Environmental Impact of the Green Line
Medford Green Line Neighborhood Alliance member Ken Krause provides the following assessment of the state’s Final Environmental Impact Report on the Green Line extension to Medford and Somerville, which was released publicly this week.
The entire report can be viewed online by clicking here.
A public meeting on the FEIR will be held on Wednesday, June 30, at 6 p.m. at the Somerville High School Auditorium. The meeting will provide an opportunity for members of the public, agency representatives, and other project stakeholders to learn about changes to the project and ask questions.
The public comment period for the document will be for 30 days. All comments are due to the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) Office by July 23, 2010. Click here for more information on where to send comments.
Krause’s analysis:
Here is a summary of some of the key points in the Green Line Extension Final Environmental Impact Report with regards to College Avenue Station as the terminus, proposed mitigation measures, the definition of “Medford Hillside” and the state’s legal obligation to provide service to that neighborhood, and MassDOT’s proposed Public Involvement Plan:
College Avenue station as terminus
– MassDOT anticipates 2,420 daily boardings at the College Avenue terminus station, 320 more than it projects at College Avenue when it is an intermediate station.
– MassDOT projects approximately 800 boardings at College Avenue Station during weekday peak hour operations, an increase of about 100 over the total projected as an intermediate station. MassDOT predicts that 90 percent of the additional riders (720) will arrive by walking or bus transfers, 40 by auto drop-off/pick-up, and 40 by bicycle.
– 600 feet of additional “tail tracks” will be needed north of the station platform to allow trains to reverse direction, to be staged before the start of morning service, and to temporarily hold disabled cars. This area will be “open-air” with no structure.
– Up to four Green Line cars will be staged north of College Ave. Station for approximately 1 hour before the start of morning service, which will be at approximately 5 AM. Trains would not be stored overnight at College Ave. Station.
– A double cross-over, which allows the trains to move from one track to the other, would be constructed about 300 feet north of the platform.
– MassDOT says it is committed to providing “as much bicycle parking as possible” at College Avenue Station, and anticipates providing a minimum of 40 bicycle parking spaces.
– Traffic Level of Service would worsen at the Boston Ave./College Ave. intersection during the morning peak, and at the Boston Ave./Winthrop intersection during evening peak. Proposed mitigation includes widening the College Ave. bridge to add an exclusive right-turn lane from Boston Ave., and adding a left-turn only lane on Boston Ave. northbound at Winthrop.
– Twelve parking spaces on Boston Ave. northbound would be removed to accommodate the left-turn lane onto Winthrop.
– Pedestrian Levels of Service are not expected to change at nearby intersections.
+ No new parking proposed for College Ave. Station, even as a terminal station.
– No changes or impacts on bus service are anticipated. Bus routes 80, 94 and 96 currently service the station location. Routes might be adjusted after Green Line service begins.
To read the College Avenue Station analysis, see Chapter 4 of the FEIR.
Noise/Vibration/Visual Mitigation
– MassDOT says the project will mitigate both “severe” and “moderate” noise impacts as feasible.
– Noise impacts from the proposed project are anticipated from shifting of the commuter rail operations to the east, closer to residences; Green Line operations on new western tracks; Green Line trains idling on the tail tracks north of the College Avenue Station; and Green Line trains operating on the crossover. MassDOT defines the noise impacts as “moderate” and primarily due to the commuter rail trains.
– MassDOT recommends a 1,000-foot long noise barrier, approximately 6 feet high, be constructed on top of the retaining wall on the east side of the right-of-way north of College Avenue to buffer the homes on Burget Avenue and Brookings Street. This noise barrier is required whether or not College Avenue is the terminal station.
– The crossover area north of the station is the only area described as having a higher vibration impact associated with College Avenue as a terminal station. Mitigation measures include installation of ballast mats and use of resilient track fasteners. A total of 250 feet (500 track-feet) of vibration mitigation is proposed to mitigate potential impacts at receptors on Brookings Street. This
mitigation is required whether or not College Avenue is a terminal station.
– The Project would incorporate vegetation in and above fences, trees, and steep slopes on each side of the right-of-way at the College Avenue Station site to minimize the rail corridor’s visibility.
For more information on mitigation, see Chapter 4, Section 4.5, of the FEIR.
Medford Hillside Requirement
– Responding to criticism that the College Ave. station does not fulfill the state’s legal requirement to provide service to Medford Hillside, MassDOT provided a memorandum that it says shows the station is within a one-mile walk of the Hillside neighborhood, thus fulfilling the legal requirement.
– MassDOT also provided a new definition of what it considers the boundaries of Medford Hillside that differed from that in the DEIR.
According to the memorandum, MassDOT says “Medford Hillside is defined in this analysis as an area of the City of Medford bounded by the Mystic River to the north, Medford Square to the east, College Avenue to the south, and North Somerville to the west. This area was defined based on an examination of local maps and businesses that identified themselves with the Medford Hillside neighborhood.”
The DEIR described Medford Hillside as “broadly defined as Boston Avenue from the Mystic Valley Parkway to Warner Street (Harvard Ave.).”
To reach the Memorandum on the College Avenue Station walk market analysis, see Appendix C of the FEIR.
Public Involvement Plan
– MassDOT pledged to conduct a “robust” public outreach program for the remainder of the project. It intends to engage the public through informational meetings, community briefings, meetings and presentations; a Design Working Group that will meet at least quarterly; Design Public Workshops; updates on the project website; project fact sheets and information materials; Email notifications, communication, and media outreach; and outreach to environmental justice populations.
– Once construction begins, MassDOT will cede responsibility for the completion of the project to the MBTA. Once the start of construction nears, MassDOT intends to implement a construction outreach plan that will include establishing a project construction office; establishing the position of Green Line Project Ombudsman who would field all construction-period comments and complaints, coordinate with the cities, and respond to public concerns; establishing a Construction Working Group to advise MassDOT and the MBTA; and developing a business outreach plan to assist local businesses during construction.
For more on the PIP, see Chapter 6 of the FEIR.