34 years later – but still worth waiting for

On April 27, 2022, in Latest News, by The Somerville Times

By Mayor Emeritus Eugene C. Brune

I was always pleased that as the Ward 6 Alderman I helped in the fight to have the Red Line in Davis Square. I was equally as pleased in 1984 as your mayor to join Governor Dukakis, Alderman Jack Connolly, and others in cutting the ribbon for the new Red Line.

In 1988 we began to have several meetings with the MBTA regarding the extension of the Green Line north through Somerville. I wanted that to happen, but there was talk that maybe citizens might not like the idea of allowing trains to come through the city. In fact, there was an appropriation bill before the State Senate to issue bonds for a proposed $825 million reconstruction project.

The funds would allow for the relocation of the Cambridge Lechmere T-Station from its present location to a new location east of the highway. Now, 34 years later, we celebrated the Green Line serving Union Square and in the coming months several more stops, finishing the completion at Tufts University.

Somerville is privilege to be able to have the Red Line, Orange Line and five Green Line stops as well as excellent cross town bus routes allowing Somerville to be the most convenient city in the state to travel on public transportation. But with that title comes setbacks. Higher rents, higher cost to purchase homes, and higher real estate taxes.

I fear that we will lose many more long time Somerville families due to landlords increasing rents especially for homes in the vicinity of one of the stations. Our lawmakers will have an extremely grueling task to lessen the burden for our low-income residence that would like to continue to live in the city where some were born.

2 Responses to “34 years later – but still worth waiting for”

DKimmel says:

April 27, 2022 at 1:24 pm

Thank you former Mayor Brune for all your work on expanding transit opportunities in Somerville, but that work is far from done. You mention the Green Line extension will be “finishing the completion” at Tufts, but that falls short of the original plan — still supported by Mayor Ballantyne and State Senator Jehlen — to extend it all the way to Routh 16. You also claim Somerville is “the most convenient city in the state to travel on public transportation.” That may be true, but as someone in West Somerville, it’s a sad joke. For me to get to Assembly Square I can take the bus to Davis Square and then wait for the sporadically scheduled 90 bus OR take the Red Line into Boston and then transfer to the Orange Line. Convenient? As the saying goes, sometimes where you stand depends on where you sit.
Wig Zamore says:

April 28, 2022 at 5:40 am

It is important to remember that using the regional and state ratio of .6 jobs per resident, Boston is short housing for over 600,000 people and Cambridge is short housing for over 150,000 people. Somerville is vastly short jobs using the same live work balance ratio.

With Somerville’s shared boundaries with Cambridge and Boston, it is mathematically ridiculous to blame transit for Somerville housing price pressures which are almost entirely caused by the live work imbalances in Boston and Cambridge.

Without Somerville’s massive excess of housing over jobs, the regional situation would be dramatically worse. If Boston and Cambridge can move toward live work balance, as they should, regional housing price pressures will significantly abate.