The Green Line Extension project, in the works for decades, is now providing rail transit service from Boston north into Somerville.
The Union Square Branch of the Green Line Extension Project, with service to Somerville, opens today in Massachusetts.
An article by Adrianna MacNeill previewed this milestone event for the decades-long Green Line Extension Project (GLX), noting the new access to transit offered to public transit by the new rail line's opening. MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo is quoted in the article saying: "When both branches of GLX are open, 80% of Somerville’s population will be within walking distance of a rail station. Today, that figure is only 20%."
The other branch Pesaturo is referring to is the Medford Branch, which is expected to open this summer. "In all, there will be six new stations, as well as a reconstructed and relocated Lechmere station. The new stations include Union Square on the first phase, plus East Somerville, Gilman Square, Magoun Square, Ball Square, and College Avenue stations as part of the second," reports MacNeill.
The source article, linked below, includes more detail on the long history of planning leading up to today's historic opening, as well as the most recent history of delays from the past several years. For more background, see also articles previewing the opening, published earlier this year by the Boston Globe and Boston.Com.
FULL STORY: The first part of the Green Line Extension opens Monday. Here’s what you need to know.
Potential Delays Trouble Boston Region's Green Line Extension Project
The Green Line extension will bring light rail service from Boston to Somerville and Medford, when it's done.
Massachusetts Converts HOV Lane to General Purpose Lane
Road planners looking to increase capacity without adding lanes are focusing on managing existing lanes more effectively. Massachusetts has gone the opposite direction. The Conservation Law Foundation plans to hold them accountable.
MBTA's Green Line Extension Moving Forward Again
A revised plan to extend the MBTA's Green Line light rail line into Somerville and Medford required approval from the state (approved last May) and the Federal Transit Authority (approved this week).
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association