Re: Green Line to Medford to start in 2011
That's good. Although I'd hold back on doing the full fistpump until they ID the funding particulars for it. Design's come along nicely because of all the dependencies that have to be pre-built into the GLX ROW, but the whole reason the Path was semi-decoupled from GLX was because they didn't have a funding pipeline for it and thus could not make a firm commitment. It was kind of wavering out in there in la-la land with the Route 16 terminus as stuff they I.O.U.'d commitment to build, but non-bindingly.
As long as they've got some substantive answers to give on what exactly they're doing to bind the financing--something beyond "Uhh, we haven't figured that out yet but we promise"--reason to get excited.
None of the designs circulated so far completed the final Northpoint connection. I think it stopped at Washington St. because the maze through the Innerbelt required ped overpasses to tie it in to Northpoint that were beyond the project boundaries of GLX + SCP. That's not a problem in real terms because look at that gorgeous footbridge at Northpoint that got built by its lonesome. The connector would be a separate breakaway project amongst those stakeholders that could happen quickly, with more Cambridge and private developer involvement than the Path Ext. which is a primarily Somerville + MassDOT joint. Just no point in committing now when the Path Extension design isn't 100% final to its terminus, and some of the GLX carhouse trackage it may have to bridge over/under isn't funded or at final design either. They have to know where their jumping-off point is.
I would love to know how if there's a way to tie in all the interconnected parkland on the Science Park/viaduct side direct and grade-separated to the Esplanade without having the Leverett Circle chasm to cross. That's really, really, really the finishing touch when you consider:
-- SCP connects to Alewife, the Minuteman, Fresh Pond, and the Fitchburg Cutoff path.
-- They're stringing together the Mystic Reservation path through Arlington and Medford from Alewife/Minuteman with a goal of connecting/almost-connecting everything up to Wellington.
-- The Watertown Branch Path is going to connect to Fresh Pond when the state finishes negotiating its purchase of the recently abandoned freight ROW, adding a leg that will see foot traffic levels similar to the Minuteman in Arlington. And eventually getting filled by City of Watertown bit-by-bit between the Mall, Watertown Sq., and the Charles paths up there. Complete Charles circuit. through Somerville, Cambridge, and Watertown on a paved Bipedal Urban Ring thing. You will not believe how crowded that will be. It'll be a real-deal commuter line for people who bike to work.
-- The Fitchburg Cutoff path could get extended all the way to Belmont Ctr. Possibly even Waverley on a later leg.
-- Good potential for a Porter fork off Alewife with footbridges over the tracks to Danehy Park.
-- Billerica is looking to acquire and fill the gap in the Narrow Guage/Yankee Doodle Trail to complete the Minuteman, etc. circuit just shy of North Billerica station on the Lowell Line.
-- If they play their cards right stringing together the Mystic paths, do a footbridge over Fellsway to Station Landing, and make the sidewalks on 16 and 28 over the bridges to Gateway Ctr. and Assembly much wider and less terrifying...direct connections to the Assembly paths, Everett-side Mystic paths, and the Malden-Lynn Bike to the Sea.
-- Better connectivity between the Esplanade and Emerald Necklace if they can fill in the Landmark Ctr.-Kenmore gap and only make it a couple blocks through Kenmore to get across the gap.
ALL OF THIS IS DIRECT-CONNECTED TO ALL OF THIS.
I mean, that is stratospheric if they execute on it and the SCP Ext. is the critical missing piece that makes it all happen. If they get the funding to proceed to build, it's mega. Mega.
