Green Line Public Comment Period Ends Soon
Deadlines Approaching for Comments on Green Line, State Transportation Plan
Public meetings and comment deadlines are approaching for citizens who wish to weigh in on the state’s proposal to delay the Green Line extension project, as well as on the Long Range Transportation Plan for the Boston region.
Green Line Schedule Delay
On Tuesday, Sept. 13, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will hold two public meetings to accept oral comments on the Annual Status Report on the Green Line Extension and the three other transit projects the state is obligated to complete as mitigation for the Big Dig.
The Annual Report, issued in July by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), extends the projected Green Line completion date to between September 2018 and July 2020. Last July, MassDOT had pushed back the projected completion date from Dec. 31, 2014 to October 2015.
The public meetings will be held at 1 and 5 p.m. at the DEP office, One Winter Street, Boston. Written comments on the Annual Status Report will be accepted until 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 20, and should be submitted to Kate Fichter at MassDOT, Office of Transportation Planning, Room 4150, Ten Park Plaza, Boston, MA 02116 or Katherine.fichter@dot.state.ma.us and Jerome Grafe at MassDEP, Bureau of Waste Prevention, Boston, MA 02018 or jerome.grafe@state.ma.us.
The Annual Status Report and information on how to comment are available on the MassDOT website:
http://www.eot.state.ma.us/default.asp?pgid=content/transitCommitment&sid=about
Long Range Transportation Plan
The Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is accepting comments until 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 13, for its Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), which determines which projects will be funded in the 101 cities and towns in the Boston region between 2012 and 2035.
The Green Line extension is included in the LRTP’s Recommended Plan in three categories. Phase I of the extension, to College Avenue in Medford and to Union Square in Somerville, is funded for a total of $1.1 billion – $587 million in the 2012-15 period, and $533 million in 2016-20. Phase II of the Green Line extension, from College Avenue to Mystic Valley Parkway at the Medford/Somerville boundary, is funded for $1.85 million in 2016-20.
Other Medford projects in the Recommended Plan are the Revere Beach Parkway bridge over the Malden River ($41 million, 2012-15) and the Cradock Bridge (Main Street) over the Mystic River ($11.6 million, 2012-15).
Written comments on the Long Range Transportation Plan should be sent to David Mohler, Chairman, Boston MPO, 10 Park Plaza, Suite 2150, Boston, MA 02116-3968; by fax at (617) 973-8855; or by e-mail at publicinformation@ctps.org.
Citizens also may make oral comments at the Boston MPO meeting on at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 22, at the State Transportation Building, 10 Park Plaza, Boston. The Boston MPO will take action on the LRTP at that meeting.
The Long Range Transportation Plan and information about how to comment are available on the Boston MPO website:
http://www.ctps.org/bostonmpo/3_programs/1_transportation_plan/plan_2035_draft_materials.html
– Submitted by Ken Krause, Medford Green Line Neighborhood Alliance. Photo by Alexander Svirsky, MassRoads.com.