Silver lining

BOSTON NEEDS better public transit in its downtown core to maintain its viability as a place to work, shop, and reside. New federal support for an extension of the Silver Line tunnel to the Back Bay and South End offers the prospect that the T will soon be able to offer a new option to speed travelers through some of the most congested areas of the city.

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The decision by the Federal Transit Administration last week does not constitute final approval, but it resuscitates the project after the FTA downgraded it to ''not recommended" in 2003. The Transit Administration was concerned that financing to operate the line would be inadequate, but the T tweaked its proposal, and the $780 million project was restored to the list of those to be considered for significant federal funding.

The 1.3-mile tunnel proposed by the T would connect the aboveground Silver Line that starts at Dudley Station in Roxbury with Silver Line service that runs underground from South Station along the South Boston Waterfront to Logan Airport. This service is important to allow people in Roxbury to enjoy one-seat rides to the office buildings at South Station, the waterfront, and the airport.

The Silver Line extension offers many more transit opportunities. Buses would stop at underground Boylston Street and Chinatown stations before going to South Station. Travelers to these areas would be spared the congestion of Kneeland Street aboveground.

One intriguing option being studied by the T would start a spur of the Silver Line at the Prudential Center. Buses would go from there into the tunnel. Transit riders from the Back Bay to South Station would no longer have to use the crowded Green and Red lines.

The MBTA deserves credit for working hard to achieve reversal of the 2003 rejection. And the Romney administration has made the project a priority as well. The administration understands that better travel options in downtown Boston are essential to further its smart-growth strategy of concentrating development near transit stations.

The T still has to do an environmental review before it asks the Transit Administration for approval to work on the final design. And the T has to decide where to end the tunnel -- at Tremont Street near New England Medical Center or Columbus Avenue between Arlington and Berkeley streets. It is canvassing neighborhood opinion on these alternatives.

The downtown transit grid, laid out a century ago, is inadequate for the needs of today. No wonder that the number of vehicles registered in Boston has soared from 258,896 to 346,712 since 1990. Downtown will choke on gridlock unless people get better choices. The Silver Line, with the downtown tunnel, will allow the T to keep pace with the city.