Mon, Sep. 10th, 2012, 05:58 pm

boblothrope



http://www.mass.gov/dep/public/hearings/transit12.htm



Thursday, September 13, 2012

1:00 p.m. & 5:00 p.m.

(The 5:00 p.m. public meeting will be extended after 6:00 p.m. as needed to allow for all interested parties to present testimony.)



MassDEP Headquarters

Washington Street Conference Center, Rooms A, B & C

One Winter Street, 2nd Floor

Boston, MA 02108



I assume that "delete the requirement that the MassDOT complete the final design of the Red Line/Blue Line Connector" means cancelling the project, since you can't have a project without a design. But who knows. This just in, from the Massachusetts Bureau of Waste Prevention (such as it is):Thursday, September 13, 20121:00 p.m. & 5:00 p.m.(The 5:00 p.m. public meeting will be extended after 6:00 p.m. as needed to allow for all interested parties to present testimony.)MassDEP HeadquartersWashington Street Conference Center, Rooms A, B & COne Winter Street, 2nd FloorBoston, MA 02108I assume that "delete the requirement that the MassDOT complete the final design of the Red Line/Blue Line Connector" means cancelling the project, since you can't have a project without a design. But who knows. Tue, Sep. 11th, 2012 12:01 am (UTC)

mark_brain_beta While it would be interesting to see the red-blue connector happen, I don't think there's any money for it. I'm not sure where it would stand on the priority list either (new rolling stock and some other improvements / green line extention might be more important.)

I don't want to see the project canceled forever, but if there's no money to do it, I don't see any reason to finalize plans for it that would be out-of-date and need to be re-done by the time it was built anyways. While it would be interesting to see the red-blue connector happen, I don't think there's any money for it. I'm not sure where it would stand on the priority list either (new rolling stock and some other improvements / green line extention might be more important.)I don't want to see the project canceled forever, but if there's no money to do it, I don't see any reason to finalize plans for it that would be out-of-date and need to be re-done by the time it was built anyways. Wed, Sep. 12th, 2012 04:09 am (UTC)

siderea Some history: the Red/Blue Connector was one of three explicit concessions that haven't gotten completed yet that the state made to improve air pollution as part of work on the Big Dig, the other two being "the Green Line Arborway Restoration" and "the Green Line Extension to Ball Square/Tufts University". I think federal law is involved here too, but it's not clear from what I'm reading.



Anyhoo, that was in 1990, and in 2005, MassDEP, MassDOT and the MBTA decided maybe this wasn't such a hot idea and attempted to get those concessions replaced with others: "1. Green Line extension beyond Lechmere to the West Medford and Union Square areas, 2. Fairmount Line improvements; and 3.1,000 additional park and ride parking spaces serving commuter transit facilities in Boston MPO region." Lawsuits ensued. There was a settlement, and here we are. See my next comment, below, for more info.





Edited at 2012-09-12 04:10 am (UTC) Some history: the Red/Blue Connector was one of three explicit concessions that haven't gotten completed yet that the state made to improve air pollution as part of work on the Big Dig, the other two being "the Green Line Arborway Restoration" and "the Green Line Extension to Ball Square/Tufts University". I think federal law is involved here too, but it's not clear from what I'm reading.Anyhoo, that was in 1990, and in 2005, MassDEP, MassDOT and the MBTA decided maybe this wasn't such a hot idea and attempted to get those concessions replaced with others: "1. Green Line extension beyond Lechmere to the West Medford and Union Square areas, 2. Fairmount Line improvements; and 3.1,000 additional park and ride parking spaces serving commuter transit facilities in Boston MPO region." Lawsuits ensued. There was a settlement, and here we are. See my next comment, below, for more info. Wed, Sep. 12th, 2012 04:03 am (UTC)

siderea I'm reading the supporting docs, and amusingly/appallingly, the requirement that MassDOT build the Red Line/Blue Line Connector has already been dropped, but somehow they got stuck with the line about them completing the design for the Red Line/Blue Line Connector by Dec 31, 2011 -- sic! -- still in there. From the Also in 2005, the Conservation Law Foundation (“CLF”) filed a complaint against the Commonwealth for failing to complete transportation improvement projects required under the 1991 Transit regulations (310 CMR 7.36) and the SIP approved by US EPA in 1994. In its complaint, CLF alleged that the Commonwealth was in violation of the SIP because it failed to complete certain public transportation improvement projects, including completion of the Red Line/Blue Line Connector Project by December 31, 2011. In order to resolve the litigation, on November 28, 2006, the parties in CLF v. Romney entered into an out of court settlement agreement that allowed the Court to dismiss the case with prejudice. The relevant section of the settlement agreement required MassDEP to adopt final amendments to the Transit regulation that deleted the requirements for the original three transit projects, including the Red Line/Blue Line Connector, added the requirements for the three alternative transit projects and also required MassDOT to complete the design phase of the Red Line/Blue Line Connector by December 31, 2011. The settlement agreement did not require MassDOT to complete the construction of the Red Line/Blue Line Connector. I have no idea why the settlement would specify that they still do the design work, even though the requirement that they build the thing was expressly dropped.



I have not read up on "CLF v. Romney, et al. United State District Court for the District of Massachusetts Civil Action No. 05-10487 (hereafter referred to as CLF v. Romney)". Perhaps it would be enlightening. I'm reading the supporting docs, and amusingly/appallingly, the requirement that MassDOT build the Red Line/Blue Line Connector has already been dropped, but somehow they got stuck with the line about them completing the design for the Red Line/Blue Line Connector by Dec 31, 2011 -- sic! -- still in there. From the docs I have no idea why the settlement would specify that they still do the design work, even though the requirement that they build the thing was expressly dropped.I have not read up on "CLF v. Romney, et al. United State District Court for the District of Massachusetts Civil Action No. 05-10487 (hereafter referred to as CLF v. Romney)". Perhaps it would be enlightening.