State reps Will
Brownsberger (D-Belmont) and Alice Peisch (D-Wellesley) met with constituents in
Belmont last
night to talk about tolls, taxes, road and rails (as
reported in the Belmont Citizen Herald). What makes this meeting
somewhat remarkable is that it’s relatively rare for lawmakers to talk so frankly
and openly about taxes.
But with I-90,
commuter rails and Green Line rails running through their respective districts,
neither lawmaker can ignore the looming funding problems our state’s
transportation entities are facing. Kudos to the solons for bringing in Mike
Widmer, President of the Mass. Taxpayers Foundation, to explain the relative
merits of several solutions being kicked around Beacon Hill:
Merchants are already banking on the hope that a new station will bring them more customers and an economic bridge to the rest of the city.