Green Line Extension to Medford & Union Sq

Sorry to have to say this, but what if a small child decides that he or she wants to walk down that ramp, & is enticed to play on the tracks, then he or she gets tragically hurt or worst yet, killed?!! Then there's a wrongful death lawsuit filed by his or her fam. What happens next? They should put a fence there to keep anyone from getting on the tracks.

Not to say that this would happen, but in this case, I think that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!!! Just saying. :)
 
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Jahvon09 said:
Sorry to have to say this, but what if a small child decides that he or she want to walk down that ramp, & is enticed to play on the tracks, then he or she gets hurt or worst yet, killed?!! Then there's a wrongful death lawsuit filed by his or her fam. What happens next? They should put a fence there to keep anyone from getting on the tracks.

Not to say that this would happen, but in this case, I think that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!!! :)
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They're going to. That'll be one of the very last touches.
 
MBTA hits pause on Green Line development talks

“Land near the under-construction Ball Square Station could become a target for mixed-use real estate projects featuring transit access as a focal point, but talks about the development will not take place until well after the Green Line Extension fully opens in May 2022, an MBTA official said Tuesday.”

“Although the station on the Somerville-Medford Line has been targeted for future transit-oriented development, Terry McCarthy, the project’s program director of stakeholder engagement, said “it’s a little early” to kick off discussions about blended residential and business construction near the stop, with passenger service still nearly a year away….”

https://news.google.com/articles/CB...lbnQtdGFsa3MvYW1wLw?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
 
stick n move said:
MBTA hits pause on Green Line development talks

“Land near the under-construction Ball Square Station could become a target for mixed-use real estate projects featuring transit access as a focal point, but talks about the development will not take place until well after the Green Line Extension fully opens in May 2022, an MBTA official said Tuesday.”

“Although the station on the Somerville-Medford Line has been targeted for future transit-oriented development, Terry McCarthy, the project’s program director of stakeholder engagement, said “it’s a little early” to kick off discussions about blended residential and business construction near the stop, with passenger service still nearly a year away….”

https://news.google.com/articles/CBMiWGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJvc3RvbmhlcmFsZC5jb20vMjAyMS8wNy8wNi9tYnRhLWhpdHMtcGF1c2Utb24tZ3JlZW4tbGluZS1kZXZlbG9wbWVudC10YWxrcy_SAVxodHRwczovL3d3dy5ib3N0b25oZXJhbGQuY29tLzIwMjEvMDcvMDYvbWJ0YS1oaXRzLXBhdXNlLW9uLWdyZWVuLWxpbmUtZGV2ZWxvcG1lbnQtdGFsa3MvYW1wLw?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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Because????? We all know that construction design, permitting and actual erection is instantaneous. So why plan for something a year out?
 
stick n move said:
MBTA hits pause on Green Line development talks

“Land near the under-construction Ball Square Station could become a target for mixed-use real estate projects featuring transit access as a focal point, but talks about the development will not take place until well after the Green Line Extension fully opens in May 2022, an MBTA official said Tuesday.”

“Although the station on the Somerville-Medford Line has been targeted for future transit-oriented development, Terry McCarthy, the project’s program director of stakeholder engagement, said “it’s a little early” to kick off discussions about blended residential and business construction near the stop, with passenger service still nearly a year away….”

https://news.google.com/articles/CBMiWGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJvc3RvbmhlcmFsZC5jb20vMjAyMS8wNy8wNi9tYnRhLWhpdHMtcGF1c2Utb24tZ3JlZW4tbGluZS1kZXZlbG9wbWVudC10YWxrcy_SAVxodHRwczovL3d3dy5ib3N0b25oZXJhbGQuY29tLzIwMjEvMDcvMDYvbWJ0YS1oaXRzLXBhdXNlLW9uLWdyZWVuLWxpbmUtZGV2ZWxvcG1lbnQtdGFsa3MvYW1wLw?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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Does anyone know what land the T owns in the vicinity? It can’t be much
 
Good (?) news is the stretch from Rt 28 to Cambridge Crossing is more than a mile of ugly industrial sprawl with no housing and few entry/exit points for the path, with little in the way of views, greenery, art or commercial destinations. Though that means it ain't all that pretty a walk, it does mean anyone out on that stretch is fairly likely to be moving with purpose. Bikes, runners, and commuters. Not a lot of casual "let's go smell the roses" strolls in this area for the foreseeable future.

In short, though it is narrower than we'd like, it is long--spreading out the traffic--and it is ugly, so there will be fewer stationary living obstacles than other points on the community path.
 
I'm just gonna throw this out there. They should just get the main project finished & worry about other remote stuff later. They make me sick when they do this crap. Using it as a way to put off or stall things. It's getting to be like another years-long Dig-Dig-style project. That does not need to happen. Especially since all of the work is being done above & on the ground. No tunnels or underground stations needed that we know of. :(
 
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fattony said:
Does anyone know what land the T owns in the vicinity? It can’t be much
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Work adjacent to MBTA property/abutting MBTA ROW often needs approval from the MBTA, so it may not even have to be directly on MBTA property, and there are a number of lots adjacent to the ROW that could easily be redeveloped. Just a guess, but a team may have reached out to begin the discussions related to that process, and operations definitely wants to at least get on the tracks and have things working before granting approval to buildings next to their ROW. The access and operation requirements can't easily be 100% determined in the office before trains are on the tracks and power stations are in operation.

If the MBTA is referring only to their property here, there's also a chance a developer is already looking at the power substation lot for development, which is a pretty substantial corner lot that likely won't last long - there aren't many open/expansive lots in Ball Square as there are in places like Union, so getting the "easy" and empty parcels is going to be a developer's goal. The design for the approach to Ball currently utilizes a good portion of the lot, so there'd need to be some substantial planning on utilities, bike storage, station entrance reconfiguration, etc., if they actually want to build on that corner.
 
kjdonovan said:
Good (?) news is the stretch from Rt 28 to Cambridge Crossing is more than a mile of ugly industrial sprawl with no housing and few entry/exit points for the path, with little in the way of views, greenery, art or commercial destinations. Though that means it ain't all that pretty a walk, it does mean anyone out on that stretch is fairly likely to be moving with purpose. Bikes, runners, and commuters. Not a lot of casual "let's go smell the roses" strolls in this area for the foreseeable future.

In short, though it is narrower than we'd like, it is long--spreading out the traffic--and it is ugly, so there will be fewer stationary living obstacles than other points on the community path.
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I agree with your smart use of the ? in your opening.

That's like saying "It's so much more affordable to live in Mississippi".
 
Equilibria said:
Because they'll get more money for it once the service is up and running.
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You really think land prices along that corridor don't have future service baked in already? Have you been watching real estate prices in Somerville?
 
Right behind/below the Somerville HS near the Gilman Sq stop…does anyone know what this machine does?!
93B6BDA7-1861-4223-B1CB-260CB6B214DF.jpeg
 
Dr. Rosen Rosen said:
Right behind/below the Somerville HS near the Gilman Sq stop…does anyone know what this machine does?!
View attachment 15210
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Ballast tamper (clicky the link for wiki description on what it does). Specifically: a miniature rapid-transit sized ballast tamper. It packs the trackbed (which has a lot of loose fill when first laid) so it's hard/flat and ride-smooth.
 
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