Local officials unanimously approved an extension to the MBTA Green Line, although big questions remain for the project’s future, according to the Boston Herald.
Both state transit officials and MBTA personnel voted for the plan, but the extension still needs Federal Transit Administration approval before it can go forward. Additionally, officials have not yet finalized a financing plan for the extension, which is now estimated to cost $2.3 billion (down from the $3 billion estimate last year, but still $400 million above original estimations).
Green Line Extension Details
The extension would add 4.7 miles to the Green Line, and would expand its service through East Cambridge, Somerville and Medford via six new stations and the Lechmere Station, which would be relocated; officials estimate there will be 49,000 riders daily on the extended line by 2030.
The MBTA has already spent $700 million on the project – which will take four years to complete, and may not start for at least 18 months – and the federal government is expected to profile nearly $1 billion. However, the Herald points out that the MBTA would still need to contribute $73 million, along with pledged contributions from Somerville and Cambridge of $50 and $25 million, respectively.
Public Transit and Affordability
Even if the Green Line extension is completed, it may very well worsen Greater Boston’s housing affordability crisis, which is among the worst in the nation.
As we reported back in 2014, the MBTA’s Red Line extension in the 1980s offers a sobering history lesson. Although transit options increased, housing and rental costs rose substantially along the new route, and formerly blue-collar housing markets transformed into high-cost havens for urban professionals.
And such developments are not unique to the Red Line – a report from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council found a pattern of “transit-induced rent increases” in the areas surrounding new T stops, with increases anywhere from 25 percent to 67 percent.
Photo Credit: Ciro Duran, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2002_subway_HynesConventionCenter_Boston_201011961.jpg