Politics & Government
Rte. 16 Green Line Stop Not Off the Table
A year-long study of a Route 16 station is expected, and a proposal will be submitted to the MBTA, officials said.
Planners are in the early stages of creating a proposal for a Green Line stop at Route 16 , and intend to research a station stop there for at least the next year.
Although the station is not part of the current phase of extending the line, a station at Route 16 is still being considered as the possible final stop on the route—eventually.
The Metropolitan Area Planning Council, which has been awarded a $209,000 contract to study the impact of a Route 16 station, will take about a year to hold public meetings and review how the station could impact the area, Eric Bourassa, manager of the MAPC Transportation Division, said during a Green Line Extension Design Working Group meeting Monday at Tufts University.
"We are really in the 'what if' phase," Bourassa said. "In terms of our study's objectives, we want to identify community-wide issues and explore and explain the Route 16 station."
Five public meetings are planned for the next year, where community input will be encouraged, Bourassa said. Concerns like traffic, gentrification and displacement, will all be considered, he said. No dates for the meetings have been set, but Bourassa said he expected the first one to be held late this year or in early 2011.
Find out what's happening in Somervillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The stop on Route 16, near the city lines of Medford, Somerville and Arlington, is considered phase two of the extension project. Phase one, expected to be completed and operational by 2015, will extend the line through Union Square in Somerville and into Medford near the intersection of Boston Ave. and College Ave. behind Tufts University.
A design team is being assembled to create a proposal for phase one of the project, which will be submitted to the MBTA, said Kate Fichter, Green Line Extension project manager.
Find out what's happening in Somervillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
"We are gathering a preliminary design team to construct a proposal to go before the MBTA next January, this phase will last about 12 to 15 months," Fichter said Monday.
The extension project seeks to add up to seven stops to the green line in Somerville and Medford by extending the line along the commuter rail track. It is projected to cost about $1 billion.
