Somerville residents: No extension for Green Line extension

By Catherine Rogers

            As Somerville residents see it, postponing construction of a new Green Line stop is postponing the welfare of the entire city.

At a hearing at the Mass. Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Dec. 21 the public voiced its concerns regarding amendments to the language of the Ozone State Implementation Plan (OSIP).

“The health issues alone are enough for the DEP to make the right call,” said Somerville resident Peter Demasey, also a father of two children, ages 4 and 6.

According to the language in the OSIP, the Green Line extension and other Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority projects could be delayed until 2014 – three years after the current target finish date – or longer. Other changes affect the regulations of delays and substitution of one transit project for another.

State Senator Jarrett T. Barrios said these loopholes continue to obstruct progress, noting that the project was ratified in 1991. “It’s not practical, fair or just. The commitment should be upheld through all stages of the process,” he said.

Barrios, who also sits on the Joint Committee on Transportation, said he is happy with the commitment to the Green Line. But he cautioned the state against turning its back on the well-being of the people who live and work in the affected communities. Ideally, he said, the project would unfold on schedule.

If a delay was necessary, though, such a lack of progress should be coupled with mitigation for immediate solutions to the traffic congestion and vehicle emissions, said Barrios. He suggested the MBTA increase bus and commuter rail service to daily travelers.

In conjunction with excessive vehicle emissions, postponing the Green Line’s arrival to Somerville would leave the development of Union Square and major smart-growth initiatives in Somerville at a stand-still, said Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone.

“SIP offers no assurance these projects will ever be built,” said President of the state’s Conservation Law Foundation Phil Warberg. “If SIP is to be changed, it should be strengthened, not weakened.”

The hearing was part of an open-comment period during which citizens could comment – in writing or verbally – on the DEP’s proposed changes to the OSIP. Once the OSIP is amended to include the Green Line extension and other MBTA undertakings, the DEP will seek a final endorsement from the Environmental Protection Agency.