Joel N. Weber II
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- Joined
- Aug 30, 2015
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Re: Green Line Extension to Mystic Valley Parkway vs Needham and West Roxbury
I'd certainly be happy to see all of that built more or less as one large project (although the ideal way to phase construction would probably be to convert the Needham part first, then the Orange Line part if you're trying to minimize the time stations lose rail service; and the Green Line bridge across the Charles can be built before the active segments are touched, and the vertical catenary poles can probably also be installed while the commuter rail is still running), but if we're talking about the best thing to do with the dollars currently earmarked for the Mystic Valley Parkway Green Line extension, those dollars probably aren't going to pay for all of Green to Needham plus Orange to West Roxbury.
Then with Needham there's also the question of whether more riders and branches west of Copley is going to strain the system, in a way that a one stop extension on what will become an existing branch of the underutilized Lechmere side of the system won't be a similar strain.
We also need more Orange Line rolling stock before we can do this (and maybe more Green Line trains too), but the Orange Line trains should get delivered long before anyone is likely to get the environmental study of the Orange Line extension done.
I'd certainly be happy to see all of that built more or less as one large project (although the ideal way to phase construction would probably be to convert the Needham part first, then the Orange Line part if you're trying to minimize the time stations lose rail service; and the Green Line bridge across the Charles can be built before the active segments are touched, and the vertical catenary poles can probably also be installed while the commuter rail is still running), but if we're talking about the best thing to do with the dollars currently earmarked for the Mystic Valley Parkway Green Line extension, those dollars probably aren't going to pay for all of Green to Needham plus Orange to West Roxbury.
Then with Needham there's also the question of whether more riders and branches west of Copley is going to strain the system, in a way that a one stop extension on what will become an existing branch of the underutilized Lechmere side of the system won't be a similar strain.
We also need more Orange Line rolling stock before we can do this (and maybe more Green Line trains too), but the Orange Line trains should get delivered long before anyone is likely to get the environmental study of the Orange Line extension done.
