State: Blue Line not coming to Lynn

LYNN – Don’t stand on the rail platform waiting for the Blue Line to arrive in Central Square, because it’s not coming soon.That’s the word from state Transportation Secretary Jeffrey Mullan, who spoke Thursday at the North Shore Alliance for Economic Development meeting in Lynn.Mullan said extending the Blue Line rapid-transit rail from its terminus at Wonderland Station in Revere north to Lynn is not part of the 30-year plan by the state Department of Transportation (DOT).According to Mullan, differences of opinion over the route of the proposed rail line, coupled with inadequate funding, are among the project’s biggest obstacles.”We need to find ways to reach agreement on a right-of-way,” Mullan said.State Rep. Steve Walsh, a Lynn Democrat, told the transportation secretary that removing the Blue Line from the agency’s long-term plan constitutes “a real blow to Lynn.”Despite the seeming setback, Walsh said the present DOT administration is more approachable than the previous bureaucracy. He praised DOT for quickly responding to Lynn’s request for increased law enforcement following a rash of violent crimes at the commuter-rail and bus station on Market Street earlier this year.Former Lynn mayor Thomas Costin quipped that 63 years ago he was 21 and was hearing from government officials that the Blue Line was coming to Lynn.”We’re still talking about it,” he said.He pressed Mullan to immediately call a meeting of all parties involved in the project since most were in the meeting room at Eastern Bank.”Let’s set up that meeting right now,” Costin insisted, adding that years of study have gone into the Blue Line extension.Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent on feasibility and environmental impact studies as well, mostly using federal money.Mullan offered Costin and the others a few possible meeting dates.Lynn attorney James Smith, a former member of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Board of Directors, said the rail corridor that passes through Swampscott could be too narrow to accommodate the Blue Line.”But bringing it to Lynn is a no-brainer,” he said. “And it certainly makes sense for a city the size of Lynn, especially since the waterfront is about to be redeveloped. It would be the perfect T stop.”State Sen. Thomas McGee, a Lynn Democrat and proponent of water transportation, said Lynn commuters “are hit by the tolls and boxed in,” factors which heighten the need for a ferry to Boston.McGee’s ferry proposal was crushed this year when Winthrop announced it had received federal grant monies to establish a ferry. The Lynn ferry proposal received harsh criticism from government planning agencies, which claimed it lacks key traffic, parking and other components.Mullan said DOT was unable to obtain federal stimulus money to move the Lynn ferry plan forward.Following the reorganization of the DOT and merger with other state agencies, Mullan said four goals emerged: Find ways to save money, improve customer service, raise employee morale and invest in transportation projects in all areas of the commonwealth.