Transportation for Massachusetts recently helped to organize a roundtable presentation and discussion on innovative approaches to workforce transportation, in collaboration with coalition members MassCommute and the 495/MetroWest Partnership and our partners at Transportation for America.  

Attracting and retaining forward-looking companies, and tomorrow's workforce, will require the region to be smart about transportation solutions, competitive with other regions, and committed to the transportation needs of all workers.

By Tony Dutzik. Originally posted at Frontier Group

Complete Streets are designed for everybody, and encourage walking, cycling and transit to coexist with cars and trucks. With a push from members of our coalition and from leaders in dozens of cities and towns, the state legislature in 2014 authorized a strong Complete Streets initiative.  After further discussion and review with many communities, MassDOT has announced a funding program to make this important concept a reality, supported by $12.5 million in the next two years.

People today want good transportation choices, including transit, walking and cycling. But resources are often limited. To suggest solutions, Transportation for Massachusetts, Livable Streets Alliance, WalkBoston and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council published a new report, What Works: Low-cost ways to encourage walking, biking and transit. The report is available online and at the annual Moving Together conference in Boston on November 4, 2015.

The Green Line Extension (GLX) is a long-planned project that will provide transit service to tens of thousands of daily riders, with major benefits to the economy, environment, and congestion, and with substantial funding from the federal government. The debate should not be about whether to build GLX, but how. 

We thank MassDOT for asking for public comment on their upcoming capital plans, including transit, walking, biking, roads and bridges. The series of 16 Capital Conversations events are important to hearing directly from the people on what kind of mobility investments we need in the years to come.

Make your voice heard on state and federal transportation investments!

MassDOT has announced a series of 16 public forums starting October 19 for you to weigh in on the upcoming five year capital investment plan, which will include maintenance and capacity investments for all transit, cycling, pedestrian, roadway and bridge projects.  

The USDOT, at the federal level, has also scheduled a forum in Boston on October 14 to take public input on their Beyond Traffic report, a vision for 2045.

On September 29, coalition members and other supporters of transportation testified in support of  S1474 and H2698, An Act Relative to Regional Transportation Ballot Initiatives. This legislation, sponsored by Senator Ben Downing and Rep. Chris Walsh, would allow cities and towns to ask voter approval to raise funds for local transportation projects. The Joint Committee on Revenue will consider this bill and, we hope, report it out favorably.  

The Fiscal and Management Control Board (the Board) and MBTA management have worked hard over the last sixty days, meeting frequently and digging into the many challenges facing the MBTA. We appreciate the Board’s dedication and focus and are glad to have a succinct, readable report detailing the key issues the Board will take action on over the coming years. The Board has already begun to tackle many important issues such as procurement, customer service, transparency, winter resiliency, and employee absenteeism.

Writing in the Boston Globe, Transportation for Massachusetts director Kristina Egan applauds reform at the MBTA, but makes clear that it is not enough - and that critical maintenance is not enough to prepare the region for tomorrow's economy.  Click here for the published letter.