BROOKLINE, MASS. (WHDH) - Federal, state and local officials gathered in Brookline Thursday to celebrate a $67 million federal grant to help improve accessibility along the Green Line.
Awarded by the Federal Transit Administration, the money will account for 80% of costs associated with planned accessibility upgrades. When complete, the project is set to improve access at 14 ground-level Green Line stops along the line’s B and C branches.
“The only downside of this news,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren. “– when we fix the Green Line, the people that make those transit memes are going to have a lot less to work with.”
Currently, 40 of 70 Green Line stops are considered accessible.
On the B branch, stops from Chestnut Hill to Sutherland Road are now slated for improvements. On the C branch, money will go toward stops between Brandon Hall and Tappan Street.
In addition to grant-funded work, the MBTA will pay the remaining cost associated with the planned upgrades.
Speaking in Brookline, the plaintiff in a 2006 settlement that ushered in many of the upcoming improvements shed light on the importance of accessibility.
“It’s lightyears different now,” said Joanne Daniels-Finegold. “It’s not just the stops themselves. It’s the infrastructure that goes along with it.”
The FTA is allocating money through its All Stations Accessibility Program, which was created by the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
As described in a statement from Gov. Maura Healey’s office, the All Stations Accessibility Program “funds projects that upgrade older transit-systems to make them accessible to people with disabilities or limited mobility.”
The Federal Transit Administration announced funding for the MBTA through the program on Tuesday.
In a statement Thursday, Healey said the money “will be transformational for improving accessibility to the Green Line and the ridership experience for all passengers.”
“A critical part of modernizing and improving our historic transit system is ensuring that every rider is able to use the system with ease and comfort,” Healey said. “These federal awards are critical to our efforts to make the upgrades necessary to deliver this for our residents.”
Through upcoming efforts, the governor’s office said, crews will raise platforms to remove a current 14-inch step that makes boarding trains at impacted stations difficult for some riders. Crews will also widen, level and illuminate platforms to help with accessibility.
Crews are expected to break ground on Green Line upgrades in 2025.
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