Silver Line bus service to be extended to Mattapan

Local residents and community leaders greeted the news with mixed emotions, saying they were happy to have an improvement in bus service but sorry there had not been community involvement so far. Some activists are also worried that as the Silver Line continues to grow, the community will lose any remaining hope of getting a trolley line along the corridor as a replacement for the loss of the Orange Line on Washington Street two decades ago.

"If it's still the same way, and it's still buses, the same interference that happens now" between Mattapan and Dudley Square, will continue, said Representative Gloria L. Fox, a Democrat who represents the neighborhood.

The extension on the other end of the line that will take the Silver Line to South Station is expected to be complete by the fall. Opponents of a separate plan to build a tunnel downtown to connect the Silver Line to South Station are hoping today's announcement of an above-ground alternative means an end to the tunnel.

Representative Byron Rushing, who also represents parts of the neighborhood, even led a chant to "end the tunnel now" at the press conference.

Transportation Secretary James A. Aloisi said "the tunnel will rise and fall on its own merits.''