![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
georgy.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
davis_squarefirst of all, i encourage you all to sign up for alderman-at-large denise provosts newsletter at her site, http://www.provost-citywide.org/. it is a great way to keep abreast of many of the city's developments.
that said, i am going to paste a portion from her most recent newsletter that explains how we can help urge officials to allocate funds to mass transit improvements in somerville, namely the long-discussed green and orange line extensions. the deadline for public comment is 5 PM today, so make a difference while you can!
Monday, August 30, at 5:00 pm is the deadline for public comment on the
Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)'s 2005-2009
Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). The TIP - the
funding/programming document for all federal transportation dollars to
be spent in our region, allocates NO funding to either the Green Line
extension through Somerville, or to the Assembly Square Orange Line
stop. Not even preliminary engineering or permitting work on these
projects is scheduled or budgeted.
Both transit projects (Green Line extension and Orange Line/Assembly
Square) are listed in other MPO planning documents. Until they are
funded in the TIP, however, these projects remain conceptual. Lack of
public outcry at their omission could easily be interpreted as "lack of
public support" for these projects, and made an excuse for continued
neglect by state government and the federally-mandated MPO.
What can we do?
The deadline looms, but a paragraph or two of comment from a great
number of citizens would send a potent message indeed. To send comments
by FAX, dial 617-973-8855. To comment by email, address your remarks to:
tip@ctps.org
What should we say?
We should say what transit projects Somerville wants, needs, and
deserves. We can talk about the various burdens Somerville bears as an
over-utilized and underserved "transportation corridor" to Boston and
Cambridge. We can point out Somerville's desperate need for economic
development - the only recent example of which is the little boom town
of Davis Square, that grew up around a major mass transit investment.
We could also say "thank you," acknowledging the Somerville projects
that are in the TIP: almost $4 million for Beacon Street, $10 million
for Somerville Ave., almost $400,000 for Magoun Square street and
sidewalk improvements, about $500,000 programmed for 2007 to extend the
Bike Path from Cedar Street to Central Street.
But if you look at this TIP, and value and distribution of regional
transportation investment over the last two decades, it's pretty small
potatoes - and mostly for roads, despite Somerville's extreme density,
and the very high MBTA assessment that we pay.
Just a paragraph or two - it will just take a few minutes. Please!
that said, i am going to paste a portion from her most recent newsletter that explains how we can help urge officials to allocate funds to mass transit improvements in somerville, namely the long-discussed green and orange line extensions. the deadline for public comment is 5 PM today, so make a difference while you can!
Monday, August 30, at 5:00 pm is the deadline for public comment on the
Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)'s 2005-2009
Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). The TIP - the
funding/programming document for all federal transportation dollars to
be spent in our region, allocates NO funding to either the Green Line
extension through Somerville, or to the Assembly Square Orange Line
stop. Not even preliminary engineering or permitting work on these
projects is scheduled or budgeted.
Both transit projects (Green Line extension and Orange Line/Assembly
Square) are listed in other MPO planning documents. Until they are
funded in the TIP, however, these projects remain conceptual. Lack of
public outcry at their omission could easily be interpreted as "lack of
public support" for these projects, and made an excuse for continued
neglect by state government and the federally-mandated MPO.
What can we do?
The deadline looms, but a paragraph or two of comment from a great
number of citizens would send a potent message indeed. To send comments
by FAX, dial 617-973-8855. To comment by email, address your remarks to:
tip@ctps.org
What should we say?
We should say what transit projects Somerville wants, needs, and
deserves. We can talk about the various burdens Somerville bears as an
over-utilized and underserved "transportation corridor" to Boston and
Cambridge. We can point out Somerville's desperate need for economic
development - the only recent example of which is the little boom town
of Davis Square, that grew up around a major mass transit investment.
We could also say "thank you," acknowledging the Somerville projects
that are in the TIP: almost $4 million for Beacon Street, $10 million
for Somerville Ave., almost $400,000 for Magoun Square street and
sidewalk improvements, about $500,000 programmed for 2007 to extend the
Bike Path from Cedar Street to Central Street.
But if you look at this TIP, and value and distribution of regional
transportation investment over the last two decades, it's pretty small
potatoes - and mostly for roads, despite Somerville's extreme density,
and the very high MBTA assessment that we pay.
Just a paragraph or two - it will just take a few minutes. Please!
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}