Green Line Comment Period Extended
Story updated 11:30AM and 8:17PM Thursday, September 6, 2007 and 9:25AM Friday, September 7, 2007
– Allison Goldsberry
The state transportation department has extended the public comment period on the state’s status report on various mandated transportation projects, including the $800 million Green Line expansion to Medford, to September 21.
The Executive Office of Transportation (EOT) filed an amendment to the report because it was initially issued before the news that the Green Line expansion would be further delayed while the Deval Patrick administration seeks federal funding for the project. The project had already been pushed back to 2014 from 2011 and now is facing a 2016 deadline.
The EOT said they are committed to the 2014 deadline and think the project has a good chance of winning federal dollars, though the process of applying for the money could delay the completion date.
“We are, however, continuing to make every effort to accelerate the planning, design and environmental review and permitting of the project in order to work towards the 2014 completion date,” wrote Transportation Deputy Secretary David Mohler.
Ken Krause, a member of the Medford Green Line Neighborhood Alliance (MGNA), urges residents to comment on the report, which he said is flawed because it fails to recognize the scope of the project and incorrectly states that the state transportation office will complete the Draft Environmental Impact Report on time.
“It is mind-boggling to me that the project has slipped four months behind schedule in what should have been the easiest year of the entire project…To me, this year’s delay, and the inaccuracies in the annual status report, speak volumes about the EOT’s lack of commitment and attention to this project, which it is legally required to complete,” said Krause.
The state will hold two public hearings on the report on Thursday, September 6, at 1PM and 5PM at the Washington Street Conference Center of the Massachusetts Office of Environmental Protection, Second Floor, Rooms A, B, and C at One Winter Street in Boston. Written comments can also be submitted by 5PM Friday, September 7 to Katherine Fichter, Executive Office of Transportation, Office of Transportation Planning, Room 4150, Ten Park Plaza, Boston, MA 02116 or by email to katherine.fichter@eot.state.ma.us.
More on the Green Line…
“The Commonwealth has fallen off track in its commitment to complete the Green Line Extension by 2014.” Read more of the Conservation Law Foundation’s written comments.
Green Line Expansion to Medford, Somerville Delayed
Read the transportation law requiring the Green Line expansion to our neighborhoods as part of the federal Clean Air Act