Arborway Green Line Restoration
Articles

 
Arborway advocates rip critical 'secret' T study

By Laura Crimaldi

From The Boston Herald, 2/3/2005

Two new studies of the Arborway Green Line Restoration Project have state transportation officials hoping to put the brakes on the proposal before it bleeds more green, while advocates cry foul over a "secretive'' study process.

"It was basically a secret study taken on by people who are not in favor of the project in the first place,'' said Franklyn P. Salimbene, chairman of the Arborway Committee. "The state will ultimately do the right thing even though the MBTA will be dragged kicking and screaming to it.''

The new reports slam the streetcar restoration idea, citing increases to emergency response times, poor service reliability, the loss of on-street parking and a two-year construction period to demolish the old tracks and install new rails.

"We are spending an awful lot of money on something that might be better spent on other projects,'' said MBTA General Manager Michael H. Mulhern.

"This is exactly the reason why streetcars no longer exist. They are very scarce today because they lost the competition with the automobile.''

From BostonHerald.com.