not reduce automobile traffic by much. marginal
ed says
As a resident of Gilman Sq. In Somerville, I can’t express how frustrating it is to have the commuter rail in our backyard, yet it doesn’t stop. Adding Green Line service, even though it will be in five years, would be a godsend to our dilapidated little neighborhood. Right now there are several bus lines going to sullivan, davis, and lechmere. A green line extension to union and to west medford would eliminate several buses on somerville ave. A lot of people say the Green Line won’t reduce traffic, but getting those large buses off of the smaller streets of Somerville will be a nice change. Medford is still very much a ‘suburb’ in the sense that there are less young professionals and still many families raising children. Most of the people in Medford might commute out of the city as opposed to in. But East Somerville is fast becoming an affordable option to Davis and Porter sqs, and adding the green line would give a place for Tufts students, young professionals, and small families to live with great access to the jobs in Boston.
the-troll says
You are right ed. I do not sdee any reason why East Somerville can be accommodated without extending to west medford
the-troll says
that is wrong…,,” any reason east somerville can NOT be accommodated..”
david says
As I understand it, everyone is on board with the Green Line coming into Medford as far as Tufts – the only question is whether it goes all the way into West Medford or stops at Tufts. So either way, E. Somerville will get the T.
brittain33 says
So either way, E. Somerville will get the T.I fear that the process of choosing a terminus, and negotiating how much money the residents of West Medford can wring out of the MBTA in exchange for their pain and suffering, will add several years to the planning process.
ed says
Oh, I don’t doubt that the project will take more than the estimated time, be fraught with problems for residents, and be a general pain. My concern is that maintaining existing roads and paving new ones is so easy for our governments to do, but laying one new rail, or even revamping existing rail right-of-ways, has become so difficult that rail itself will slowly be replaced. See the silver line, where buses are touted as a better solution. I should disclose that I’m a big fan of rail: A rail system adds character to a city, provides economic stimulation, keeps cars off of time-consuming congested roads, and saves someone like me lots of money because I can take the train instead of driving. And I follow a lot of rail projects closely: There’s a number of federal proposals, such as a Boston to Montreal high speed rail line, that may never get off the ground. I just hope that this trend reverses.
david says
Also, read this op-ed from today’s Globe which is skeptical of the whole idea of extending the Green Line – in particular, the author says that the $700 million the project will require could accomplish much greater pollution reductions, etc. if spent differently.
brittain33 says
That guy Luberoff is now turning up everywhere as an opponent of the Green Line Extension. I think that the case for air quality may well be weak, but it’s the legal distinction that was drawn in 1990, so it’s why it formed the basis for suing. Despite that, the Green Line Extension is a good idea for many other reasons. There are questions of the economic benefits to Somerville, and equity concerns for the many sacrifices Somerville has made to regional transit with no benefits in return. The article has problems, though. For one, I don’t know where you got $700 million from; the cost of the Green Line Extension is put at $340 million. Secondly, it’s bogus to compare the number of new riders on the Green Line Extension to the number of drivers in the entire Boston area–what, is a transit investment supposed to render every commute possible redundant? If it doesn’t help the person who lives in Plymouth and works in Bridgewater, that means something? The question is whether it makes sense for Somerville and for Boston, and for the long-term development of Boston. It does. Somerville is a city very close to Boston with a lot of people who work in Boston, and we have a difficult time getting there. Air quality aside, this project makes sense. But we’ll be hearing much, much more from this Luberoff guy in the next several months and years.
ert says
I don’t see why the crossing gates have to be used for a green line train — they certainly don’t use them anywhere else the green line crosses traffic, just regular traffic lights. Yes, it would be wonderful if the green line had its own right-of-way like the other lines, but it just doesn’t. If it has to intersect with traffic somewhere, it’s already set up to wait its turn.
kevin says
It has been made clear by all concerned (except the Globe) that the West Medford Green Line will NOT cross Route 60, ergo no crossing and no crossing gates, so no need fret about that. I don’t understand why the Globe’s coverage has been so anti-MBTA lately–maybe the Globe figure that transit riders are reading the Metro or Herald tabloids and so Globe should pander to suburban car-commuters.I’ve never understood the focus on air quality as if the environmental benefits didn’t also include of the value of recycling entire neighborhoods (it is a great “brownfields” redevelopment), not taking new farmland for McMansions beyond 495.The idea of extending the line to West Medford is to create a connection with the existing Commuter Line station. To preserve quality service for folks commuting all the way from Lowell, it does not make sense to add stops to the commuter train, but to instead let commuters switch to the Green Line for the rest of their “inbound” commute. Adding stops to the commuter rail would probably reduce commuter rail ridership since commutes on the Lowell line would be lengthend by the “dwell time” at the added stops, as well as being lengthened by the fact that the trains would average a much slower speed during their braking before and acceleration after any added stops.Connecting from Rail to Trolley at West Medford strengthens the whole network without weakening the Lowell line.
spiff says
i wonder how many west medford people that are against the green line extension drive to work? how many of them drive through somerville and cambridge on the way to their jobs… sitting in traffic for 45 minutes, inching your way from medford into cambridge or downtown (an even longer commute)… creating more and more pollution for the people whose neighborhoods your go through.i live in one of those neighborhoods and i am fed up with the heavy traffic and its accompanying pollution, the litter and the blasting radios, etc… without any regard for the residents. take the subway to work and consider that we all (west medford commuters included) breathe the air you are polluting.i wonder how many people drive from West Medford and park at Wellington to take the t into town. surely their lifestyle would benefit from a more convenient method of public transportation. i just had a terrifying thought…what if the supposed tens of thousands of people coming into West medford everyday to take the t actually contribute to the economy by supporting local stores and getting those strictly enforced parking tickets? sure the logistics of the extension are a bit difficult to work out to keep a modicum of fairness(get resident parking stickers within a certain distance from the t). but wouldn’t that extra revenue be nice to have in town? or are you happy with the already over-crowded new school where the kids are told not to run at recess because the playground is so crowded.a green line extension into medford would revitalize that area of town. who are you kidding people? you’re not the hub of the world out there. medford could use the revenue that kind of accessibility could generate. get the revenue and then become the hub of the world.last but not least, let me point out that Brookline has managed to accomodate quite a few subway stops. while i suspect some of you may aspire to live in Brookline, West Medford ain’t it.
phil says
Amen to that, spiff — couldn’t have said it better! If we want to revitalize West Medford and achieve the same benefits as the now-fantastic Davis Square, one of the key ingredients in the Green Line!!!