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

I’m writing to urge the Board of Aldermen to approve Somerville’s $50 million funding of the Green Line Extension. Financial analysis of the bond issue is complex, and I can’t begin to offer an opinion on it. I think we have to have faith that our city and legislative delegation have negotiated the best deal that we get in order to have the GLX go forward. We need to remember that there are some in the Baker Administration which would be extremely happy to cancel the project using our indecision or lack of approval of this as an excuse.

So rather than going over all that I just want to remind people of the incredible benefits that would come from the extension of the Green Line. We all know how central the GLX is to current economic development in Union Square, and in the future for Inner Belt and Brickbottom.

There are also the important quality of life improvements for the 60% of our city that would be, now, within a half mile of the Green Line—this means they have much better access to work, to classes, to medical care, to recreation. It is a life-changing thing when people get an extra half-hour in their day to do whatever they want with.

The GLX will act as a stimulus for current businesses, critical in places like Union Square and Magoun Square – and even to some extent Ball Square — that don’t have enough daytime population. With the GLX they’ll have frequent easy access over light rail.

It also will bring vital environmental and public health benefits – after all, the starting point of this project was to improve air quality. Using light rail also encourages healthier lifestyles with less driving and more walking and biking

Finally, there will be direct benefits in terms of local jobs, right away in construction, and long-term jobs from the development that will be stimulated.

So please, don’t kill this project. It’s the Board’s duty to look hard at the bond proposal, but in the end I think you have to find a way to go ahead and approve this funding. It’s really now or never.

Jim McGinnis
Member STEP, Union Square Main Streets and Union Square Neighbors