Green Line Extension to Medford & Union Sq

[F-Line to Dudley]

I mean its telling where the citys priorities are when somerville gets glx when the area already has red and orange not far away and the indigo line dmu plan to the "poorer" neighborhoods gets scrapped.

You completely lost me with this track. When the density of the corridor screams with such beat-you-over-the-head superlatives and has been underserved for those demographics for so many generations...that's not a "too much privilege" argument at all. It's a "BUILT THE @#$% TRANSIT" argument. The outflow consequences for the housing market then become a "APPLY SYSTEMIC TREATMENTS TO HOUSING INEQUALITY" call to arms, not an excuse to scapegoat the transit for existing.

Your second point about poorer neighborhoods getting the shaft is fully accurate in thrust. But then it lifts the Patrick-era "the indigo line DMU plan" to unwittingly slew-foot it, to kind of miss the ultimate point. Like...the "Indigo"-branded Patrick/Davey plan was complete and total BS. It aimed to spend a quarter-billion dollars buying shiny self-propelled things (which aren't half as good as actual Regional Rail electrified EMU best-practice)...which (per immediate news leaks about Boston 2024 and vehicle maint facilities in Foxboro) they then sought to ACTIVELY UNDERCUT service levels on the Fairmount corridor by vulturing the shiny toys to the 'burbs and to the useless Track 61 dinky instead of fulfilling the "It's the frequencies, stupid!" essence of the Fairmount Improvements recs (and legal obligations therein). If anyone questioned that, the one-trick retort to an obvious fraud heist would've been: "Well, we bought you shiny new vehicles. Why aren't you ingrates happy with that?!?" We were conditioned to believe the shiny vehicles were the service...and not, you know, the actual frequencies and fare equity being the service. Patrick's cronies put on a masterclass in Lying With Title VI with their Fairmount corridor rope-a-dope. They wanted people to cite "the Indigo DMU thing" for shade-throwing purposes, for the vehicle purchase to be the sole cultural currency the corridor had so they could proceed at stripping back the service levels interference-free. They wildly succeeded at being able to undermine justice communities if they convinced people to only talk about their choice of vehicle-make vanity and not the complete de-emphasis on achieving the service levels that netted economic justice for the corridor in question.

Plying Title VI for argumentative fallacies is not a new craft for Greater Boston political elites. Powerful people have been playing us like a fiddle with this kind of noxious framing for generations. It's a somewhat hopeful moment that "SO FIX HOUSING, FOR @#$% SAKE!" is the more immediate take to this batch of GLX equality reporting than "uh-oh...'privilege' strikes and we should feel shame." And somewhat hopeful that we're fighting tooth-and-nail for the Rail Vision frequency specs on the Fairmount corridor instead of getting distracted by transparently chum in the water over 'the vehicle IS the service' again. These framing BS games are pervasive; if we're not falling for them like we used to, then that means we're getting smarter as a public.

 

[shmessy]

I mean its pretty telling where the citys priorities are when somerville gets the shiny new glx when the area already has red close by, orange not too far away, and lechmere had green access already but the indigo line dmu plan to the "poorer" neighborhoods gets scrapped and never heard of again.

Plus theres not even a fake proposal to extend some type of rail to dudley sq, nope you get shitty buses and not even a pretend extension after that.

I'm particularly drawn to who's #1 and #2 on this list:

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www.towncharts.com

 

[RandomWalk]

I don’t really buy the security camera rationale for blocking the webcams:

- The webcams weren’t live feeds. They took infrequent snapshots. I know live feeds are possible, but they didn’t enable them.
- The T has modern security cameras located along the other lines, which have much more useful coverage. I really hope this wasn’t Baker’s attempt at cost cutting.
- The T already blocked the interior camera for the VMF.
- Most of the others were wide angles from distant positions off the property. They were decent overviews, but not great for much else.

 

[F-Line to Dudley]

I'm particularly drawn to who's #1 and #2 on this list:

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www.towncharts.com

#1 is also #1 for the entirety of New England. And as late as the 2000 Census (a couple of Miami-adjacent ZIP codes have since muscled in) it was the only not-NYC/not-LA adjacent municipality in the national Top 15.

Yes...it is not a controversial or elitist take in the slightest that they need more thoroughly intensive rapid transit coverage than one single Red stop nicking a few blocks in from the North Cambridge border and one very recent infill on the Mystic. Like...ultra superduper elitist framing that this is showering 'privilege' on the unneedy in some bizarro-world zero-sum game. But bizarro-world framing is what drives the politics of Title VI shade-throwing, so there you go. Boston.com shall let its clickbait freak flag fly accordingly.

 

[reno]

The difficulty of getting a hi-rail vehicle onto the tracks is proportional (maybe exponentially) to the length of the vehicle. Even if the truck pad is long enough for the truck to get fully on the tracks without backup moves, it surely took a great deal of skill to get it positioned accurately enough.

I didn't see it happen but I'm willing to bet that trailer was placed on the track with the assistance of a crane . Easy solution when you have the right equipment.

 

[ceo]

I didn't see it happen but I'm willing to bet that trailer was placed on the track with the assistance of a crane . Easy solution when you have the right equipment.

Exactly what I was thinking. Use the same crane that you then use to transfer the steel from the trailer it showed up on to the Hy-Rail trailer. Could maybe even do it with a backhoe and a chain.

 

[jcunion]

Pouring out the access ramp for the community path at cross street today

 

[Arlington]

I'm completely self-interested (because I live across the street from/of the ancient "redlining" line), but it still mystifies* how West Medford didn't get its Route 16 station.

West Medford is home to a hundreds-years old community of African Americans and somehow, despite the support of Tufts, Somerville, and the West Medfordians who ride the 80 and 94 we saw the MVP station postponed to "Phase 2" Now, after generations of home ownership (and the end of redlining) they are not poor (solidly middle class, actually), but if the "too White" analysis stings, we can fix it by coming out to route 16.

* Ok, it isn't a mystery. The very white Cars & Commuter Rail clientele didn't see the need for it and fought it with pitchforks.

 

[Equilibria]

I'm completely self-interested (because I live across the street from/of the ancient "redlining" line), but it still mystifies* how West Medford didn't get its Route 16 station.

West Medford is home to a hundreds-years old community of African Americans and somehow, despite the support of Tufts, Somerville, and the West Medfordians who ride the 80 and 94 we saw the MVP station postponed to "Phase 2" Now, after generations of home ownership (and the end of redlining) they are not poor (solidly middle class, actually), but if the "too White" analysis stings, we can fix it by coming out to route 16.

* Ok, it isn't a mystery. The very white Cars & Commuter Rail clientele didn't see the need for it and fought it with pitchforks.

It really died in the VE effort. Hopefully this report is impetus to get it going.

Honestly, if the project is underbudget, the savings should go to Route 16, not back to Cambridge and Somerville.

 

[Vagabond]

West Medford is home to a hundreds-years old community of African Americans and somehow, despite the support of Tufts, Somerville, and the West Medfordians who ride the 80 and 94 we saw the MVP station postponed to "Phase 2" Now, after generations of home ownership (and the end of redlining) they are not poor (solidly middle class, actually), but if the "too White" analysis stings, we can fix it by coming out to route 16.

I've seen the extensive plans for the Rt 16 station, but how far along did the original West Medford station plan get? Any plans to share?

It's certainly a "Reasonable Transit Pitch" to have the station go to Rt 60/West Medford, and plenty of density + bus routes in the area - with a station replacing the Dunkin Donuts to avoid another street crossing.

 

[Charlie_mta]

I'm completely self-interested (because I live across the street from/of the ancient "redlining" line), but it still mystifies* how West Medford didn't get its Route 16 station.

West Medford is home to a hundreds-years old community of African Americans and somehow, despite the support of Tufts, Somerville, and the West Medfordians who ride the 80 and 94 we saw the MVP station postponed to "Phase 2" Now, after generations of home ownership (and the end of redlining) they are not poor (solidly middle class, actually), but if the "too White" analysis stings, we can fix it by coming out to route 16.

* Ok, it isn't a mystery. The very white Cars & Commuter Rail clientele didn't see the need for it and fought it with pitchforks.

It is weird how the Black communities always seem to get aced out of new transit lines. Hmmm, I wonder why that is....

 

[Ruairi]

It really died in the VE effort. Hopefully this report is impetus to get it going.

Honestly, if the project is underbudget, the savings should go to Route 16, not back to Cambridge and Somerville.

so if route 16 happens with any excess funds, Cambridge and Somerville tax payers have to pay but Medford (with 3 stations) don't? Hardly seems fair.

 

[Javier]

 

[jcunion]

Looking down from the Walnut St bridge

 

[BostonTrainGuy]

. . . but the indigo line dmu plan to the "poorer" neighborhoods gets scrapped and never heard of again.

Plus theres not even a fake proposal to extend some type of rail to dudley sq, nope you get shitty buses and not even a pretend extension after that.

I never heard that the Indigo Line was scrapped. And please remember that there was a great plan to build a BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) line down the center of Blue Hill Avenue to Mattapan and the neighborhoods simply did not want it!

 

[The EGE]

The 28X proposal was not killed because the locals didn't want BRT - it was DOA because it was announced top-down without an iota of planning or community consultation. It was a half-assed attempt to grab federal money and not a real transit plan. There was a lot of parking removal with no mitigation or understanding of business needs, the median was being removed on a wide street which made pedestrians feel unsafe, and a lot of local stops were going to be removed - all issues that a normal planning process would have addressed. (See here for a more detailed history.)

The more recent plans for the BHA construction have been done with the community included in planning. Center-running lanes to limit parking loss, median refuge for pedestrians, and fewer stop consolidations. The feds rejected the grant request in 2020 in what was widely seen as a politically motivated snub, but the MBTA and city seem likely to find funding.

 

[Jahvon09]

Boston.com reports:
MBTA finds that the Green Line Extension will disproportionately benefit richer, whiter riders
"I think it's fair to say the demographics of the neighborhoods encompassing GLX have changed."
(story)

I mean, yes? Sad but true.

From 1990 (CLF settlement with the outgoing Dukakis Admin) to 2021 is half a lifetime, and coincides with young wage earners moving back to the core rather than drive-til-you-qualify cheap housing at the sprawl frontier.

If you want to help the environmental justice communities that remain in Somerville Medford, it is more like:
1) Extend to Route 16
2) Bus Lanes on Mystic Ave (which are in the works)

But let's also give the State credit for delivering the SLX to Everett Chelsea so fast that the demographics did not have time to change--identifying the communities and delivering.

But it also shows that empowering cities to do this for themselves (bus lanes) would have probably been a better consent decree back in 1990 *if* they could have acted with true foresight.

There was talk of the T possibly extending the Orange Line past Forrest Hills. Seems that nothing has become of it, just talk. Also, about the Blue being extended to Lynn, but nothing else was said about that either.

 

[ceo]

West Medford was eliminated very early in the project. Besides community opposition, there was also the issue of crossing the Mystic River; they'd have had to widen the existing bridge or build a new one. Also people whined about traffic and the Rte 60 grade crossing, which is silly because the station would have to be on the south side of 60 at any rate, and not cross it at all.

What I really hope they do, if the GLX is indeed extended to MVP (GLXX?) is put in a shared-use path alongside the CR tracks from West Medford Center to the station, building a pedestrian bridge over the river if they have to. The same walk on existing roads is almost twice the distance.

 

[F-Line to Dudley]

West Medford was eliminated very early in the project. Besides community opposition, there was also the issue of crossing the Mystic River; they'd have had to widen the existing bridge or build a new one. Also people whined about traffic and the Rte 60 grade crossing, which is silly because the station would have to be on the south side of 60 at any rate, and not cross it at all.

What I really hope they do, if the GLX is indeed extended to MVP (GLXX?) is put in a shared-use path alongside the CR tracks from West Medford Center to the station, building a pedestrian bridge over the river if they have to. The same walk on existing roads is almost twice the distance.

The Mystic crossing didn't need to be widened. It's a 50 ft. wide deck, exactly as wide as the brand new quad-track Harvard St. bridge. Boston & Lowell RR built it for eventual quad-tracking. The Route 16 arch bridge would've needed to be widened or twinned, but that one is only as old as the parkway and isn't historic. West Med was mainly canceled because pedestrian traffic on High St. would've been a total clusterfuck with GL station on one side of the grade crossing, CR station on the other side, and bus transfer berths sprayed all around the neighborhood. It's definitely not set up well to take a swell of pedestrians crossing the street every 6 minutes all day long. The complaints there were legitimate and well-reasoned.

The shared-use path is a possibility if they realign the tracks on the Mystic bridge to create room on one side to fence off and realign the Canal crossing. It's not been proposed yet because the Boston Ave. sidewalk really isn't a bad walk and right now they're all-in on just getting the state to uphold its commitment to building MVP in the first place. But side path is a thing that could go on the board quickly when the time comes.

 

[Arlington]

West Medford was eliminated very early in the project. Besides community opposition, there was also the issue of crossing the Mystic River; they'd have had to widen the existing bridge or build a new one. Also people whined about traffic and the Rte 60 grade crossing, which is silly because the station would have to be on the south side of 60 at any rate, and not cross it at all.

Yes, West Medford as a *station* was eliminated, but the Rt 16/MVP station was proposed to straddle W.Med and the promise of serving "Medford Hillside" (as specified in the CLF Consent deal)

What I really hope they do, if the GLX is indeed extended to MVP (GLXX?) is put in a shared-use path alongside the CR tracks from West Medford Center to the station, building a pedestrian bridge over the river if they have to. The same walk on existing roads is almost twice the distance.

Totally Agree. A lot of transit benefit can be had just from good walking access, which is a reason to keep the station up at track level rather than down at MVP level. Either way, to fully accommodate both crossing the river alongside the rail bridges, its either going to take an elevator to get down to a street-level station, or an elevator up from the street level to a bridge level station.-