Tufts voices concerns over planned T stop

As many at Tufts and within its surrounding communities look forward to easier subway access thanks to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA) Green Line extension project, university administrators have aired concerns over safety issues surrounding the stop planned for Tufts' campus.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation's (MassDOT) plan to extend the T's Green Line into Somerville and Medford involves seven proposed stops, including a College Avenue station by Tufts. Scheduled for completion by 2014, it will stand at the intersection of College and Boston Avenues, next to Curtis Hall.

The university's reception of the project has been generally positive, but some administrators are expressing concerns about how the construction process and the station's location will affect traffic safety in the surrounding area.

Vice President for Operations John Roberto said that the station may increase congestion in an area that already has considerable traffic.

"There's going to be increased pedestrian and vehicular circulation at Boston and College Avenues, which is a difficult intersection as it is," he said. "Clearly we have some issues with the proposal. We need to understand all the details of the impact on the university."

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation, which last month came under the auspices of the newly formed MassDOT, filed its Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) in October, outlining several negative environmental effects the project could have, and offering potential remedies. Coordinating efforts with the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) Office, MassDOT opened the report to outside commentary. Tufts plans to offer its input.

"I'm sure that we will most likely find other areas that we will need to address and get more information on, and there are a host of issues that we will be covering in the next couple of weeks," Roberto said.

Tufts' Director of Community Relations Barbara Rubel said the university's questions will mostly center on pedestrian safety, bicycle access to the station and the station construction's "impact on university property."

But Rubel expressed confidence that the MEPA Office and MassDOT will duly address Tufts' concerns in considering the comments it receives on the DEIR report. Comments will be due for submission in January.

"It's at such a key location," Rubel said of the College Avenue station, "so we will certainly raise our safety concerns and make sure as many considerations and protections are put in place as possible."

At a meeting several weeks ago of the Medford Green Line Neighborhood Alliance (MGNA), a community group in favor of the extension, "a lot of the same issues were raised," Rubel said. The MGNA currently sees about 9,000 daily vehicle trips at the intersection and has projected an undetermined increase in volume during peak hour Green Line ridership.

MassDOT has taken a number of steps to address these concerns.

A flyer authored and distributed by MassDOT at a Nov. 18 public hearing at Somerville High School promised that the project will "improve traffic and pedestrian movements at many intersections and will not have an adverse impact on existing traffic operations."

In its Green Line fact sheet released this fall, MassDOT said that, "where possible," it plans to provide cyclists with easy access and bicycle facilities at the new T stations.

Despite administrators' worries, some students and faculty working in the buildings surrounding the proposed site for the station say they are receptive to plans and do not foresee major problems for their operations.

Though the T traffic may produce noise and vibrations in the Tufts Science and Technology Center (Sci-Tech), located on Colby Street, the equipment already in place to secure lab equipment will prevent any potential complications, said Laboratory Technician Chris Hunt with the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering.

 "I don't foresee it being a huge problem," Hunt said.

The MBTA's commuter rail already runs on a track adjacent to Sci-Tech, which has "caused some vibrations," Hunt said. But aside from "a few isolated incidents," the trains have not interfered with the department's lab work. Hunt said that if the new station creates excessive vibrations, the department will consider adding more stabilizing technology in the building.

Junior Andrew Sayler, general manager of the student-run radio station WMFO, expressed a similar approval of the extension. The station is based out of Curtis Hall.

Noise disturbance "is not something we're concerned about," Sayler said. "The commuter rail that goes by there now is as noisy as it gets."

But Sayler called the proposal a "boon to that side of campus," and predicted that WMFO will enjoy increased visibility as a result of the new T station.

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This article was edited from its original print version for purposes of clarity on 12/3/09.