Greenline

Meeting on Green Line Retaining and Noise Walls

Posted on May 10, 2012 by unionsquaremain

Announcement from the MassDOT: On Tuesday, May 22, 2012, the Green Line Extension Project Team will hold a public meeting to review the latest design plans for Retaining Walls and Noise Walls along the corridor. As has been presented the construction of … Continue reading →

Greenline Station Design Meeting

Posted on January 30, 2012 by unionsquaremain

It does seem to be chugging along, the ol’ Greenline Extension to Union Square and West Somerville. The Boston Globe reports, “the final design of the $1.1 billion public transit project (is) due to be completed in March, and the … Continue reading →

Greenline Hearing on Construction Delays

Posted on September 27, 2011 by unionsquaremain

There will be a public hearing for the Environmental Assessment on the Greenline Extension to Somerville October 20, 2011 at the Somerville High School. At 6pm there will be an open house with the hearing to start at 6:30pm. FTA … Continue reading →

Responding to Greenline Delays

Posted on September 6, 2011 by unionsquaremain

From the Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership This message contains important information on the most impactful things you can do to fight back against the proposed Green Line delay. We have been successful in turning things around in the past and with your … Continue reading →

Meetings on Greenline Station Design in June

Posted on May 25, 2011 by unionsquaremain

MassDOT and the MBTA are hosting a series of Station Design Workshops in June. These workshops are an opportunity to participate in the design of the future Green Line Extension stations in a hands-on, interactive way. The two meetings Union … Continue reading →

Union Square & the Trolley

Union Square, perhaps more than any other place in Somerville, grew up around public transit. Originally “a streetcar suburb,” the central business district of Union Square once had 108 visits from the trolley each day. Then, like many other American cities, private cars came to dominate our neighborhood, bringing pollution and streets hostile to pedestrians. The construction of Route 93 through Somerville, along with a web of diesel trains passing through, created significant health impacts in our community. Somerville has the most excess lung cancer and heart attack deaths per square mile of any of Massachusetts’ 350 cities and towns.

Union Square is just 2.5 miles from downtown Boston but it can take 30 minutes by bus and subway to arrive at North Station. Just as the Red Line MBTA stop in Davis Square revitalized that commercial center, we’re expecting improved transit will help Union Square grow. While Union Square is the city’s first business district and the same size as Davis Square, Union Square’s total assessed values are just 58% of those of our sister square in the West, with commercial properties even lower at 40%.

Thanks to decades of advocacy, to offset the environmental impacts of the Big Dig, the state is legally obligated to extend the Green Line through Somerville. Phase 1 (branches to College Ave and Union Square) is expected to be open in October 2015.

With this promise of mass transit Union Square Main Streets is putting an emphasis on transit oriented development and developing pedestrian oriented activity.

The electric streetcar serving Union Square photographed in 1937 near the corner of Stone Avenue.

Union Square in the 1920s. Photo courtesy of SNEA.

A horse-drawn streetcar ("horsecar") operated by the Middlesex Street Railway. It's in front of the building that's now the Midnite Convenience store.

For complete information on progress on the Greenline extension through Somerville with a spur to Union Square, visit our partners at Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership (STEP) or Greenline project page presented by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.