City Questions MBTA

Five Cambridge representatives plan to submit questions concerning the planned extension of the Red Line through Harvard Square by the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA) to MBTA officials next week.

The delegation, which includes Cambridge Mayor Thomas W. Danehy and City Manager James L. Sullivan, also plans to travel to Washington, D.C. to present a list of questions about the long-range impact of the Red Line extension to Urban Mass Transit Authority (UMTA) officials.

The delegates, including representatives from the Red Line Alert, a citizens group which has filed suit against extension by the MBTA, is trying "to reestablish communication with the MBTA," Bernard Flynn, administrative assistant to Danehy, said yesterday.

Gregor I. McGregor, attorney for the Red Line Alert and a member of the delegation said yesterday the MBTA officials will be questioned on the extension project's short-run impact.

"The city wants to get the answers, and action without sueing," McGregor added.

"If at all possible," Flynn said, "we would like answers that would keep us out of litigation. If the answers aren't satisfactory, then we'll have to get them in court," he added.

The City Council voted last month to join the Red Line Alert's injunction suit--now pending in federal distrcit court--despite a letter from MBTA chairman Robert Kiley warning that court battles might jeopardize nearly half a billion dollars in UMTA funds earmarked for the project.