The Arborway Committee

Timeline

The public process undertaken to restore Green Line light rail service to the Arborway

1986 Non-binding referendum vote on the state ballot favoring retention of Arborway Green Line service by 67% to 33%.

1987 Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council votes to support retention of Arborway Green Line service

1988 MBTA study showing that Green Line service would increase transit ridership while bus service would result in a decrease in transit ridership

1989 State legislators, the City, and the MBTA reach an agreement to restore Green Line service (agreement not honored by the MBTA)

The street railway in Jamaica Plain dates back more than a century. In this undated photo, an early trolley can be seen travelling past the Monument in JP, at the corner of Centre and South Streets.
(Click for full size)

1991 State transportation bond bill authorizes the expenditure by the MBTA of $10 million for construction of a light rail facility at the Arborway Yard in Jamaica Plain (money not spent by the MBTA)

1991 State Department of Environmental Protection issues 310 CMR 7.36(2)(d) as part of the (SIP) mandating restoration of Arborway Green Line service by December 31, 1997

1994 The US Environmental Protection Agency issues 40 CFR Part 52 [MA-24-1-6557], Federal Register Vol. 59, No. 191 (10/4/94), page 50495, approving Arborway Green Line restoration as part of the Massachusetts State Implementation Plan

1995 State transportation bond bill authorizes the expenditure by the MBTA of $20 million for reconstruction of the Arborway Green Line infrastructure in Jamaica Plain (money not spent)

1996 Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council renews its support for restoration of Arborway Green Line service by a vote of 13-1-1

1998 MBTA moves to abandon Arborway Green Line service by asking DEP to amend regulation 310 CMR 7.36(2)(d)

2000 DEP issues a decision rejecting the MBTA request to amend 310 CMR 7.36(2)(d) 2001 DEP will issue a final decision on Arborway Green Line service in summer 2001

2001 Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council again votes to renews its support for restoration of Arborway Green Line service by a vote of 14-2

2001 Other neighborhood and civic groups join the Arborway Committee in the effort to restore Arborway Green Line service; they include:

The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay
St. Botolph Neighborhood Association
The Franklin Park Coalition
The Sierra Club
MassPIRG
WalkBoston
Clean Buses for Boston Coalition
The Association for Public Transportation
The Federation for Public Transportation
The Washington Street Corridor Coalition Medical Area Services Corporation (MASCO) Wentworth Institute
Hyde-Jackson Square Business Association (JP)

2001 On November 7, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, through the DEP, issues a ruling that Arborway Green Line restoration is feasible, and there fore must proceed as mandated in regulation 310 CMR 7.36(2)(d).

The ruling affirms that EOTC has not proven the infeasibility of Arborway service on any of the three grounds — environmental, engineering, and economic.

The ruling concludes as follows:

"The Department (DEP) requires by this letter that a schedule for design and construction of the Arborway Project be provided to the Department by December 31, 2001. The schedule shall include benchmarks, milestones, and action items and shall be subject to approval by the Department."

2002 The MBTA announces the creation of the Arborway Rail Restoration Project Advisory Committee (ARRPAC), an official body composed of members of the community, technical personnel, representatives of city and state agencies, and other interested parties.

The committee, led by Arborway Project Manager and MBTA Design Director Barbara Boylan and consultant Bill Lieberman, is charged with making recommendations on restoration that will best address the safety, operation, ridership, environmental, and accessibility goals of the project in a way that maximizes its benefits for the Jamaica Plain community.

ARRPAC convenes for the first time on May 22, with meetings planned to occur at frequent intervals for the duration of the project.

2003 The Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA) issues an Expanded Environmental Notification Form (EENF), allowing the Arborway project to proceed while requiring only a single-stage Environmental Impact Report (rather than a draft and final report).

ARRPAC continues to meet monthly, planning stop locations, discussing operational and design aspects of restoration, and otherwise reviewing progress with project staff.

2004 ARRPAC meets in February. Project staff decline to call meetings beyond that point, and cease communication with committee members without explanation.

The MBTA, contradicting GM Michael Mulhern's 2002 commitment to seeing the Arborway restoration process through, initiates a process to attempt to reverse the DEP's 2001 final decision requiring the project.

2005 The MBTA releases two reports, compiled while keeping its project advisory committee idle and in the dark, claiming restoration has once again been proven infeasible. The reports, rife with misrepresentation, out-of-date data, and selective interpretations, are promptly refuted.