Paul Schlichtman pushes Red Line. / Paulette Schwartz photo
Paul Schlichtman wants to change the reality established by a 1976 Arlington vote keeping the Red Line out of town.
It’s a worthy dream to want our own subway stop.
First, take some baby steps: How about Arlington get its money’s worth, and the T stop cutting our bus routes?
How about T chief Phil Eng coming to town and taking questions from local leaders?
After testimony Schlichtman presented to the MBTA board Sept. 26, Eng “promised he and his team would sit down with Arlington officials to discuss their concerns about bus service,” Bruce Mohl reported in Commonwealth Beacon, adding, “He made no promises on extending the Red Line.”
Comments to T board
Read what the School Committee chair and 28-year Town Meeting member told the T board. His full remarks:
“Arlington is a streetcar suburb. Transit is in our DNA. Our development radiated from the Boston Elevated Railway along Massachusetts Avenue, and four Boston and Maine railway stations on the Lexington Branch.
“Before 1947, our secondary school students used the Boston Elevated Railway to get to school. The Metropolitan Transit Authority took over the streetcars in 1947. When the MTA scrapped the streetcars in 1955, our students moved to the buses.
“Since then, there’s been a steady deterioration of bus service to the point where, for the first time this year, we were forced to run parallel westbound school bus service along Mass. Ave., because our students weren’t getting to school.
“We have been patient. We have been understanding. However, this is wearing thin.
“On May 15, 2023, Arlington Town Meeting voted a resolution seeking improvement in bus service, and expressing our desire to seek a partnership with the MBTA in order to plan significant improvements to the transit infrastructure in Arlington. We sent a copy of this resolution to this board, the MBTA general manager, and the Secretary of Transportation.
“We heard nothing from the MBTA, so we tried again. On May 20, 2024, Arlington Town Meeting voted 155-9 for another resolution, this time adding an invitation to Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt, and MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng, to conduct a community forum relative to the transportation needs and expectations for service in our town
“Still no hint of interest on the part of the MBTA.
“Only nine municipalities pay more in MBTA assessments than Arlington. Arlington’s level of service doesn’t correlate to our assessment. For example, Arlington pays an assessment of $3.4 million. New Bedford pays nothing.
“The MBTA spent more than $1 billion to bring trains to the South Coast, and this board recently voted to pay $3.5 million to settle New Bedford’s demands in an eminent-domain complaint.
“Arlington would also like a train. There’s a set of plans, somewhere in this building, for extending the Red Line to Arlington Heights. It’s time to dust off and refresh those plans, and get started on some good old cut-and-cover construction.
“There’s many reasons why you should prioritize improvements in Arlington.
“Arlington enthusiastically supported zoning changes under the MBTA Communities Act. Our changes go well beyond the law’s requirements, it was approved by an overwhelming 189-35 margin and we voted it a year before the deadline.
“We’re already a dense community, 46,300 residents on five square miles.
“We’re committed to being a transit-oriented community, but if we don’t get adequate transit, we’re just going to suffer from a horrible case of car constipation.
“So let’s get started on the Red Line Extension.
“While we’re waiting for trains to return to Arlington, how about sending us a few more buses? Make the 77 frequent again. And don’t stop there. Let’s fix the biggest failure of the Bus Network Redesign, which was blind to a Green Line Extension that was under construction at the time of the study.
“Arlington Center is eight, 10, 12 minutes at most from the Green Line terminus at Tufts-Medford. Didn’t anyone think that folks from Arlington would want to be able to access the Green Line?
“Frequent service from Arlington Heights to Tufts-Medford wouldn’t just provide a connection to the Green Line; it would also stop a short walk from the West Medford commuter rail station. It would have been nice to have that service when the Red Line was shut down for repairs.
“Here’s the bottom line: For $3.4 million per year, we shouldn’t be ignored. We deserve a dialogue. We deserve a seat at the table. We deserve to have a conversation where we describe our transit needs, and we need the MBTA to be a partner in addressing our needs.
“I look forward to welcoming you to Arlington.”
Sept. 27, 2024, CommonWealth Beacon: Arlington official tells board town deserves better
This viewpoint was published Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024.
