MPO Meeting Minutes
Draft Memorandum for the Record
Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization Meeting
October 5, 2023, Meeting
10:00 AM–11:40 AM, Zoom Video Conferencing Platform
David Mohler, Chair, representing Monica Tibbits-Nutt, Acting Secretary of Transportation and Chief Executive Officer of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT)
The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) agreed to the following:
See attendance on page 8.
There was none.
T. Teich stated that two new full-time hires will be starting in October: the Manager of MPO Activities and a Transportation Policy Analyst. There is a new job posting for a Vision Zero Transportation Planner on the Multimodal Planning and Design team.
T. Teich stated that some MPO staff attended the Association of MPOs (AMPO) Annual Conference and MassDOT’s Moving Together Conference. On October 3, staff hosted an Inner Core Committee Transportation Group meeting and a Transit Working Group meeting. Staff are attending subregional group meetings, hosted by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), and various in-person events.
Brad Rawson, Inner Core Committee (City of Somerville), asked if there are plans to present the findings of the Vulnerable Road User safety assessment, which was shared at the Inner Core Committee, with other municipalities.
There were none.
There were none.
L. Diggins stated that the Advisory Council will meet on October 11, 2023, to discuss the Needs Assessment StoryMaps and updates to the Performance-Based Planning Dashboard.
1. August 3, 2023, MPO Meeting Minutes (pdf) (html)
A motion to approve the minutes of the meeting of August 3, 2023, was made by the MAPC (Eric Bourassa) and seconded by the City of Newton (Josh Ostroff). The motion carried.
1. Work Scope: Strategies for Environmental Outreach and Engagement (pdf) (html)
J. Taylor stated that the work scope for Strategies for Environmental Outreach and Engagement is funded in the Federal Fiscal Year (FFYs) 2024 Unified Planning Work Program for $25,086 and is scheduled to last 12 months after work commences. This study seeks to establish connections with environmental groups in the Boston region, understand how other MPOs and transportation agencies of similar geography and scale approach environmental engagement, and determine the most effective engagement strategies for the MPO to pursue to better understand and meaningfully contribute to environmental and climate action in the region.
In Task One, staff will identify peer agencies for research, conduct a literature review, conduct interviews, and document findings. In Task Two, staff will identify environmental stakeholders for outreach and conduct a survey and interviews with stakeholders to better understand their needs and begin building relationships. Staff will also host at least one public event, such as a forum or small focus group. In Task Three, staff will determine and present next steps to the MPO board through a memorandum.
Jen Rowe, City of Boston (Boston Transportation Department [BTD]), commended staff for building proactive relationships with environmental stakeholders.
A motion to approve the work scope for Strategies for Environmental Outreach and Engagement was made by the MAPC (E. Bourassa) and seconded by the Inner Core Committee (City of Somerville) (B. Rawson). The motion carried.
1. Draft Transit Transformation Program Scorecard (pdf)
E. Lapointe stated that the Transit Transformation Program was established in the Destination 2050 Long-Range Transportation Plan. Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) project scoring criteria are divided into six categories, based on Destination 2050, and use a 100-point scale to assess projects with qualitative and quantitative analyses. The intent of TIP scoring is to contextualize projects relative to MPO goals and objectives and to aid in the development of TIP scenarios. The scores are just one method of evaluation, and a low score does not necessarily mean that the project should not be funded.
Scoring is divided into the following categories: transportation equity, safety, mobility and reliability, access and connectivity, resiliency, and clean air and healthy communities. Transportation equity accounts for 20 points, while all other criteria are 16 points each. The goal of the transportation equity category is to assess the impacts of projects on Transportation Equity populations and give higher scores to projects that are expected to provide greater benefits to these populations. This is implemented by using an equity multiplier, which uses local demographic factors to trigger a multiplier for key scoring areas, such as a project reducing transit passenger delays. Example scoring criteria, by category include the following:
· Safety
o Addresses documented operational safety issue
o Improves the safety of transit facility users
o Supports dedicated right-of-way for transit
o Improves responsiveness during emergency events
· Mobility and Reliability
o Reduces transit passenger delay
o Invests in new transit assets or expands service
o Performs state-of-good repair work that extends the useful life of a facility
o Improves conditions for transit operators and personnel
· Access and Connectivity
o Serves sites of existing or future developments
o Invests in bicycle and pedestrian access to transit facilities or routes
o Improves ADA accessibility for transit facilities or routes
· Resiliency
o Addresses risk of flooding
o Reduces extreme heat effects
o Implements needs identified through municipal planning
o Demonstrates regional coordination or partnership on resilience improvements
o Penalties for not addressing flooding or effects of extreme heat
· Clean Air and Healthy Communities
o Reduces single-occupancy vehicle trips
o Reduces greenhouse gas emissions
o Improves air and water quality
o Meaningful community engagement
B. Rawson asked if the scoring criteria will be applied to all TIP projects or only those in the Transit Transformation program. E. Lapointe stated that the scorecard presented at this meeting is just for the Transit Transformation program. Programs such as Intersection Improvements will each have their own, specific scorecard.
L. Diggins asked for additional information on the use of equity multipliers. L. Diggins suggested modifying the language of “extreme heat” to “extreme weather” to be inclusive of winter weather events. Betsy Harvey, MPO staff, stated that the equity multiplier takes into consideration the percentage of six different equity populations that live within the project area.
J. Ostroff asked if the multiplier could include those who are predicted to benefit from the project. B. Harvey stated that the analysis uses census data, as it is difficult to identify data to predict who will utilize roadways.
John Alessi, Town of Arlington, suggested including additional emphasis on last-mile transit connection solutions.
Jim Fitzgerald, City of Boston (Boston Planning & Development Agency [BDPA]), asked if project proponents would be able to combine Transit Transformation funding with other funding sources. E. Lapointe stated that staff are working to evaluate that as an option.
Kenneth Miller, Federal Highway Administration, asked if projects are scored on a scale. E. Lapointe confirmed. K. Miller suggested that specific scores sometimes imply a sense of false precision and that other considerations be made in addition to specific quantitative scores.
J. Rowe suggested reevaluating criteria to add a transportation equity multiplier to, such as including improving safety of transit users.
Ali Kleyman, MBTA, asked if impacts on ridership were considered in scoring criteria. E. Lapointe stated that ridership is incorporated into scenario development, but not scoring directly.
A. Kleyman asked if system redundancy is considered in the resilience category.
E. Bourassa spoke of the limitations of the project development timeline.
E. Lapointe stated that the Project Design Pilot will be launching with the FFYs 2025–29 TIP. E. Lapointe stated that the MPO board voted to program $4 million in FFY 2025. E. Lapointe stated that the pilot is aimed at funding design for about four diverse projects, which may potentially be funded for construction later. Eligible projects must be initiated with MassDOT. The pilot funding covers as much as 80 percent of all design.
E. Lapointe stated that the application process will be identical to that of the other investment programs and that ideal projects will have a strong vision that is consistent with the MPO’s goals and objectives.
Staff have been soliciting project ideas through direct outreach to municipalities and subregions. Ideas that have been discussed include multi-community rail trails, pedestrian bridges, Complete Streets projects, corridor safety improvements, and transit-supportive facilities.
E. Bourassa asked if projects programmed for design on the TIP must be programmed for construction funds by a certain year. E. Lapointe stated that guidance so far has suggested including a timeline for the project’s implementation, but it is not required. Derek Krevat, MassDOT, stated that if a project is anticipated to be constructed within the five-year scope of the TIP, that it is expected to be programmed, but it is not required if construction is out of this timeframe. John Bechard, MassDOT, reviewed the process for a project to be initiated with MassDOT.
K. Miller stated that an ideal project would address a safety issue identified in a corridor or intersection study in a municipality that does not have the capacity to bring a project through the design phase on its own.
A. Kleyman noted that TIP projects may be delayed due to readiness issues and asked if there has ever been an instance where a project was delayed because a municipality was not able to fund it through design. J. Bechard stated that design has been delayed in the past due to the authorization of funds in Town Meetings or acquisition of right-of-way.
E. Bourassa stated that four municipal seats are up for election this year: SWAP, North Shore Planning Council (North Shore), an At-Large City, and an At-Large Town. One nomination was received for the City of Everett for the At-Large City seat, one for the Town of Brookline for the At-Large Town seat, one for the City of Beverly for the North Shore. E. Bourassa stated that nominations for those three seats are unopposed and were received before the nomination deadline. E. Bourassa stated that a nomination was received from the Town of Wrentham for the SWAP seat after the deadline. Wrentham had expressed interest in running for the seat and took time to orchestrate internal approvals within the town and the subregion. No nominations were received for the SWAP seat before the deadline. E. Bourassa stated that electronic ballots will be sent out the week of October 9 and results will be announced at the Fall Council meeting on October 25.
E. Bourassa requested that the board vote to approve the Town of Wrentham’s nomination for the SWAP seat.
A motion to approve the nomination for the Town of Wrentham to run as a representative for SWAP was made by the Advisory Council (L. Diggins) and seconded by the Town of Arlington (J. Alessi). The motion carried.
B. Rawson thanked communities that will continue serving on the board and welcomed new communities joining the board.
A motion to adjourn was made by the MAPC (E. Bourassa) seconded by the City of Boston (BTD) (J. Rowe). The motion carried.
|
Members |
Representatives and Alternates |
|
At-Large City (City of Everett) |
Eric Molinari |
|
At-Large City (City of Newton) |
Josh Ostroff |
|
At-Large Town (Town of Arlington) |
John Alessi |
|
At-Large Town (Town of Brookline) |
Robert King |
|
City of Boston (Boston Planning & Development Agency) |
Jim Fitzgerald |
|
City of Boston (Boston Transportation Department) |
Jen Rowe |
|
Federal Highway Administration |
Kenneth Miller Joshua Barber |
|
Federal Transit Administration |
|
|
Inner Core Committee (City of Somerville) |
Brad Rawson |
|
Massachusetts Department of Transportation |
David Mohler John Bechard |
|
MassDOT Highway Division |
John Romano |
|
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) |
Ali Kleyman |
|
Massachusetts Port Authority |
Sarah Lee |
|
MBTA Advisory Board |
Brian Kane Amira Patterson |
|
Metropolitan Area Planning Council |
Eric Bourassa |
|
MetroWest Regional Collaborative (City of Framingham) |
|
|
Minuteman Advisory Group on Interlocal Coordination (Town of Acton) |
Kristen Guichard |
|
North Shore Task Force (City of Beverly) |
Erin Schaeffer |
|
North Suburban Planning Council (Town of Burlington) |
|
|
Regional Transportation Advisory Council |
Lenard Diggins |
|
South Shore Coalition (Town of Hull) |
|
|
South West Advisory Planning Committee (Town of Medway) |
|
|
Three Rivers Interlocal Council (Town of Norwood/Neponset Valley Chamber of Commerce) |
Tom O’Rourke Steve Olanoff |
|
Other Attendees |
Affiliation |
|
Nicolas Allmond |
|
|
Sarah Bradbury |
MassDOT District 3 |
|
Mirada Briseño |
MassDOT |
|
Tyler Distefano |
Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Council |
|
Daniela Espinosa |
BPDA |
|
Zhuofei Gao |
|
|
Joy Glynn |
MetroWest Regional Transit Authority (MWRTA) |
|
Sandy Johnston |
MBTA |
|
Josh Klingenstein |
MBTA |
|
Raissah Kouame |
MassDOT |
|
Derek Krevat |
MassDOT |
|
Barbara Lachance |
MassDOT District 5 |
|
Jackie LaFlam |
Cape Ann Transportation Authority |
|
Owen MacDonald |
Town of Weymouth |
|
Benjamin Muller |
MassDOT District 6 |
|
Kumara Nagabhus Chinta |
|
|
Jim Nee |
MWRTA |
|
Sheila Page |
Town of Lexington |
|
Deborah Peterson |
|
|
Julia Wallerce |
MAPC |
|
Jon Rockwell |
TEC, Inc. |
|
Derek Shooster |
MassDOT |
|
Tyler Terrasi |
MWRTA |
|
Andrew Wang |
MassDOT |
|
Lijiao Want |
|
|
Sadie Woodward |
|
|
MPO Staff/Central Transportation Planning Staff |
|
Tegin Teich, Executive Director |
|
Logan Casey |
|
Annette Demchur |
|
Betsy Harvey |
|
Stella Jordan |
|
Marnie Kopec |
|
Ethan Lapointe |
|
Erin Maguire |
|
Marty Milkovits |
|
Rebecca Morgan |
|
Gina Perille |
|
Sarah Philbrick |
|
Sean Rourke |
|
Sam Taylor |
|
Judy Taylor |
|
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 · Relay Using Voice Carry-over: 866.887.6619 · Relay Using Text to Speech: 866.645.9870 For more information, including numbers for Spanish speakers, visit https://www.mass.gov/massrelay. |