By Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville News belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville News, its staff or publishers.)

Cynicism has its place. Without it people fail to plan for the worst-case scenario. Yet, to all the cynics out there who have questioned whether mass transit will return to the heart of Somerville, the MBTA answered with an emphatic “yes” on Monday.

The MBTA Board of Directors authorized $21 million toward the design of the Green Line extension. Even better, the contract will allow building to start on portions of the project while other sections are still being designed. This means work can start sooner and be completed sooner.

There is more to come and we will all surely suffer from moments of impatience during the next four years while we wait for the Green Line to open, but this is too significant an expenditure to pass off as a public relations maneuver.

This is big money, real money, going-to-build-yourself-a-bunch-of-new-T-stations money. Money is too tight these days to spend tens of millions on something you are not going to do.

And Monday was doubly good news for Somerville on the mass transit front as the MBTA also approved the funding plan for the new Assembly Square Orange Line station. I’m sure many will recall that in December the Board of Aldermen leapt into action to assure the funding for road and utilities infrastructure in Assembly Square. The City established strict standards for the conditions under which those funds will be approved, but without that action on the City’s part the MBTA never would have approved the funding plan for the new station. We are now looking at a $50 million mass transit node added to our city as a direct consequence of that December vote.

The new Orange Line station is critical to Federal Realty Investment Trust’s plans to redevelop Assembly Square. The new T stop unlocks the door to 2,100 new residential units, 1.75 million square feet of office space, 1.15 million square feet of retail space and public parkland along the Mystic River. Public transit is the key for transforming a declining piece of Somerville’s industrial past into a shimmering new gateway to our city.

This all goes back to a refrain I find myself repeating a lot these days: Somerville is uniquely positioned at this point in time to turn its ambitions into a reality. It takes community dedication and immense effort, and there is no instant gratification to be had, but all of the forces we need to combine to complete these projects continue to move in the right direction.

The pulling, pushing, prodding and cajoling done by the people in this community has created tangible momentum. While I recognize nothing is ever guaranteed until it’s done, make sure to allow yourself a small amount of optimism about this. We just had a very good day and it sets the stage for more to come.