'Skeletal' redesign of Green Line Extension draws criticism at final public meeting
By Natalie Handy
nhandy@wickedlocal.com
Posted May 2, 2016 at 10:31 AM
Updated May 4, 2016 at 8:03 AM
CAMBRIDGE
As the state and MBTA prepare to vote May 9 on whether to continue the Green Line Extension project, residents and public officials alike expressed frustration and disappointment regarding a proposed, scaled-back re-design during MassDOT’s final public meeting on the topic April 27 in Cambridge.
While many meeting attendees spoke in favor of the project, others were not pleased with the new “skeletal” design.
...
Cambridge City Councilor Leland Cheung said at the meeting that this process has been an “absolute train wreck of this management,” and
instead of going after the contractors who have wasted taxpayer dollars, the state has gone after residents to accept a “bare-bones proposal.” According to Cheung, residents have spent countless hours thinking about the future of the area, and developers, council, and the city of Cambridge have put up resources that have been “thrown to the wayside.”
...
“I’m so terribly disappointed in terms of what we’re being presented with, and I’m asking you to go back and come up with better,” Cheung said.
The redesigned stations are open-air instead of station houses, and only the Lechmere and College Avenue stations would have elevators to transport people from the street to the tracks. There would be a four-car platform at Lechmere, and all others would be three-car. The stations will be ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant with fare arrays removed and bike storage at all stations. The operation limitations would result in construction efficiencies and improve budget and schedule, according to Wright. Mitigation measures will also be put in place to reduce existing noise and vibration impacts from area railroads, according to the plan.
Despite the ADA compliance, some residents questioned the feasibility for seniors to access the proposed Lechmere Station, specifically when traveling from East Cambridge and crossing the highway. Other residents were concerned with the open-air facilities, especially during harsh weather.
...
Full article:
http://winchester.wickedlocal.com/n...nsion-draws-criticism-at-final-public-meeting