Draft Memorandum for the Record
Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization
Unified Planning Work Program Committee Meeting Summary
July 21, 2022, Meeting
9:00 AM–10:00 AM, Zoom Video Conferencing Platform
Derek Krevat, Chair, representing Jamey Tesler, Secretary of Transportation and Chief Executive Officer of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT)
The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization’s (MPO) Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) Committee agreed to the following:
Materials for this meeting included the following:
1. Draft FFY 2023 UPWP
2. FFY 2022 UPWP Amendment Two memo
See attendance list on page 4.
There were none.
S. Murthy presented committee members with updates since the previous meeting on staff’s work to change the scope description for the congestion pricing study. The new study, titled Learning from Roadway Pricing Experiences, was developed based on feedback from the previous meeting of the UPWP Committee. The goal of this study is to engage with planners and policymakers in US cities that have implemented roadway-pricing strategies in an effort to understand the hurdles and opportunities they have faced. The study is not intended to be a literature review; rather, the findings will allow the Boston region to be better informed about the realities and logistics of actually implementing roadway-pricing policies in the region.
S. Murthy additionally addressed some budgets that had been adjusted since the previous meeting. The budget for the Lab and Municipal Parking study had been adjusted to account for contributions by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC). Additionally, the Sustainability and Decarbonization in the Freight and Logistics Sector in the North Suffolk Area study’s budget had been reduced.
A motion to move the Draft FFY 2023 UPWP to the MPO board was made by the MAPC (Eric Bourassa) and seconded by the Regional Transportation Advisory Council (Lenard Diggins). The motion passed unanimously.
Jonathan Church (MPO Staff) presented the FFY 2022 UPWP Amendment Two to the committee and requested that the committee move it to the MPO board for release for public comment. The first amendment was passed in November 2021 by the MPO board. Each year, staff perform a thorough assessment of spending patterns in the first three quarters of the fiscal year and estimate fourth quarter needs to propose UPWP budget adjustments in the final quarter. The two main reasons for this amendment are staff attrition and changing project and line item needs.
J. Church discussed some of the changes, notably a reduction in the budget for the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) by $80,000 due to delays in developing the TIP database and public-facing application, and increases in the UPWP and Bicycle and Pedestrian Support categories, to name a few.
L. Diggins asked why there was a decrease in spending for the TIP, due to a lack of staff available to work on the database, while there was an increase in spending to support data-analysis work. J. Church responded that the data-analysis work was related to other ongoing work for the MPO and not specifically for the TIP. L. Diggins then asked about the staff-generated research line item and whether the lack of work in this area was due to a dearth of ideas or staff bandwidth. J. Church responded that it was due to staff capacity issues.
L. Diggins asked why the budget for the Regional Transit Service Technical Assistance line item was reduced. J. Church responded that the MPO has not received as many requests for assistance as anticipated.
Derek Shooster (MassDOT Office of Transportation Planning) asked whether these adjustments were direct costs or staff time changes. Annette Demchur (MPO Staff) responded that the changes were in staff time.
Steven Olanoff (Three Rivers Interlocal Council/Town of Westwood) asked why the budget for the Regional Transportation Advisory Council was cut for the rest of this fiscal year and reduced in the next year’s UPWP. A. Demchur explained that previously there was a staff member dedicated to working with the Advisory Council; since that person no longer works for the MPO, the budget has been reduced to reflect that. S. Olanoff responded with concern that there may not be enough support for the Advisory Council. A. Demchur stated that, if necessary, staff can make an adjustment to the UPWP and allocate more funding to the Advisory Council.
A motion to move the Draft FFY 2022 UPWP Amendment Two to the MPO board was made by MAPC (Eric Bourassa) and seconded by the At-Large Town (Town of Arlington) (Daniel Amstutz). The motion passed unanimously.
There were none.
The next meeting date will be announced at a later date.
A motion to adjourn was made by MAPC (Eric Bourassa) and seconded by the Inner Core Committee (City of Somerville) (Tom Bent). The motion carried.
|
Members |
Representatives
and
Alternates |
|
Massachusetts Department of Transportation (Office of Transportation
Planning) |
Derek Shooster |
|
Metropolitan Area Planning Council |
Eric Bourassa |
|
Regional Transportation Advisory Council |
Lenard Diggins |
|
At-Large City (City of Newton) |
David Koses |
|
At-Large Town (Town of Arlington) |
Daniel Amstutz |
|
City of Boston (Boston Transportation
Department) |
|
|
Inner Core Committee (City of Somerville) |
Tom Bent |
|
Three Rivers Interlocal Council (Town of
Norwood/Neponset Valley Chamber of Commerce) |
Tom O’Rourke |
|
Three Rivers Interlocal Council alternate
(Town of Westwood) |
Steve Olanoff |
|
City of Framingham (Metrowest Regional Collaborative) |
|
|
Other
Attendees |
Affiliation |
|
Josh Levin |
MassDOT District 4 |
|
Cassandra Ostrander |
Federal Highway Administration |
|
John Fetherston |
MetroWest Regional Transportation Authority |
|
MPO
Staff/Central Transportation Planning Staff |
|
Tegin Teich, Executive Director |
|
Annette Demchur, Director of Policy and Planning |
|
Hiral Gandhi, Director of Finance and Operations |
|
Rebecca Morgan, Director of Projects and Partnerships |
|
Marty Milkovits, Director of Modeling and Analytics |
|
Jonathan Church, Manager of Certification Activities |
|
Mark Abbott, Manager of Traffic Analysis and Design |
|
Michelle Scott, MPO Staff |
|
Sandy Johnston, MPO Staff |
|
Srilekha Murthy, MPO Staff |
|
Logan Casey, MPO Staff |
|
The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning
Organization (MPO) operates its programs, services, and activities in
compliance with federal nondiscrimination laws including Title VI of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI), the Civil Rights Restoration Act of
1987, and related statutes and regulations. Title VI prohibits discrimination
in federally assisted programs and requires that no person in the United
States of America shall, on the grounds of race, color, or national origin
(including limited English proficiency), be excluded from participation in,
denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any
program or activity that receives federal assistance. Related federal nondiscrimination
laws administered by the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Transit
Administration, or both, prohibit discrimination on the basis of age, sex,
and disability. The Boston Region MPO considers these protected populations
in its Title VI Programs, consistent with federal interpretation and
administration. In addition, the Boston Region MPO provides meaningful access
to its programs, services, and activities to individuals with limited English
proficiency, in compliance with U.S. Department of Transportation policy and
guidance on federal Executive Order 13166. The Boston Region MPO also complies with the
Massachusetts Public Accommodation Law, M.G.L. c 272 sections 92a, 98, 98a,
which prohibits making any distinction, discrimination, or restriction in
admission to, or treatment in a place of public accommodation based on race,
color, religious creed, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability,
or ancestry. Likewise, the Boston Region MPO complies with the Governor's
Executive Order 526, section 4, which requires that all programs, activities,
and services provided, performed, licensed, chartered, funded, regulated, or
contracted for by the state shall be conducted without unlawful
discrimination based on race, color, age, gender, ethnicity, sexual
orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, creed, ancestry,
national origin, disability, veteran's status (including Vietnam-era
veterans), or background. A complaint form and additional information
can be obtained by contacting the MPO or at http://www.bostonmpo.org/mpo_non_discrimination. To request this information
in a different language or in an accessible format, please contact Title VI Specialist By Telephone: For people with hearing or speaking difficulties, connect through the
state MassRelay service: ·
Relay Using
TTY or Hearing Carry-over: 800.439.2370 ·
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Voice Carry-over: 866.887.6619 ·
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Text to Speech: 866.645.9870 For more information, including numbers for Spanish
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