Help bring the Green Line all the way to West Medford!!

[groptimum.livejournal.com]

Hi. This concerns Davis Square community because it is very close to the Medford border and this train would run fairly close to Davis (Ball Sq.) and also cater to parts of Somerville way up north of Tufts that go all the way to the Mystic River near Boston Ave.!

Please Support The Green Line to Medford!
Medfordites or Friends of Medfordites! If you are a supporter of the wonderful Green Line trolleys being extended to West Medford (Rt. 16 by UHaul and Whole Foods, most likely), PLEASE speak up and help support public opinion in favor! If you are not in favor or don't know anything about it, please GET IN FAVOR of it! It'll be great and make Medford/West Medford an even better, more vibrant and convenient place to live, work and visit.

Look at the medfordgreenline.org website! Attend the upcoming meetings! Call or write to City Hall and let Mayor McGlynn know you favor it. Tell ALL of your Medford friends and neighbors to support it. There is a small group of vociferous opponents, who mostly oppose the Green Line trains for reasons which I honestly find to be suspect and foten questionable. People have talked about "crime" and "homeless people" coming into medford on the new line. They have talked about "environmental problems", from ELECTRIC trains! They have talked about massive "land takings" (eminent domain) when the actual needs of any land takings have not even been spelled out or delineated yet and everyone in the process (like Green Line propnent Ken Krause who is on the official Medford committee) is being careful to minimize any backyard land takings and make sure individuals are mitigated (recompensated financially or materially) if their land is taken or even if they are nearby abutters (with sound buffers, landscaping, etc.) There have even been oppponents who have spoken of this being part of a plan by Tufts to "take over" this part of Medford and talk of "real estate values going down" when in fact real estate values rise considerably when MBTA trains come in  (look at davis Sq.!) So please help support this valuable public transportation project!

Comments

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

There is a small group of vociferous opponents, who mostly oppose the Green Line trains for foolish, mean-spirited and non-existent reasons.

Which are?

I am all for this extension, but statements like this put my teeth on edge.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Also, MGNA.com leads you to a mortgage broker. Please provide some links that lead to actual information.

[pearlythebunny.livejournal.com]

I think this must be the site you want people to visit:
http://www.medfordgreenline.org/

Correction to Green Line website

[groptimum.livejournal.com]

Sorry. The organization is abbreviated MGNA
but their website is http://www.medfordgreenline.org

[fefie.livejournal.com]

I wish you luck. It's been eye-opening to see at these recent Green Line meetings about new station locations how against the project people in Medford are (at least those that come out to attend the meetings). Looks like all the new stations will be situated in Somerville at this rate.

According to http://www.greenlineextension.org/
the next meeting in Medford about the project is Wednesday, February 27, 2008 at 6:30 pm Century Bank Community Room, 400 Mystic Avenue, Medford

[groptimum.livejournal.com]

Fefie

Yes there are some very loud opponents around especially Medford Hillside and somewhat in West Medford. But there are many, many Green Line supporters and unfortunately up until now they have been quieter at the meetings and not as motivated to get involved and be vocal. The proponents haven't made it such a full-time crusade as have the opponents.

[studeronomy.livejournal.com]

There have even been oppponents who have spoken of this being part of a plan by Tufts to "take over" this part of Medford and talk of "real estate values going down" when in fact real estate values rise considerably when MBTA trains come in (look at davis Sq.!) So please help support this valuable public transportation project!

Actually, it's precisely the rise in real estate value that scares a lot of people. Bring in the Green Line, and the next thing you know, property surrounding the T-station is suddenly much more expensive and businesses in Medford Square are suddenly being replaced by Boloco, Starbucks (I love the Starbucks in Davis, no hate), and Boston Sports Club. Pretty soon folks in reasonably priced apartments near Medford Square are driven further and further away. That's why some people oppose the extension of the Green Line.

[reverend-jim.livejournal.com]

HELL yeah. I'm dreading the arrival of the Green Line here in Union Square, because the inevitable equation is Train -> Yuppies -> Rent Increase/Condo Conversion -> Kiss My Broke Ass Goodbye. Union is a righteous little area that's *well* served by several bus lines. Fortunately, Yuppies don't ride the bus, so they've been wary of occupying Union and subsequently overrunning it with their "funky" boutiques, $12 martini bars and People's Republic of Cambridge politics. All good things must end, I suppose, and I've had a great run in Union. I'll miss ya, Somerville.

Thank you for revising your entry.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

The idea of crime and homelessness coming via public transit is, indeed, laughable, but I see nothing that indicates any sort of eminent domain action would be either considerable or minimal. The needed studies haven't been done yet, from what I've seen, and it might not be a matter of recompense.

reverend_jim raises an excellent point, however: the introduction of the train might substantially alter the area, driving up real estate prices and current residents OUT. That's something that does need to be discussed.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Well, Davis seems to have retained at least some of its grit, although one night ron_newman walked me through all the changes that the Davis Square Red Line wrought on local businesses and it was eye-opening, to say the least.

[bombardiette.livejournal.com]

A lot of the opposition I've seen online is actually citing the potential rise in crime as seen in Malden. LOL! No one wants to be happy.

[ryanwanger.livejournal.com]

The whole "people being priced out of the neighborhood" is always questionable logic in my mind. Who are these people? If they own their property, then what you mean to say is: people who have lived there a long time will voluntarily cash out when property values increase. So, they leave by choice. If they want to stay, they can stay (albeit with a tax bill that is one or two thousand dollars higher which of course they will be more than compensated by when they do choose to sell, which most people do because they don't want to spend their final days in Medford, no offense. That's what Florida is for, right?).

If you're talking about longtime renters, then we can't have too much sympathy. The only way to guarantee your living situation is to buy, and if you can't afford it, then sadly, you're always at the whim of whoever owns your property, and any changes that the community might undergo.

Presumably they live there because they don't need the T, so if the T moves in, they'll have to move out to an area with rental prices comparable to what they used to have.

I completely understand the whole NIMBY thing, but we're talking about public transportation here. None of us, or our children will probably ever see a day when we have more than enough public transportation.

[groptimum.livejournal.com]

I agree with Ryanwagner. First off, when the smoke clears and the water settles, so to speak, after new train lines go in, we find a pretty reasonable economic and demographic evening out. Dorchester, South Boston, parts of Roxbury, East Boston, Revere, Quincy, Braintree, Allston, Brighton, Malden, etc. were NOT and are still mostly not expensive, highly yuppified places long after MBTA trains came in. Some places on MBTA like Brokline, Newton, Cambridge, parts of Boston, etc. have been expensive for a long time, but NOT just because they have MBTA stops. It is for other reasons- demographic, geographic, housing, town services, etc. So Somerville and Medford will NOT necessarily become gleaming, shining Back Bays or Coolidge Corner Brooklines just because the Green Line comes in. They may become SOMEHWAT more yuppified and "upsclae" though. Or economically diverse and vibrant depending how you look at it.

I think we can't stop progress and the extension of a basic urban amenity- public rail transportation- just because it might ultimately raise rents. MBTA should not be considered the province of the rich, yuppie or snobby. It should be considered a healthy workable part of a dense urban area, the way it is considered throughout New York City and to some extent Boston. Potentially higher rents (which happen everywhere anyway in our insane real estate economy) should not be the reason to keep those who DO currently own or rent from having better transportation options ina n age of increasing traffic and environmental impact. That's my 3 and a half cents.