State officials sound confident they’ll secure federal funding for the new Green Line extension through Somerville, opening up five new stations by 2014.

Considering the overly long time it seems to take to finish any state project, it doesn’t take a cynic to wonder if the T’s timetable is a bit rosy. But cynicism aside, it does look like this project is a definite “go” – and it may well transform real-estate prospects throughout central Somerville in future (perhaps distant) years.

Check out the Somerville map where the new T stations will be located.

From this week’s Boston Courant, by Galen Moore:

The MBTA plans to adorn large outdoor structures like brick ventilation towers at Back Bay and Hynes Convention Center with banner ads …

A Supreme Judicial Court decision earlier this year affirmed that state law allows the MBTA to circumvent city laws and sell ads on its property, even if they do not meet local zoning requirements.

Included with the story was a photo of the exterior of the Back Bay / South End Orange Line station, with the caption, “The MBTA plans a banner ad on this Back Bay Station ventilation tower facing Clarendon Street.”

Wait, will that better or worse than having to look out at the construction mess that is the Columbus Center right now?

The mess at NorthPoint continues.

From today’s Globe:

State transportation leaders, frustrated by delays in the massive NorthPoint development, are taking over the building of a new MBTA station on the Cambridge property – a move necessary to ensure an on-time start to the $550 million extension of the Green Line.

But the two partners in NorthPoint … have been locked in a court fight in Delaware over the pace of the development, financial issues, and the potential sale of the property.

By the way, how are sales going in the two buildings that have been completed?

The buildings, known as NorthPoint Tango and Sierra, have welcomed their first 25 occupants, said Sue Hawkes, chief executive of Collaborative Cos., which is marketing 329 condominiums on the property.

She said 46 units have been sold in the two buildings.

If by the state taking over the new station we can move closer to bringing public transportation to Somerville and Medford, then I’m all for it.

We can still bill NorthPoint later, right?

(By the way, who is Casey Ross, the reporter on this and other recent Globe stories? Call me, we should do lunch, my treat.)

Source: State to take over building of T station – By Casey Ross, The Boston Globe

Article in the Times talks about a bunch of US cities that are building new streetcar networks.

“Streetcars” are apparently different from “light-rail” although I think you could use them interchangeably. The Green Line, for example, would be a streetcar system. Sort of.

The idea is an awesome one, but the idea has its flaws:

Critics, including Randal O’Toole, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, a libertarian research organization in Washington, and an expert on urban growth and transportation issues, counter that growth along streetcar lines is dependent on public subsidy and of little use.

“It looks like it’s going to take you somewhere, but it’s only designed to support downtown residents,” he said. “If officials fall for the hype and don’t ask the hard questions, voters should vote them out.”

You can’t beat the price, though. The entire Cincinnati system is estimated to cost only $132 million; Columbus’s, $103 million.

Of course, local results will vary (perhaps, add a zero?).

More: Downtowns Across the U.S. See Streetcars in their Future – By Bob Driehaus, The New York Times

Proposal for a new MBTA Red Line extension to run down Massachusetts Avenue from Central Square in Cambridge through Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood, through the Fenway and South End neighborhoods, and on to Dorchester … and beyond.