Want good public transportation for Somerville?

[hammercock.livejournal.com]

Got this the other day, figured that people in this community might be interested:

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From: Karen Molloy [mailto:kmolloy@theworld.com]
Sent: Sunday, August 17, 2003 3:19 PM
To: somartscouncil@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [somartscouncil] Want good public transportation for Somerville?

GOOD PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION FOR SOMERVILLE?

BRING THE GREEN LINE TO UNION SQUARE AND THE ORANGE LINE TO ASSEMBLY SQUARE!

Faster Commutes -- Growth of Business -- A More Lively and Livable Community

Is this possible? Only with your immediate input.

Why support the Green Line in Union Square and the Orange Line in
Assembly Square?

- Davis Square thrived after the Red Line extension provided access to good public transportation. The same thing can happen in Union Square. The Green Line extension to Union Square is a crucial component of the city’s future economic viability. This would be fair.

- A Green Line stop in Union Square would provide direct mass transit service to densely developed sections of Somerville with large minority and low-income populations, reduce traffic and encourage pedestrian access. This would be fair.

- With new T service, the transformation of Union Square and Assembly Square could provide jobs, stimulate the economy, grow Somerville’s commercial tax base AND improve air quality. This would be fair.

- Eight passenger carrying rail lines pass through Somerville and only one, the Red Line, actually serves Somerville residents -- with a single stop. No other city in the state has so much rail infrastructure with so little service. This is not fair.

- Today, Somerville pays about as much to the MBTA as Newton does. Newton is served by the light rail Green Line with a large parking lot for commuters, a heavy rail commuter line with three stops in the city, and an express bus service to downtown Boston. Yet Somerville has only one rail T-stop, in Davis Square. This is not fair.

For years Massachusetts promised that the Green Line would be extended through Somerville in order to meet Federal Clean Air Act standards. Is this promise just lip service to qualify for Federal funds? Massachusetts is required to seek public input on its plans for all major transportation projects.

Your comments will help determine the future of public transportation in Somerville.

Current plans consider a stop in Union Square as an alternative, not a necessity. They give only medium priority to an Orange Line stop at Assembly Square, although it is one of the least expensive ways to reduce air pollution and encourage economic growth. You can help change these plans!

Make your voice heard. Join your neighbors in the Somerville
Transportation Equity Partnership.

Contact: citizengreen@yahoo.com, (617) 547-5050.

Join our listserv and get more info at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S_T_E_P/

PLEASE send a comment to publicinformation@ctps.org. Or, snail mail your comments by August 25 for receipt by the 27th to:

Boston MPO Chairman
c/o CTPS
10 Park Plaza, Suite 2150
Boston, MA 02116

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Karen Molloy
Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership


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Comments

[komos.livejournal.com]

Really, my priorities for public transportation don't include putting more stops into a city that already seems well covered. I'd much rather see better service on existing routes and better coverage for places like the Washington Street branch that lost its El and never had it replaced. ('Course, now I'm wondering how the "Silver Line" is working on that score and have to confess that I lost track of that story.)

How to strike the balance is the biggest question. Revitalization and access to public transportation for those who most need it is desirable, but it seems like gentrification and mallification are never far behind. I don't have answers, just lots of concerns.

[dmaze]

There was a proposal to put light rail along Washington Street when the elevated got torn down, but the federal government wouldn't fund it. Every indication I have is that the "Silver Line" is, fundamentally, a bus, regardless of the amount of marketing it's received. I'm kind of doubtful that it's going to do anything like "revitalize Dudley Square" that one might hope for from transit in that direction.

There's an article in today's Globe that talks about minority transit concerns in Dorchester, incidentally, which mentions the Silver Line ("they're spending all this money on connecting Roxbury to the airport, but we don't care about that"). If you're into reading newsgroups, I also find the ne.transportation group to be fairly informative.

[komos.livejournal.com]

The Silver Line is just another bus, albeit a bus that was supposed to have its own dedicated lane. There was a fair amount of concern that in spite all of the spin, it was just going to be another bus line with all of the problems that bus lines have. I got sloppy and lost track of the story along the way.

Thanks for the info. I'll be checking these out soon.