A look at the impact of the new Green Line extension:
For years, Somerville and Medford residents have anxiously awaited the Green Line's extension into their transit-deprived neighborhoods. But now it’s a question of how far the MBTA line will actually go.
State officials and advocates agree the project, a legal obligation as mitigation for the Big Dig, is critical. But financial constraints have forced splitting it into two phases, the first stretching only to College Avenue in Medford by 2014.
That has left some transit advocates frustrated over how long it will take, if ever, to build out to Route 16 — which they say could reach thousands of more riders. Further concerns include how long the College Avenue stop — in a more residential area — will serve as the terminus, as well as the need for more complete designs of a Route 16 stop.
“It’s totally impractical to do that in two phases,” added Ken Krause of the Medford Green Line Neighborhood Alliance.
Somerville Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz agreed and stressed the need for maximum air quality benefits.
MassDOT acknowledged it prefers the line to end at Route 16 and still aspires to meet that goal. Officials pointed to potential “flex” funding that could become available between 2016 and 2020 to complete the second phase.