If all goes according to plan, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) will extend its existing Green Line subway service through Cambridge, Somerville and Medford, and will build a stop on Tufts' campus by 2014.
While the location of the new stop has not been finalized, city and transportation officials have worked to hear input from the Somerville and Tufts communities.
City officials met with local residents in Sophia Gordon Hall's Multipurpose Room on Jan. 31 to discuss possible construction of stations on College Ave. and Winthrop St.
"This is probably the best transit opportunity on the books right now," Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone told the Daily. Curtatone has lobbied for the project since taking office in 2003, working with the Somerville Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development and the city's Board of Aldermen to adhere to the 2014 deadline.
There are currently four different sets of train tracks that carry eight rail lines through Somerville's neighborhoods. But the only T station in Somerville is the Red Line's Davis Square stop.
State authorities have been discussing a Green Line extension to Somerville since the 1960s, but details have only recently been finalized. The Green Line station was originally meant to be fully operational by the end of 2011, but legal proceedings delayed the project, according to Curtatone.
"The state is legally required" to complete this project, Curtatone said, referencing state requirements to meet federal air-quality
regulations.
According to the extension plan, which is an initiative of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation and Public Works, the project is expected to "improve regional air quality ... encourage economic development and job creation ... address long-standing transportation inequities ... support opportunities for smart growth initiatives and sustainable development, and reduce automobile
congestion."
The City of Somerville hopes that the project will open access to employment, cultural and education opportunities in the area.
"We're excited by this because Somerville is an environmental justice community and this transit improvement will bring a lot of improvements to our region," Curtatone said.
Curtatone announced the project on May 18, 2005, at a press conference in Union Square.
"Most of us are Red Sox fans, so we're used to waiting," he said at the conference. "Like Red Sox fans, we've waited decades for a return to past glory, in this case the streetcar days of Union Square. And like Red Sox fans, we can't quite believe we've finally won."
Just before the announcement, a 2005 MBTA report revealed that the extension would cut vehicle miles by 64,000 per day and have low costs per mile.
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick recently submitted a bond bill to the Massachusetts legislature to fund the project, requiring the state to finance the project whether or not it receives federal support.
The Citizens Advisory Group, which includes representatives from Cambridge, Somerville and Medford, met yesterday in the library of Somerville High School to discuss the project construction and
proposed stops.
