Green Line extension project in increasing jeopardy

[keithn.livejournal.com]

There have been two new developments over the last 24 hours, from the Globe:

• Yesterday: State won’t rule out canceling Green Line extension
• Today: Several Green Line extension firms lose T contracts

I'm not seeing much of a reason to be optimistic about the GLX project at this point.

Comments

[ron_newman]

Why not add a few cents to the gas tax in Cambridge, Somerville, and Medford, until the extension is completed?

[wintahill.livejournal.com]

The MBTA/MassDOT just posted an official announcement.

No new construction on the GLX will be commenced. The remainder of entire project will be put out for re-bid. :(

[elizabeth weinbloom (from livejournal.com)]

Last night at City Hall, there was a public hearing on inclusionary zoning, with most speakers in favor but a few (inc. from mayor's office) noting that increasing the inclusionary zoning rate might freeze housing development. One of the last speakers (it might have been Matt Mclouglin but honestly I don't remember) made the excellent and well-received zing that our big worry about the housing market freezing shouldn't be from increasing the inclusionary zoning rate, but from continued uncertainty over the potential scuttling of the GLX.

Just something to think about.

dystopia or no? a guessing game!

[elizabeth weinbloom (from livejournal.com)]

Actually, another thing to think about: would the scuttling of the GLX "solve" the affordable housing crisis? Sure, it would be horrible for commercial development as well as environmental mitigation, but putting that aside for a moment... if there's no GLX, suddenly all those investment properties would no longer be such good investments. And those of us who've been living here quite happily without the GLX would be able to continue to do so, and maybe would be able to afford all those luxury units that had been built to court GLX commuters. I guess the question is whether no GLX would result in a dystopian wasteland of luxury units unaffordable for those who want to live here and unwanted by those who can afford them (as I've mostly assumed til this moment), or if possibly the end of the GLX dream would pierce the bubble in such a way that prices would fall and benefit those remaining for whom our current level of public transit is good enough. Hmm. Thoughts?

Gee, it's fun to be able to publicly hypothesize on controversial topics now that I'm an also-ran. :)

[achinhibitor.livejournal.com]

My guess is that this is a negotiating technique to apply pressure on somebody to cut their price. After all, if they wanted to cancel it, they would (as long as they haven't committed to pay someone to build it). Most likely it's to tell someone "Get reasonable, because we can still cut the whole thing out." whereas as long as the contractor believes that the MBTA can't back out of it, they have no incentive to reduce the price they've quoted.