Ruling clears way for MBTA elevator

A federal magistrate has dismissed a complaint from the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay alleging that putting an elevator on Boylston Street for the MBTA's Arlington Station would violate historic preservation laws.

The association contended that the location selected by the T for the elevator's 13-foot-tall glass entrance would obscure a prime view of the Arlington Street Church, dedicated in 1861, diminishing its historical value.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority plans to install the elevator adjacent to the church's parish house on the north side of Boylston, about 120 feet from Arlington Street. The association wants the elevator placed at the southwest corner of Boylston and Arlington, a site rejected by the T because the adjacent property owner objected and because the authority says the sidewalk there is too narrow.

In her ruling Wednesday, US Magistrate Judith Dein found that the MBTA and the Federal Transit Administration, which is helping fund the $31.6 million project to modernize Arlington Station, had properly considered the pros and cons of elevator locations.

''The proposed elevator head does not obstruct the primary view of the church," Dein wrote. ''Rather, there is a partial obstruction from across Boylston Street, a heavily congested thoroughfare."

Advocates for people with disabilities joined the T yesterday in praising the decision, which clears the authority's board to award a contract for revamping Arlington Station. Joe Pesaturo, MBTA spokesman, said construction should begin in November, with completion scheduled for August 2007.

Arlington is one of the last major subway stations lacking an elevator, which originally was supposed to have been installed by 1998 after Congress passed the Americans With Disabilities Act in 1990.

''We're thrilled to hear the T is now open to start construction," said Helen Hendrickson, spokeswoman for the Boston Center for Independent Living. Even though the elevator's location is not ideal, sitting 120 feet from the station's main entrance, she said, it's important to end the debate and get the accommodation built.

The neighborhood association, which also has objected to the proposed location of an elevator at nearby Copley Station, described the dismissal of the lawsuit as disappointing.

''We felt there was a better place to fit it in that space that would be less obtrusive to the sightlines and the architectural integrity of the church while at the same time providing better access for the handicapped," said Peter Sherin, the group's chairman.

The Arlington Street Church has not opposed the elevator's placement outside its parish hall.

Lucas Wall can be reached at lwall@globe.com.