Arborway Committee Sues Commonwealth of Mass. to Restore Green Line to Forest Hills
Click here to view press release below as .pdf
Click here to view text of complaint as .pdf
The Arborway Committee today filed suit in Suffolk Superior Court to compel the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (State) to restore E-branch Green Line service beyond Heath Street to the Arborway at Forest Hills in Jamaica Plain. The Arborway project was one of the original "Big Dig" transit commitments, which the state promised to complete as part of the overall central artery project. In December, in one of its final acts, however, the Romney administration killed the Arborway project despite efforts by transit advocates to advance the project. This suit names the Executive Office of Transportation, the Department of Public Works, and the Conservation Law Foundation as co-defendants.
Citing Arborway restoration as an "environmental justice" project, Arborway Committee Chair Franklyn Salimbene, said, "The decision by the Romney administration to cancel the project is unconscionable. Jamaica Plain is on the 'top 10 list' of neighborhoods with the highest asthma rates in the entire state. Restoring Green Line service is the only viable way of improving public transit and thereby improving air quality in Jamaica Plain. Route 39 bus service has been, is, and promises to continue to be both ineffective and unhealthful."
David White, Chair of Jamaica Plain Citizens for Clean Air, said, "In view of the poor level of air quality in Suffolk County, particularly regarding carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), Arborway Green Line restoration offers far better air benefits for Jamaica Plain than CNG and retrofitted diesel bus service." Buses produce point-of-service pollution in the form of ozone and small particulate matter, both from combustion of fossil fuel and from tire rubber and roadway debris.
According to Dr. Srdjan Nedeljkovic of Brigham and Women's Hospital, "Short-term exposure to these particles can lead to irritation of the respiratory tract, causing coughing, chest tightness, choking, wheezing, and decreased lung function."
The Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services lists Jamaica Plain as suffering 105 asthma hospitalizations per 1000 population among residents of all ages. Among children under five years old, according to the Boston Public Health Commission (PHC) figures, the rate of asthma hospitalizations in Jamaica Plain is higher than in many other Boston neighborhoods at almost 10 per 1000. PHC figures also show that asthma rates are increasing most dramatically in Boston's Latino community, the greatest concentration of which lives in the Hyde Square area of Jamaica Plain, according to the 2000 US census.
From a transit perspective, the current #39 bus service, which was substituted for the Green Line in 1986, has experienced significant erosion in ridership. Latest MBTA statistics indicate that since 1997, daily ridership has fallen by 5000, from approximately 19,000 a day to 14,000. Since the inception of the substitute service in 1986, the #39 bus has lost 50% of its ridership.
John Kyper, Transportation Chair of the Massachusetts Sierra Club, said, "The remarkable fact is that while #39 ridership has fallen precipitously, during the same period combined Orange Line daily ridership at Jamaica Plain's four stations has remained flat at approximately 23,000. This loss of public transit ridership has a negative impact both on the health of Jamaica Plain residents and on the health of MBTA revenues. It couldn't be much worse."
Gibran Rivera , a member of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council and a 2005 candidate for Boston City Council who carried the Hyde Square area, said, "A return of Green Line service to Jamaica Plain and to the Hyde Square area in particular would represent a boon to local merchants. It would promote Hyde Square as Boston's 'Latin Quarter' while connecting the neighborhood to the central subway system."
About the Arborway Committee
The Arborway Committee is a volunteer group of residents and merchants in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston that advocates for quality public transit in the urban environment. One of the chief objectives of the Committee is the restoration of Green Line service to Jamaica Plain. The Arborway Committee website is at www.arborway.net/lrv
