Green Line Workshop Gives Glimpse of College Ave Station Design

Detailed designs haven't been made yet, but planners said they intend to create a large, plaza area with pedestrian access for nearby neighborhoods at the College Avenue green line station in Medford.

Architects showed preliminary plans for a green line stop at the intersection of Boston Avenue and College Avenue at a design workshop Tuesday night.

They also took questions and comments from members of the public, who were broken into small groups to speak with project experts at the workshop, held on the Tufts campus. The input will be used going forward in the design process.

Project managers aim to award a request for proposal by summer 2012, said Karen Arpino, deputy project manager for Gilbane Building Company.

The current plans place the station entrance on the westbound side of Boston Avenue, just west of the intersection with College Avenue.

Earlier in the process, planners thought the bridge on College Avenue north of the intersection would have to be rebuilt in order to construct the station, but that may be able to be avoided, said Deneen Crosby, a landscape architect with the firm Crosby Schlessinger and Smallridge.

Rebuilding the bridge -- which was constructed in 1995 -- would be a 1 1/2 to 2 year task, she said.

"We are exploring options now to see if there are ways to leave the bridge intact," she said.

The station will feature bike parking, benches and wide passing areas, Crosby said.

The extension as a whole also plans to include a community path, but funding hasn't been earmarked for that, Arpino said.

“The state has committed to designing that, but there are no funds for it,” she said.

Michael Epp, an architect with Kleinfelder, showed three possible conceptual designs for the station. One featured a smaller, rectangular structure housing the station, another a larger rectangular building, and the third had a sloped metal roof.

To take public input, project workers took notes on construction paper draped over easels as those who turned out peppered officials with questions and comments.

Input from Tuesday's meeting will be considered as the design further materializes, Epp said.

"We are very humbled to be working in your neighborhood," Epp said. "This is very important to us and we want to listen to your concerns."

The first phase of the extension project seeks to add seven stops to the green line in Somerville and Medford by extending the line along the commuter rail track. It is projected to cost about $1 billion. A second phase would extend it further to Route 16, near the Medford/Somerville line.

The design workshop Tuesday was the first in a series that will touch on each planned station. The next workshop - for Ball Square - will be held Thursday at 6 p.m. at Somerville High School's cafeteria.