City Council to Receive Green Line Update Tuesday
On Tuesday, November 15 the Medford City Council will hold a Committee of the Whole meeting to hear the latest information on extending the Green Line to Route 16.
According to information released by City Clerk Ed Finn, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) will do a presentation on the planning process to assess possible benefits and impacts of potentially extending the Green Line from College Avenue to Mystic Valley Parkway. The MAPC recently held a public meeting on the subject.
The meeting will take place at 6:00PM in Room 207 at Medford City Hall.
The City Council will also hold its weekly regular meeting on Tuesday. That meeting is at 7:00PM at Medford City Hall and is broadcast live on Channel 16. Items on the agenda include increasing pedestrian safety at the intersection of George and Winthrop Streets. According to Medford resident Vicki Halal, a young woman was hit by a car there in October while on her way to school and several residents plan on attending the Council meeting to speak about making the area safer for walkers and cyclists.
“Many parents, pedestrians, cyclists, and MBTA bus riders have been concerned about the safety of this corner for years,” said Halal in an email.
The entire agenda can be viewed on www.Medford.org.
– InsideMedford.com
The MAPC study was about possible future development in 25 years. We live here now, we work here now, and we need the Green Line now. 10,000 of us already live within 10 minutes of the Route 16 station. Stop delaying the extension!
I agree with Michael. Potential economic development around the Route 16 station over the next few decades is worth studying, but it should not be the determining factor as to whether the Green Line Extension is completed to Route 16. After more than 4 years of study, MassDOT in 2009 announced the Route 16 terminus station as its “Preferred Full Build Alternative” for the project, and although it later relegated the Route 16 station to a second stage of construction, after Phase I is completed to College Avenue, it has not changed its position on Route 16, and it also has allocated money for it in the Boston region’s Long Range Transportation Plan for the period of 2016-2020. Whether the city Medford and the existing property owners decide to some day change the land uses around the station area, or leave everything exactly as is, the Green Line Extension to Route 16 is a tremendous project that will improve regional mobility, reduce auto trips and emissions, improve air quality, and provide better access to transit for people with disabilities and people living in Environmental Justice communities, many of whom reside within a 10-minute walk of the Route 16 station.