In the 1970s Massachusetts legislators began to study the possibility of extending the Green Line through Somerville and into Medford. In the 1990s the extension became a federal mandate after the Big Dig brought more traffic and pollution to Somerville neighborhoods with no benefit for its residents.
Now in 2010, there has been (painfully) slow progress but news broke this week that the completion date has been pushed back yet again to 2015.
Somerville carries a heavy burden when it comes to area transit. Train tracks cover the city, yet there is only one station. Highways cut through neighborhoods leaving a trail of pollution that has infected Somerville citizens with some of the highest rates of asthma and lung cancer in the state.
This latest delay allows state officials to place a maintenance facility in a more advantageous spot for Inner Belt economic development and the mayor says it will help the city realize plans for a community bike path.
If Somerville gets a city-long bike path and robust economic development, this 10-month delay will hardly be remembered after four decades of waiting. If we don’t, it is another setback for environmental justice.