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davis_squareThis may seem like a Union Square issue, but the Green Line extension is actually supposed to go all the way to Medford Hillside (and possibly further) so it really effects folks over here near Davis.
The Governor is proposing another delay in building the Green Line to Somerville and Medford, from 2014 to 2016. The argument is that the state can seek federal funding to help build the project that way. The problem is that the state already has 2-3 projects it is asking the feds to fund out of the same pot, so getting federal money seems unlikely.
This is a state-agreed project provided as mitigation for the traffic and air quality problems the Big Dig brought to Somerville and if state funding is needed to bring it in on time, so be it. The project has already been delayed from 2001 to 2014 for no particularly good reason other than the state didn't want to pay to build it. If another delay bothers you, check out the STEP web site for more info on how to let the state know you're upset: www.somervillestep.org
This is a state-agreed project provided as mitigation for the traffic and air quality problems the Big Dig brought to Somerville and if state funding is needed to bring it in on time, so be it. The project has already been delayed from 2001 to 2014 for no particularly good reason other than the state didn't want to pay to build it. If another delay bothers you, check out the STEP web site for more info on how to let the state know you're upset: www.somervillestep.org
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no subject
Date: 2007-08-10 03:58 am (UTC)Point one: it's all well and good to say "if state funding is needed to bring it in on time, so be it." But the state kinda has to find the funds. It's not like Patrick can just jack up the sales tax for the entire state because a group of Bostonians want a public works project. We're talking $600 million here, and if the Big Dig has taught us anything, it's that it's going to cost a whole lot more. Add to this that Patrick is basically pretending he has all the money he needs already (which, by the way, is a VERY bad sign and indicates Romney left a bigger mess behind than we thought), and that's a pretty big budgetary rock to push up a hill.
Point two: "for no particularly good reason other than the state didn't want to pay to build it." It's unfair to tag Patrick with Romney's baggage, and doing so will get you ignored. I have no doubt any delays incurred by Romney were entirely for political reasons, because his decisions on how to run the state were entirely based on how it'd look in Presidential primaries. Patrick is, I'm pretty sure, sympathetic, but making out like it's his fault for what the last guy did is not going to get you any points.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-10 04:14 am (UTC)Point two- perhaps my language was poorly chosen but my point was that Romney (and, more notably, Swift and Cellucci) did not want to build the project. I do think Patrick wants to built it, but to seek federal funds for this project on top of the other ones the state is looking to the feds to fund seems - well, I have a hard time believing that the feds will say "sure, we'll fund three Mass. projects within 5 years, why not?"
As for getting ignored, I have found that the only sure way to get ignored is not to complain when you feel aggrieved. Politicians do not ignore people for being strident (much as they may want to) since they need their votes in the future.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-10 12:03 pm (UTC)So how do we make this happen? Where should the money come from that doesn't jeopardize other necessary and good projects? When you figure that out, tell Patrick, and us too, so we can all work together to make it happen.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-10 12:42 pm (UTC)As the original poster suggested, the problem isn't really with funding. It is a political will issue. While people say they'd like it, nobody's going to march over it, or a fun run, or sponsor a citizen initiative to get it on the ballot.
This can only really be punched through by savvy local politicians who recognize the long term economic benefit to their community.
The failure falls squarely on the local pols that are supposed to represent us.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-10 01:32 pm (UTC)I think the most effective thing would be appealling to the Conservation Law Foundation to go to court and get a hard deadline in place. If it really is political will that's the problem, that'll take care of it. If it's financial, then the real problems will come out and they can be dealt with.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-11 06:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-12 11:30 pm (UTC)Anyway, the CLF got the extension in the first place, so let them deal with it.
Green Line Extension - making it happen
Date: 2007-08-17 06:13 pm (UTC)On today's BlueMass Group blog is a post giving a good concise history of how this project, this legal commitment, has been pushed aside since 1990: (http://www.bluemassgroup.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=8270#82369)
(LJ newbie here - hope the links work...)
no subject
Date: 2007-08-10 01:18 pm (UTC)This is because most strident people I've met don't get how government actually works, and most bureaucrats assume (often correctly) that these people will never, in any way, shape or form, be satisfied.
Dedication to a cause is great, but who would you be more likely to talk to, a passionate but calm person or somebody who doesn't understand your job?
no subject
Date: 2007-08-10 01:37 pm (UTC)I was involved in the earlier decision to keep the Green Line extension as a state commitment - the money may not be there right now, but the money wasn't there to finish the Big Dig either, and it was found. And I go back to my original point that, even with the delay, the money may not be there. Remember that a 2 year delay increases the construction costs by about 20%, simply due to the passage of time. That means you are now trying to find an additional $2-300 million simply because the project is delayed.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-10 02:21 pm (UTC)Hey, guess what else - the area needs a new jail. Care to guess where they want to put that? You got it!
Maybe Deval could have spent less on his drapes and his SUV and chipped in some more to public transport, eh? His budget of less than $30m is a frigging disgrace.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-10 04:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-10 08:05 pm (UTC)Which projects are these, by the way?
no subject
Date: 2007-08-11 01:14 am (UTC)2. The Silver Line Phase 3 (a tunnel from the Washington St. end of the Silver Line to South Station, connecting the two Silver Line routes into one route from Roxbury to Logan Airport.)
There are others under discussion (Blue Line to Lynn, commuter rail to New Bedford/Fall River) but those are the two main ones.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-11 06:15 am (UTC)