The Green Line extension will reach from the current
terminus at Lechmere Station through Medford and Union Square. As a
part of th project, MBTA officials insist a maintenance facility needs
to be placed in the area. The site they chose, a lot known as Yard 8,
adjacent to the Brickbottom Artist Community, has raised the ire of
both residents and city officials.

Opposition to the Yard 8 plan
dominated a Nov. 25 on the project's Draft Environmental Impact Report.
Wednesday's hearing, held at the Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center,
was dedicated solely to evaluating alternatives for the Yard 8 site.

"We're
here in large part because we hear you're not happy with our original
proposal," Green Line Project Manager Kate Fichter said.

A
presentation by MassDOT officials showed a set of ratings they had
given each of three proposed sites, with scores ranging from +1 to -1
in categories relating to cost and quality of life. The City of
Somerville-proposed "Mirror H," adjacent to the Cambridge Northpoint
development, received a score of -3. Yard 8 and a third option, "L"
received 0s.

Aside from the usual strong opposition to Yard 8,
both residents and officials from Cambridge spoke out against the
"Mirror H" plan. Residents had many of the same concerns that would-be
Yard 8 neighbors hold, mainly that living next to the facility would
make their homes unlivable.

Assistant City Manager for
Community Development Beth Rubenstein said at the hearing the plan
would stifle development on the Cambridge side of the line. Monica
Lamboy, director of Somerville's Office of Strategic Planning and
Development, countered that all three options contain land "almost
entirely" in Somerville, and that the city retains zoning control.

For
the most part, residents were more diplomatic, with anti-Yard 8 and
anti-Mirror H partisans largely agreeing both options would adversely
impact the surrounding neighborhoods.

Cambridge resident Charles
Poirier felt otherwise, saying Cambridge shouldn't be saddled with
another maintenance facility when the extension is serving other
communities.

"I apologize to my Somerville neighbors, but it
seems like they're going to gain the most out of the (Green Line)
extension," he said. "I feel like they should take some of the problems
with them."

"Cambridge doesn't want to make any sacrifices
here," fellow Cambridge resident Steve Kaiser responded. "They want
Somerville to carry the whole load."

With Option L sitting in between both proposed sites, several pointed out it was the best option by default.

State
Senators Tim Toomey and Anthony Galluccio also voiced their opposition
to Yard 8, with Galluccio appearing two days before being sentenced to
six months home confinement for an October hit-and-run incident.

The
Draft Environmental Impact Report for the extension project and the
recent presentation on Yard 8 alternatives can be found at www.greenlineextension.org.

A map of the proposed Green Line maintenance facilities:

https://www.commentmgr.com/Projects/1228/docs/Maintenance%20Facility%20Mtg%20-%20Cambridge%20-%2020091216.pdf