Cambridge Group Opposes Alewife MBTA Final Stop

Members of a North Cambridge neighborhood group have begun circulating a petition objecting to the possibility that the MBTA Red Line extension. Soon to be built, may end in Alewife Brook Parkway in North Cambridge, and lead to traffic problems and overdevelopment of the now-residential area.

The group, the North Cambridge Planning Team, also opposes the building of a proposed 2000-car parking garage in the Alewife Brook Parkway area.

James H. Quinn Cambridge realtor and president of the planning team, said Friday the group favors the extension of the Red Line beyond Harvard Square, but opposes either terminating the line at Alewife Brook Parkway, or building the parking garage.

The current MBTA plans call for extending the Red Line to Arlington, making Alewife Brook Parkway only temporarily the last stop. Quinn, however, said he is worried that the construction plans may change.

Members of the planning team are afraid of "massive doses of congestion, or traffic and parking problems" which would change the character of the neighborhood if the Red Line ends there, Quinn said.

"If you don't start saying something now, you'll be overrun," he said, explaining why the group is circulating the petition.