Michigander in Mass

The DEP has fined the MBTA $100,000 for failure to meet several conditions of the Big Dig project, including airport Silver Line service, replacement of several aging Orange Line trains (thank you very much) and renovations on several Blue Line stations--but not for the Green Line extension, a Red-Blue Line connector or Arborway Green Line service, which are being reconsidered by the DEP and other state agencies.

The Orange Line has been beset by problems this week, from train failures due to the cold weather to a water main break near Sullivan Square to a worker's death near Wellington.

From bobnesson: "The documentary about Somerville's public transportation, OFF TRACK, will be broadcast on SCAT [Ch. 3] tonight, January 24, at 10pm and again on January 31 at 10pm. Please spread the word. OFF TRACK is a work in progress. Here is a more complete project description:"

Off Track: Traffic, Environmental Justice and the Green Line Extension Somerville has the highest rate of excess lung cancer and heart attack deaths per square mile, per decade, in the state. This excess rate is largely due to poor air quality from concentrations of automobile, truck, and commuter rail exhaust. It is a local problem in
Somerville, not a regional problem, as our next-door neighbor Cambridge has a rate below the norm. Poor public transportation is a particular problem in Union Square, which suffers from high traffic volume, poor air, and inconvenience for commuters who depend upon mostly diesel buses caught in traffic. Local businesses suffer as well, as good pubic transportation fosters a strong business climate, all other things being equal. Many in Somerville feel that traffic and air quality would be improved through extension of the Green Line trolley to Union Square.

To address these issues, we are making a video about public transportation in Somerville, tentatively entitled Off Track: Traffic, Environmental Justice and the Green Line Extension. The video will explore the issue through the prism of environmental justice. We will connect the dots between public transportation, economics, public health, and quality of life in Somerville. We have several objectives:

1. to provide a strong argument to decision-makers for the extension of the Green Line to Union Square;
   
2. to educate SCAT viewers about issues of transportation, air pollution, health, service and economics in Somerville;
   
3. to develop a curriculum for students at Somerville High School around these issues, and to provide students with intellectual and technical tools for making changes in the areas of civics and the environment;
   
4. to shape the video in a way that would make it useful to a national audience and would spur public involvement in transportation planning and development.
   

I now know more about the Mystic River than I ever thought I'd care to know, and I'm realizing how important it is in terms of development, transportation, power and ecology.

Transportation-wise, the area accomodates tens of thousands of automobiles every day, mostly via I-93, but also via several other major transportation arteries, including Rtes. 28 and 99 and others.

Several Commuter Rail lines and the Orange Line also go through the area.

Development-wise, the importance (and potential impact, positive and negative) of the Assembly Square project cannot be understated.

In terms of power, the LNG terminal, as well as the old Edison plant, also dot the Mystic's landscape.

And ecologically, the river plays a very important role in the lifecycle of several marine species. The Mystic River has long been a dumping ground for industry, leading to at least one Superfund site and several enforcement actions over the years.

A recent discussion thread on the MysticCrossing e-mail list got me to thinking about this topic, and how all of these intersect. There are several important projects underway in the area, including:

• The Mystic Crossing - The Amelia Earhart Dam spans the Mystic, providing flood control for the area upriver--it also could provide a pedestrian/bike connection from Everett to Somerville
  
• Somerville Community Path - Connecting the Minuteman Commuter Bikeway to Boston and the North Shore's Path-to-the-Sea
  
• The Boston Harborwalk - Right now the Charlestown section of the Harborwalk ends at the Navy Yard, but that may change someday...
  
• Assembly Square - Redevelopment has begun on the mall, which sits solidly on the banks of the Mystic, and more is hopefully to follow including a new MBTA bus yard path and T stop
  
• Wellington/Rte. 28 Bridge Underpass - This would allow pedestrian access along the banks of the Mystic upriver of the Rte. 28 crossing to the Assembly Square area
  
• Rte. 99 Bridge Sidewalk - This would allow additional pedestrian access from Everett into Charlestown
  
• Mystic Landing, Telecom City/River's Edge and Station Landing paths - Connecting sections of the Mystic River
  
• Cambridge's North Point development - Connecting the Somerville Community Path to Cambridge and Boston
  
• Sullivan Square transportation improvements
  
• Broadway streetscape improvements and other Somerville projects - For obvious reasons
  

Of course, there are many other projects that tie into this area. The Green Line extension, for example, impacts the Somerville Community Path, and is thus also involved.

I'd like to see a unified vision for bringing these groups together!

A good overview of Boston's light (and heavy) passenger rail.

There are two important meetings on Monday!

In June, 2004, the Massachusetts State legislature authorized $30M in bonds to provide financial assistance for important components of Transit Oriented Development, including:

• parking facilities, pedestrian and bicycle facilities, and housing that
  
• serves mixed use developments within a quarter mile of a transit station.
  

In consultation with the MBTA, the Executive Office of Transportation, and the Department of Housing and Community Development, the Office for Commonwealth Development has developed Draft Guidelines ("TOD Bond Program Guidelines") to manage disbursement of these funds. We would like to get your comments on the Draft Guidelines before releasing the final version in February, 2005.

[...] We have set up a series of discussion sessions for you to ask questions and provide comments on the Draft Guidelines. The discussion sessions will be held at the following locations and times:

• Session 1: Thursday, January 20, 2005, 9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
  

  100 Cambridge Street, 4th Floor, Conference Room A
  Boston, MA 02114
  Nearest T Stop: Government Center
  Parking: Underground parking off Somerset Street




• Session 2: Monday, January 24, 2005, 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
  

  10 Park Plaza, Mezzanine Level, Conference Room 4
  Boston, MA 02116
  Nearest T Stop: Boylston
  Parking: Surface parking across Stuart Street




• Session 3: Friday, January 28, 2005, 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
  

  100 Cambridge Street, 4th Floor, Conference Room A
  Boston, MA 02114
  Nearest T Stop: Government Center
  Parking: Underground parking off Somerset Street




• Session 4: Monday, January 31, 2005, 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
  

  Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, Fuller Conference Center
  339 Main Street
  Worcester, MA 01603
  Nearest T Stop: Union Station
  Parking: Worcester Common Outlets, Commercial Street

*Please* *RSVP* to Ellen Patton at ellen.patton@state.ma.us
or (617) 573-1380 indicating which
session you wish to attend so that we may get a head count and provide
your name to building security. If you are unable to attend one of
these sessions, please feel free to provide written comments, sent to my
attention at tad.read@state.ma.us . Please
also feel free to call me and provide comments by telephone at (617)
573-1392.

Sincerely, Tad Read
TOD Planning Coordinator
Office for Commonwealth Development & MBTA

There will be another important public meeting on the Green Line extension through Somerville this coming Monday evening, January 24th, at 6:30 PM at the Somerville High School Auditorium, 81 Highland Avenue. It will be a strain to turn out a large crowd of residents, on short notice, for the third time in four months. But we must try our best to do so. The large turnouts of Somerville citizens on the night the Red Sox won the 2004 World Series and the afternoon of December 14th at the State House have twice stunned state officials. The unanimous message from our own elected officials and from local advocacy groups has been both hard-hitting and refreshing. But the real strength of these meetings has been the voice of ordinary citizens coming together in extraordinary numbers to demand our fair share of clean and long overdue rail-based transit. A similar showing of community commitment on January 24th may be just the spark required to get the Green Line extension back on the fast track.

Posted by: Todd / 1:48 PM (1) comments

The Boston Globe reported today that "[The Blue Line extension project's inclusion in last year's state transportation bond bill] could give it a headstart over extending the Green Line and several other projects. The Conservation Law Foundation is suing in federal court to force the state to build those projects, arguing that they were guaranteed under a 1990 legal agreement that cleared the way for the Big Dig."

The public outcry around attempts by the state to back out of committments to, among other things, extend the green line through Somerville has forced the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to extend its comment period and schedule more public meetings. Try to attend if you can!

THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF TRANSPORTATION
NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING

Regarding the joint public meeting held on December 14, 2004 at the State
House, Gardner Auditorium, on the three remaining Central Artery/Tunnel
project transit commitments, notice is hereby given that the Department of
Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Executive Office of Transportation

(EOT) will extend the comment period until February 4, 2005 and will hold
two additional public meetings. The three projects are the Arborway Green
Line Extension, the Blue Line/Red Line Connector, and the Medford Hills
Green Line Extension. This purpose of the public meetings is to inform
interested parties about and take public comments on the public process DEP
and EOT will conduct to make decisions and, to the extent appropriate, make
changes to the transit regulation (310 CMR 7.36) that provides for air
quality improvements.

The additional public meetings are being held to allow additional testimony
on these matters. Priority will be given to individuals who were unable to
provide testimony at the December 14, 2004 meeting. The public meetings will
be held on:

Monday, January 24, 2005 - 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Somerville Public High School
81 Highland Street, Somerville
Written comments will be welcome at the meeting; written comments will also
be accepted until 5 PM on February 4, 2005. Comments should be sent
either by mail or email to:
Robert W. Golledge, Commissioner
Department of Environmental Protection
One Winter Street
Boston, MA 02108
robert.golledge@state.ma.us
and
Daniel A. Grabauskas, Secretary
Executive Office of Transportation
Ten Park Plaza
Boston, MA 02116
daniel.grabauskas@state.ma.us
The public meeting site is wheelchair accessible. This information is
available in alternative format upon request by contacting Donald M. Gomes,
ADA Coordinator, at 617-556-1057. TDD Service -1-800-298-2207.

Robert W. Golledge Jr., Commissioner, Department of Environmental Protection
Daniel A. Grabauskas, Secretary, Executive Office of Transportation

Denise Provost's latest newsletter has a strong focus on development--I encourage folks to read it and sign up for the e-mail version. (The latest newsletter hasn't been archived online yet, but when it is, I think it'll be here.) Meanwhile, here are some extracts:

On January 7, I had occasion to be speaking to the Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Robert Golledge, Jr., regarding the state's proposal to change existing regulations to allow "substitutions" for transit projects, which the Commonwealth agreed to build in mitigation for the Central Artery/Tunnel Project (CA/T). To my surprise, Commissioner Golledge stated that his agency would be extending the public comment deadline on the substitution proposal, originally set for today. He also said that his agency would be hosting an evening meeting in Somerville to elicit public comment during the extension period.

The Department of Environmental Protection has since confirmed that they have extended the deadline to 5:00 pm on Friday, January 28, 2005. I have had no indication that the Executive Office of Transportation (EOT), the other agency taking public comment on the substitution proposal, is extending its deadline, so my advice would be to send comments to both agencies by the original deadline. The public meeting will be held at 6:30 pm on Monday, January 24, probably at Somerville High School, but the venue is not definite yet. Those who could not testify during the day on December 14, 2004, should take the opportunity to speak on the subject, and we can all think about "postscript" remarks we might want to make to DEP further down the road.

Later she writes:

Governor Romney's much-touted "Smart Growth" proposal has been enacted as Chapter 40R of the Massachusetts General Laws, adopted last summer in a form that seems to satisfy few stakeholders. The statute, like most laws, embodies a very general concept of encouraging mixed uses of land, intensifying development near mass transit, optimizing existing infrastructure, and protecting open space. As with most policy initiatives, the devil will be in the details, and the details will appear on Friday, January 14, 2005, when the state's draft regulations implementing Chapter 40R are posted on the website of the Commonwealth's Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), at www.mass.gov/dhcd.

[snip]

Although Chapter 40R has the "Smart Growth" tag, it remains unclear that its regulatory framework will promote what most planners consider "Smart Growth." The history of this statute, and a brief preview of the regulations, suggest that its real mission is simply to promote more densely-built housing, with a higher proportion of affordable units, than to encourage a healthy, balanced mix of land uses in communities. Chapter 40R is acknowledged to be the "carrot" companion to the widely despised "stick" statute for promoting affordable housing, Chapter 40B of the General Laws.

The danger for Somerville?
Increased population, and higher densities of building, without adequate funding to improve and maintain necessary infrastructure, or to provide services to new residents. More congestion, people, and cars, but no guarantee of transit improved mass transit, or expansion of our commercial tax base - a recipe for increasing this community's unmet needs, and resulting stresses.

It's nice to see a constructive dialogue emerging...

If you read or listened to the news today, you probably heard about this.

The Conservation Law Foundation will announce the details of their lawsuit against the Commonwealth of Massachusetts tomorrow, Wednesday, January 12th at 10:30am at their offices. They will announce the filing of "Notices of Intent" to sue Massachusetts state agencies over its failure to meet its transit commitments. CLF is located at 62 Summer Street at Downtown Crossing in Boston - easily reached via Red or Orange Line.

According to a post from Bryce Nesbitt to the "pathfriends" group in December, "[t]he Green Line and the [Somerville Community Path] must be built as ONE project. The [bike] path depends on slight modifications to the green line support structure. No green line probably means no path east of Central Street." There's still time to send your thoughts to the Commonwealth.

MBTA's budget woes have continued, and its latest stab at cutting costs involed laying off or firing about 80 people, saving about $100K. It did this at right around the same time it allocated $9 million for engineering studies of Silver Line Phase III, a tunnel that will connect Phases I and II between South Station and Chinatown. Oh yeah, and...

One of [the] deadlines [noted in the Conservation Law Foundations planned lawsuit] was to provide Silver Line service to Logan Airport by last Friday. While Logan-bound buses won't be up and running until later this year, passengers will be able to transfer to a bus to Logan at the last stop on the Silver Line waterfront line, on Sundays from 4 to 10 p.m., said Joe Pesaturo, spokesman for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

4 to 10 one day a week is Logan Silver Line service? I don't think so. So, while the T continues to spend money on expanding the Silver Line service--despite stalled development in the South Boston Waterfront, which is where a big chunk of its operating revenue was supposed to come from--South Shore MBTA commuters still don't have an easy way to get to the airport, despite the T's rediculous claim.

Meanwhile, we can't get a Green Line extension to what is already the most densely populated city in New England.

Somervillians may not have the reputation of Cantabrigians (see comment below for tangent) for environmental and community activism, but we seem to do a pretty good job at it nonetheless. The Friends of the Community Paths, for instance, seems to me to be a model organization based in our fair city (apologies to our neighbors Click and Clack). Another great group is Groundwork Somerville, which I'll try to plug from time to time. Maybe Waltham will follow our lead?

According to radio reports (for some reason I can't find a mention of this online yet), Governor Romney is pledging more than $500 million for transit-focused affordable housing (right around this time last year he made a similar $100 million pledge). Too bad much of Somerville might not qualify for this because his administration continues to ignore our city's transportation needs.

Boston.com News reported (keep scrolling... a little bit more... okay, there it is, buried at the bottom of the article) that Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone indicated in his recent state of the city address that he will sue the Commonwealth for violations of the Clean Air Act if the state does not go ahead with the project to extend the Green Line through Somerville.