By 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.)

Anyone who cares about Somerville’s future knows that ongoing investment in transportation improvements and infrastructure is essential – not just for economic reasons, but also for environmental and quality-of-life issues. If we want to ensure that Somerville thrives as a great place to live, work and play, we need to protect and upgrade the transportation resources we have, and we need to generate new transportation options for the future.

Obviously, transit is a big part of the overall transportation picture – in fact, it’s the crucial part. That’s why we’re continuing to fight for completion of the Green Line Extension by 2014, and why we’re working with Congressman Michael E. Capuano, our legislative delegation and concerned community groups to expedite construction of the new Orange Line station at Assembly Square. After all, transit not only provides an efficient, environmentally sound alternative to driving, but it also helps reduce congestion and speed up traffic for those who remain on the road. At the same time (and as Davis Square has so dramatically shown us) transit generates the kind of pedestrian activity that supports a wide array of businesses, and encourages development of new housing and office space – all of which adds to our tax base as well as the strength of the local economy.

But transit is only one element in the larger transportation picture.  Somerville is small enough to be a truly walkable and bikeable city. Our past success with the nationally-recognized ‚ÄúShape Up Somerville‚Äù campaign to fight childhood obesity is a reminder that a city that promotes the safety and convenience of walking and biking is also helping to promote health and fitness for its residents. That‚Äôs why the city has been working steadily to extend and improve our Community Path, and why we have unveiled our Safe START agenda to enhance safety and improve intersection safety fro drivers, cyclists and pedestrians alike.

But none of these efforts can reduce the need for basic roadway maintenance, which is why the city has resurfaced over 100 streets in the past three years, and one of several reasons why we‚Äôre in the midst of completely rebuilding Somerville Avenue from the bedrock up.  Roadway projects can, and often do, create temporary inconvenience, but they also result in a city that works and moves more freely and efficiently.

You can find out more about all these projects by visiting the city’s website, www.somervillema.gov, but you don’t need to log onto the Internet to appreciate the central role that transportation plays in Somerville’s public policy agenda. If you keep an eye on the local papers, you already know that our city is entering a period of unparalleled opportunity to improve our quality of life, to build a sustainable economy, and to ensure cleaner air and a better environment – but only if we maintain a vigorous and multifaceted transportation agenda with a heavy emphasis on key transit improvements.

We even need to pay attention to what’s happening at Logan Airport because, while there’s not doubt that Somerville benefits economically from its convenient access to the region’s principal air transportation center, there is also solid evidence that air traffic over Somerville (originating from Logan’s 33L runway) is increasing far faster than overall air traffic at Logan – and the resulting noise simply isn’t acceptable.

City government is working hard on all these fronts. Last week I was joined at a public hearing by members of our state delegation, Board of Aldermen and many concerned citizens in making a request to the state‚Äôs Department of Environmental Protection that they enforce the 2014 completion deadline for the Green Line Extension. In August, city officials met with Massport officials to discuss aircraft noise and, armed with irrefutable data, we‚Äôre now seeking a meeting with FAA officials to discuss ways to reduce noise levels over the city by balancing the use of Runway 33L with other runway options.  Over the past year, we sought and won a $198,000 grant from the state‚Äôs Division of Conservation Services (DCS) to allow us to extend the Community Path and develop a new park on Central Street.  In the year ahead, we will continue to expand our street repaving program.

We have plenty of other major policy challenges in Somerville ‚Äì property tax relief, community development, public safety, and much more. But right now, transportation issues are big in Somerville, and not likely to get any smaller.