Green Line growing pains

Medford group wants T extension to reach Mystic Valley Parkway

State transportation officials are nearing a decision on where to end the Green Line extension project in Medford, but one group is trying to garner community support for running it all the way to Route 16.

The Medford Green Line Neighborhood Alliance has started an online petition calling for the extension’s terminus to be at Route 16 and the Mystic Valley Parkway. As of last night, more than 1,000 people had signed the petition since June 5.

The state’s Executive Office of Transportation is also considering ending the line at the College Avenue station in Medford. But Ken Krause, a Medford resident on the project’s advisory group, said the Route 16 location would serve more riders from Medford, Arlington and Somerville, as well as meet the project’s original purpose reduce air pollution by cutting down the number of cars on the road.

“It would be a missed opportunity to not extend it as far as Route 16,” Krause said. “It would certainly be more cost effective to bring it [there].”

Krause said the Route 16 location, at the intersection of Boston Avenue and Mystic Valley Parkway, would also provide more space for drop-offs, while the College Avenue area is in a denser residential area.

Katherine Fichter, EOT’s deputy project manager for the Green Line extension, said officials are still conducting its environmental review process and will file its draft report in September that will include a recommended a terminus for the line.

But she said that decision will be based on a several factors, including community support and other things that have yet to be worked out, such as ridership projections and the project’s impact on surrounding properties.