Principal Investigator Nigel Wilson
nal planning and engineering is currently underway to extend the MBTA’s Green Line from its current terminus at Lechmere Station in East Cambridge to the north through the City of Somerville to Medford. Seven new stations are being designed that should substantially improve resident and visitor access to the regional transit network and to Somerville’s commercial and business centers. This research is sponsored by Mass DOT, the state agency responsible for the final engineering and construction of the project and focuses on future development around the planned new stations, including access planning for pedestrians, cyclists, bus passengers, and auto users. This transit project is viewed as a unique opportunity for the economic and urban revitalization of Somerville. The current research scope includes:
(*) bus improvement alternatives for the period leading up to the opening of the extension as well as after the overall Green extension is operational, to improve overall transit accessibility
(*) new evaluation approaches to incorporate the Livability objective into FTA’s New Starts Process
(*) analysis of the impact of other infrastructure and land use developments using innovative dynamic network modeling approaches
(*) retrospective analyses of land use and ridership behavioral impacts of a similar extension of the Red Line into Somerville in 1983