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This is going to be a long one…
This past Friday, Governor Baker signed the Transportation Bond Bill—but his signature also included a number of frankly heart-breaking vetoes.
@MAPCMetroBoston @T4MASS @transitmatters @ABetterCity
(1/TBD)
This past Friday, Governor Baker signed the Transportation Bond Bill—but his signature also included a number of frankly heart-breaking vetoes.
@MAPCMetroBoston @T4MASS @transitmatters @ABetterCity
(1/TBD)
There are def. things in the bill as approved that made me happy. The contents of the bill were the result of 26 months of hard work & they provide much-needed capital authorization for a new bridge program of approximately $4B over the next 8 years... (2/TBD)
…on top of over $16 billion in capital spending. I'm happy about the funding for complete streets & municipal bus improvements. I am happy about included language decriminalizing public transit fare evasion & the provision enforcing parking bans in bus lanes. (3/TBD)
BUT many of the vetoes represent missed opportunities for building a more equitable transportation system for all residents of the Commonwealth.
The programs that were vetoed won’t potentially make it back onto a legislative agenda for several years—maybe longer... (4/TBD)
The programs that were vetoed won’t potentially make it back onto a legislative agenda for several years—maybe longer... (4/TBD)
…depending on stakeholders’ and advocates’ abilities to re-generate the necessary traction.
Therefore, I would like to take a few minutes, frankly, to mourn 4 of these vetoes.
(1) A proposed commission to study congestion pricing systems. (5/TBD)
Therefore, I would like to take a few minutes, frankly, to mourn 4 of these vetoes.
(1) A proposed commission to study congestion pricing systems. (5/TBD)
While I understand that commuting patterns have changed, the commission was an opportunity to gather real data re: methods for addressing congestion problems that nearly all experts predict will return, if not worsen, in the wake of the pandemic... (6/TBD)
...The “new normal” WILL include congestion. We have the same antiquated street systems, the same housing crisis, the same inequitable distribution of alternative transportation options. Increased telework is not going to alleviate all the factors driving our congestion. (7/TBD)
(2) A proposed new fee structure for TNCs which could have contribute to the MBTA’s operating budget. MAPC had estimated that the new structure could have raised around $56M annually. Many elected officials have hammered home the need for additional revenue for the MBTA… (8/TBD)
...but when the opportunity presents itself, it’s rejected. Planners across specialties & geographies agree that TNCs are a major driver of congestion & a major impediment (often literally) to bus/ped/bike prioritization... (9/TBD)
...Why not let them contribute to solving the problems they help create? By not increasing TNC fees, we are continuing to prioritize private companies creating SOV trips over higher-occupancy, publicly-funded modes. (10/TBD)
(3) Personally heartbreaking since it involves an initiative I have personally researched, advocated for, and, along with my fellow FMCB members, have pushed MBTA Staff to continue their excellent work on... (11/TBD)
Language was vetoed requiring the MBTA to launch a means-tested fare program, and calling on the Commonwealth’s 15 RTAs to begin the work necessary toward launching programs of their own.
Agencies throughout the country have made means-tested fare programs work... (12/TBD)
Agencies throughout the country have made means-tested fare programs work... (12/TBD)
Here in MA, we have debated. We have studied. We continued to debate & study. Without an actual commitment to action, we will just continue debating & studying. Meanwhile, we are missing an essential opportunity to make our transit system genuinely more equitable...(13/TBD)
... I agree that we need more revenue, but that need for revenue should not come on the backs on riders, and citing revenue loss as the reason for further delays feels particularly… frustrating when the new TNC fee structure was also vetoed. (14/TBD)
(4) Finally & also personally, although for a different reason: Funding providing grants to transportation management associations operating carpool, vanpool, bus & shuttle were also vetoed. (Full disclosure: My day job is as the Executive Director of just such a TMA.) (15/TBD)
The reasoning was that Capital dollars shouldn’t be used for Operations costs. But the bulk of the cost of these services, which close first/last mile gaps for our public transit systems, are operating costs. (16/TBD)
This Transportation Bond Bill took over two years to be approved. Two years of worsening congestion; two years of inequitable transportation access & options; two years of struggle on the part of policymakers, advocates & community members. (17/TBD)
As a planner, I understand the complexities of these projects & policies, and the trade-offs & need for data. But we need to back up the commitments we have made to our communities & move forward. Today, I am mourning these 4 missed opportunities for genuine movement. (18/18)
