Medford, Somerville Legislators Call for Reinstatement of Cancelled Green Line Meeting

Local legislators sent a letter to State Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack after MassDOT announced it was cancelling its final Green Line public meeting scheduled for May 5 in Medford. The following letter was signed by State Senator Pat Jehlen (Somerville, Medford) and Medford representatives Sean Garballey, Christine Barber, and Paul Donato.

“Dear Secretary Pollack,

We are writing to express our deep frustration at the recent announcement canceling the final opportunity for members of the public to comment on the proposed revision of the Green Line Extension. The announcement of this cancelation came during the final opportunity to comment. Many of our constituents will not have an opportunity to attend any of the meetings because of this cancelation.

From the beginning of this process in August and with promises that were made earlier this year, the MassDOT and the MBTA have expressed their interest in hearing the input of the public. These meetings have been very well attended, even in one case with the doors being shut when the building had reached a fire safety capacity. Canceling this final meeting, the only meeting ever scheduled for Medford, appears to undervalue the importance of public input.

Public input has been a fundamental part of the Green Line Extension process and it was truly the public that initiated this project more than two decades ago. To cut out the public voice at such a critical phase in planning is disheartening. Out of respect for our constituents who deserve to be heard, we request that you reinstate the meeting scheduled for Thursday May 5.

We hope that a decision to reinstate the meeting will be made quickly and that the public be duly informed that the meeting will be reinstated.”