Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

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

Originally published May 10, 2008

Having the Red Line extend to Davis Square was a great achievement. The stop has become a huge asset to commuters as well as businesses. It turned Davis Square into “The Paris of the Nineties,” whatever that means. Too bad it wasn’t there when I was going to Emerson College. Taking a bus to Harvard Square and then changing to the train at Charles Street was a pain. My son can now hop the red line at Park St. and come directly to Davis Square from Suffolk University to ask me for money!

Anyway, Somerville has approval and funding to build that new Orange Line stop at Assembly Square, but what I am really excited about is that Somerville has recently secured the addition of six new Green Line passenger train stops through the city, all the way into Medford. Some are currently under construction.

Even though the locations of the stations are already planned, here is how I think some of the stops should be named and located. From Lechmere, I believe it will stop first at Union Square. Too bad they couldn’t turn the glorious old St. Joseph’s Church into a mini-South Station, complete with restaurants, vendors and shops. Midnight Variety is going to be swamped when the Green Line arrives.

The next stop should definitely be City Hall. This way, commuters could get to the Central Library, the high school and Joe’s office. You could hop off to pay your tax bill, then hop back on to head to your part time job. I think the City Hall stop should be decorated with pictures of former Somerville politicians. How about the Lenny Scott escalator, the Paul Duhamel waiting area or the Andy Capuano information booth? One stop would definitely have to be named after our beloved Eugene C. Brune.

I think it should be all Somerville. This is a great chance to toot our own Somerville horns while expanding public transportation and inviting growth of transient orientated development (pretty impressive language, huh?). Perhaps we could add a nice mural dedicated to Somerville Sports greats like Bill Endicott, Joe Lutoff, Johnny Nunziato, and of course Walter, Al and Ronnie Perry. The only Somerville sports I was ever a part of was burning my hands and legs on that stupid rope that hung from the ceiling in the gym.

Was it the Red Line expansion to Davis that changed our beloved square into restaurant and bar-Ville? Did the extension have anything to do with the hipster invasion? Who cares? I’m glad the hipsters are here. Me and my hippie friends were in their shoes back in the late 60’s. Welcome! Did public transportation replace an Italian bakery with a sushi restaurant? We now have a restaurant, yogurt place or bar every three feet and no place to park. So … expand the T, I say! We’ll take the train everyplace! Bring it on!

The real winners will be our Meffa friends. They will be able to get on the Green Line and without changing trains go right to The Museum of Science … oooh!