Green Line Meeting Looks at Ridership, Support Facility
A Green Line Train at Cleveland Circle. Photo by Alexander Svirsky.
30,000 Riders Expected; Support Facility to be Located in Somerville
Story Updated 6:50PM, Sunday, November 16, 2008
Thirty thousand people are expected to hop on the Green Line in Medford and Somerville everyday, according to data released by state transportation officials at the latest Green Line Project Advisory Group meeting on Wednesday.
Scott Peterson of the Central Transportation Planning Staff said between 7,500 and 9,000 people of the 30,000 anticipated Green Line riders will be new transit riders, most of whom will be ditching their cars or switching from other modes of transit.
Peterson said daily boardings of 2,400 are expected at a Mystic Valley Parkway station (if
that is determined to be the end of the line), 2,100 at College Avenue, and 1,890 at Ball Square. If the College Avenue station were the terminus, daily boardings there are projected to be 2,420.
All of those new riders will result in a reduction of more than 25,000 car miles traveled each day, according to Peterson. Riders are also expected to save 7,000-8,000 hours of travel time by commuting by train.
State transportation officials also announced a final recommendation for the location of a small maintenance facility, which officials say is best suited for Yard 8, located in Somerville’s Brickbottom district.
Officials looked at ten locations in Somerville and Medford before selecting that location, according to a just-released 93-page report.
The preliminary engineering phase of the Green Line extension to Medford and Somerville is slated to begin in early 2009.
The Executive Office of Transportation recently revealed preliminary drawings of proposed Green Line station locations in Medford and Somerville.
Three potential stations have been proposed for Medford- just over the Medford/Somerville line near Broadway by Ball Square, somewhere between College Avenue and Winthrop Street adjacent to Boston Avenue, and at Route 16 by the UHaul and Cummings Park properties.
The stations locations are not definite and project managers are still examining ridership, cost, and environmental impact, among other factors, before making a decision.
In addition, state officials hope to determine a terminus for the project in January. Currently, the line could end at College Avenue in Medford or at Route 16.
The next Green Line Project Advisory Group meeting is Monday, December 1, from 4PM to 6PM at St. Clement’s Parish Hall, 579 Boston Avenue, Medford. In addition, the Medford Green Line Neighborhood Alliance and the Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership are holding a joint meeting about extending the Green Line to Route 16 on Monday, November 24, at 7PM at Sophia Gordon Hall at Tufts University, 15 Talbot Avenue.
– InsideMedford.com
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