Members of the Green Line Extension Design Working Group met Monday night for the second time to discuss detailed plans for the extension of the T's Green Line through the Union Square and Medford Hillside neighborhoods.
The working group meetings, which are hosted by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) and open to the public, bring together MassDOT and Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) employees and representatives from the surrounding neighborhoods of each proposed station to discuss details and concerns as the project progresses. Tufts Director of Community Relations Barbara Rubel represented the university at the meeting, which took place at 51 Winthrop St.
MassDOT Green Line Extension Project Manager Kate Fichter began the meeting with an overview of the project's current status. The extension project is now centering on finalizing the Green Line's route and proposed stations.
"We are … also working on the final environmental assessment, which is the federal assessment," Fichter said.
At the meeting, Ellin Reisner, the president of the Somerville Transportation Equality Partnership, was unanimously elected by members of the group to join Fichter as a group co-chair.
MBTA Deputy Director of Design Marggie Lackner then presented several design options for the seven proposed stations, including possible materials for different surfaces in the stations. Lackner emphasized that the overall design of each station remains flexible to accommodate its location.
"Almost every station is going to have a unique plan in relation to the street," she said.
One of the proposed stations along the Green Line's route will fall near the Tufts campus at the intersection of Boston and College Avenues.
Eric Bourassa, the transportation manager at the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, gave a presentation on a planning study done on a proposed site of the final stop of the extension to be located at Mystic Valley Parkway/Route 16.
After a discussion of design principles for the station, the floor was opened for several members of the community and representatives of community groups to ask questions and voice their opinions about the project.
Fichter, calling the meeting a success, told the Daily afterward that she was encouraged by the public's participation.
"It was nice to have the working group together as well as the members of the public … and there were a lot of good questions raised," she said, adding that MassDOT relies on the input of the working group during the design process.
"The most important … part [of the group] is to help us sort through all the … tradeoffs that come to play during the design," she said.
The group will meet again sometime after Jan. 1, although members discussed scheduling for upcoming community workshops to accept more feedback from the communities surrounding each station.
Seth Rau, a junior who attended the meeting as a member of the public, emphasized the need for increased student involvement in discussion about the project.
"I feel like even though I'm a junior right now and I … will not see the fruition of this project," Rau said, "right now there's a lot of voices — there's five thousand of us — and our voice was not heard in this."
