- Allison Goldsberry
An important public hearing on the Green Line extension to Medford and Somerville is being held on Wednesday.
The state will present the draft environmental impact report (DEIR) it recently filed. The public will have the opportunity to comment about the report at the meeting and in writing until January 8, 2010.
The public hearing is at 6PM at the Somerville High School Auditorium. The school is located at 81 Highland Avenue.
“This is our opportunity to hear how our feedback has been incorporated into the project design, learn about its current status, and give additional feedback on everything from where the terminus station will be located to how mitigation is addressed,” said State Representative Carl Sciortino (D-Medford, Somerville) in an email to constituents.
The DEIR is the culmination of 24 months of analysis and preliminary design and engineering for the project, which will extend Green Line service from Lechmere Station in Cambridge through Somerville to Medford.
The report will need the approval of the state’s Executive Office of Environmental Affairs for the project to proceed to the next phase of detailed engineering and final design.
The report was posted to the Green Line Extension project website- click here to read it.
The report was delayed for many months due to citizen opposition in Somerville over the placement of a maintenance facility. According to the state transportation department, the report includes two additional options for the site of the controversial storage and maintenance facility.
EOT called the addition of the two potential sites “a good solution to move the project forward.” The agency was required to file the DEIR on December 1, 2008, but the filing was delayed due to its efforts to “find a positive resolution” regarding the maintenance facility location.
Written comments on the report can be sent to the following:
Secretary Ian Bowles
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
MEPA Office
Attn: Holly Johnson, MEPA Analyst
EEA #13886
100 Cambridge Street, Suite 900
Boston, MA 02114
Fax: 617-626-1181
Email: Holly.S.Johnson@state.ma.u
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