MPO Meeting Minutes
Draft Memorandum for the Record
Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization Meeting
August 4, 2022, Meeting
10:00 AM–10:45 AM, Zoom Video Conferencing Platform
David Mohler, Chair, representing Jamey Tesler, 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 beginning page 8.
David Mohler announced that Jeff McEwen, Division Administrator for the Federal Highway Administration, retired at the end of July. As of August 4, 2022, Ken Miller is the Acting Division Administrator. In addition, MassDOT will be bringing an amendment to the TIP during Members’ Items. This amendment proposes to remove a statewide project from the FFY 2022–26 TIP.
Tegin Teich announced another staff departure from the MPO.
Mark Abbott will be leaving Central Transportation Planning Staff (CTPS) on
August 19, 2022, to take a role with MassDOT. M. Abbott joined CTPS in 2001 and
has been leading the Traffic Analysis and Design group for many years. M.
Abbott has always been a team player and played a fundamental part to the
development of the MPO’s corridor and intersection studies. There are also several jobs posted, including a Senior
Transportation Planner position and a Data Scientist position for the Travel
Demand Model.
T. Teich announced plans to present
on the structure of the MPO during the next MPO meeting on August 18, 2022. T.
Teich reminded MPO members that there are still opportunities to provide input
on the visions and goals of the next long-range plan through the MPO member
survey, and that the survey will be open through August 5, 2022.
MPO staff hosted an open house
for the FFY 2023 Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) on August 2, 2022. MPO staff
answered several questions about the proposed discrete studies. Engagement
opportunities continue through the public comment period, which ends on August
12, 2022. After the FFY 2023 UPWP is endorsed, the MPO will continue engagement
on these topics while staff shifts to developing the work scopes and beginning
work on the projects. T. Teich announced that MPO staff would be hosting a
Transit Working Group Coffee Chat on August 23, 2022, at 4:00 PM to discuss the
shortage in the bus driver workforce.
At the July 21 meeting, Brian Kane, MBTA Advisory Board, asked MPO staff to research procuring licenses for MPO meetings to be run in a Zoom Webinar format. The MPO received one public comment from a resident of Concord that stated the webinar format would be less supportive of public participation. MPO staff believes that the webinar format can similarly engage and MPO staff have seen many examples of other municipalities and agencies who use the format. MPO staff will listen to these concerns and address any issues as they explore this item.
There were none.
B. Kane stated that the Administration and Finance Committee had met in the morning of August 4, 2022, to continue discussions of the Operations Plan and how the MPO itself is organized. The next meeting of the Administration and Finance Committee is scheduled for August 18, 2022, at 9:00 AM.
Lenard Diggins announced that the Advisory Council had not met since the last MPO Meeting but will hold a meeting on August 10, 2022. The Advisory Council plans to discuss the Safe Streets for All Grant application. L. Diggins expressed appreciation for M. Abbott and all his work supporting the MPO.
1. June 16, 2022, MPO Meeting Minutes (pdf)
2. June 16, 2022, MPO Meeting Minutes (html)
A motion to approve the minutes of the meeting of June 16, 2022, was made by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) (Eric Bourassa) and seconded by the MBTA Advisory Board (Brian Kane). The motion carried.
1. MBTA Bus Network Redesign Work Plan (pdf)
2. MBTA Bus Network Redesign Work Plan (html)
Ken Dumas presented the work scope for MBTA Bus Network Redesign Map Support. The MBTA is about to start the redesign of its bus network with the goal to improve overall service for all its customers. This project would include the changing of schedules, which may include an increase in frequency and, in many cases, changing the routes of the buses. As a result of these changes, many of the MBTA’s maps will require updating. The MPO Graphics department has been asked by the MBTA to support this effort. The maps in this work scope include the spider map, the system map, all the bus maps, and many of the neighborhood maps. The next stage of this work scope is to use this updated information as requested by the MBTA for the creation of additional materials. The budget for this work scope is $31,755 and the work will take approximately eight months from the notice to proceed to completion.
B. Kane asked about the sequencing of the work scope and if the work would begin before the MBTA Board of Directors approved the new Bus Network Redesign routes. K. Dumas responded that after the vote by the MBTA Board of Directors, the MPO Graphics department will make changes supplied by the MBTA to be completed in the upcoming fiscal year.
A motion to approve the MBTA Bus Network Redesign Map Support work scope was made by the Regional Transportation Advisory Council (Lenard Diggins) and seconded by the MBTA Advisory Board (Brian Kane). The motion carried.
1. FFYs 2022–26 TIP Amendment Seven (pdf)
Jonathan Church introduced FFYs 2022–26 TIP Amendment Seven. The amendment proposes the addition of eight new projects awarded to various recipients under MassDOT’s FFY 2022 Community Transit Grant Program. The funding sources for the Community Transit Grant Program are from Federal Transit Administration Section 5310 formula funds, as well as State Mobility Assistance Program funds. J. Church presented the following table of proposed changes.
Table 1
Amendment Seven Proposed Changes
|
Project Name |
Change |
Amount |
|
RTD0010442: Mystic Valley Elder Services, Inc. – Coordination
of Non-Emergency Human Service Transportation |
Add Project (FFY 2022 Transit Program) |
$132,750 |
|
RTD0010456: CATA – Cape Ann TA Dialysis and Medical Van |
Add Project (FFY 2022 Transit Program) |
$109,850 |
|
RTD0010508: Hull Council on Aging – Buy Replacement Van |
Add Project (FFY 2022 Transit Program) |
$66,489 |
|
RTD0010511: City of Revere – Mobility Management |
Add Project (FFY 2022 Transit Program) |
$62,120 |
|
RTD0010541: City of Newton - NewMo Senior Transportation 3 |
Add Project
(FFY 2022 Transit Program) |
$250,000 |
|
RTD0010549: MWRTA – MAP Replacement Vehicle Capital Request |
Add Project (FFY 2022 Transit Program) |
$668,706 |
|
BCG0010486: SCM Community Transportation, Inc. – Buy
Replacement Vans |
Add Project (FFY 2022 Transit Program) |
$195,037 |
|
BCG0010510: Town of Arlington – Buy Replacement Van |
Add Project (FFY 2022 Transit Program) |
$63,323 |
CATA = Cape Ann Transportation
Authority. FFY = Federal Fiscal Year. MWRTA = MetroWest Regional Transit
Authority.
The comment period for Amendment Seven closed on July 29, 2022, at 5:00 PM. Two comments were received. MPO staff request that the MPO vote to endorse Amendment Seven.
A motion to approve FFYs 2022–26 TIP Amendment Seven was made by the At-Large Town, Town of Arlington (Daniel Amstutz) and seconded by the MAPC (Eric Bourassa). The motion carried.
1. FFYs 2022–26 TIP Amendment Eight (pdf)
David Mohler introduced FFYs 2022–26 TIP Amendment Eight. D. Mohler stated that Amendment Eight proposes to remove project #609090: Boston-Milton-Quincy - Highway Lighting System Replacement on I-93, from Neponset Avenue to the Braintree Split from the State Prioritized Reliability Projects (Safety Improvements) section of the FFYs 2022–26 TIP and reduce the project’s budget from $12,658,545 to $0.
B. Kane asked about the project proposed for removal in TIP Amendment Eight and what the amendment was intending to do. John Romano, MassDOT, responded that project #609090: Boston-Milton-Quincy - Highway Lighting System Replacement on I-93, from Neponset Avenue to the Braintree Split is a lighting system replacement project along Interstate 93, replacing the center median barrier lighting along that section of the corridor. The main reason for removing this project from the FFYs 2022–26 TIP is that MassDOT has several projects in the area and having all of these projects under construction simultaneously would create significant challenges specifically with Project #609119: Boston-Milton-Quincy - Southeast Expressway/Interstate 93 Replacement of Barriers for High Occupancy Vehicle Lane (HOV) moving forward. Funding for Project #609119 was recently awarded through the MassDOT Board of Directors and the design accelerated for supply and installation using funding from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA) of 2021. These funds were not originally anticipated to be available this fiscal year however MassDOT accelerated the design to secure the CRSSAA funding. Along with resurfacing along Interstate 93, it is not feasible for these projects to occur simultaneously. MassDOT will consider funding of #609090: Boston-Milton-Quincy - Highway Lighting System Replacement on I-93 for funding in the future.
B. Kane asked if one of the reasons for this amendment was sequencing of projects. J. Romano answered yes, and that Project #609119: Boston-Milton-Quincy - Southeast Expressway/Interstate 93 Replacement of Barriers for High Occupancy Vehicle Lane (HOV) was accelerated while Project #609090: Boston-Milton-Quincy - Highway Lighting System Replacement on I-93 was undergoing the final design process. Project #609119 is a higher priority for safety.
A motion to release FFYs 2022–26 TIP Amendment Eight for a 21-day comment period was made by MassDOT (John Romano) and seconded by the Regional Transportation Advisory Council (Lenard Diggins). The motion carried.
E. Bourassa, MAPC, announced updated MPO elections procedures for the subregional seats that are currently up for election, the Inner Core Committee seat, the MetroWest Regional Collaborative seat, the Minuteman Advisory Group on Interlocal Coordination seat, and the South Shore Coalition seat. The largest change to the procedures is that subregional members will vote for only those in their subregion, and a municipality must have three nominations from municipalities within their subregion to be nominated. The nomination form and more information about the elections is available on the MPO website.
D. Mohler stated that every year the Federal Highway Administration solicits redistribution requests for unused obligation authority. MassDOT has requested an additional $152.2 million in federal funding this year. This is also known as the August distribution, and MassDOT will know sometime this month whether all or part of the requested funding is granted.
A motion to adjourn was made by the MAPC (Eric Bourassa) and seconded by the MBTA Advisory Board (Brian Kane). The motion carried.
|
Members |
Representatives
and
Alternates |
|
At-Large City (City of Everett) |
Eric Molinari |
|
At-Large City (City of Newton) |
David Koses |
|
At-Large Town (Town of Arlington) |
Daniel Amstutz |
|
At-Large Town (Town of Brookline) |
Heather Hamilton |
|
City of Boston (Boston Planning &
Development Agency) |
Jim Fitzgerald |
|
City of Boston (Boston Transportation
Department) |
Jen Rowe |
|
Federal Highway Administration |
Cassandra Ostrander |
|
Federal Transit Administration |
|
|
Inner Core Committee (City of Somerville) |
Tom Bent |
|
Massachusetts Department of Transportation |
David Mohler Steve Woelfel |
|
MassDOT Highway Division |
John Romano |
|
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
(MBTA) |
Jillian Linnell |
|
Massachusetts Port Authority |
Sarah Lee |
|
MBTA Advisory Board |
Brian Kane |
|
Metropolitan Area Planning Council |
Eric Bourassa |
|
MetroWest Regional Collaborative (City of
Framingham) |
Dennis Giombetti |
|
Minuteman Advisory Group on Interlocal
Coordination (Town of Acton) |
|
|
North Shore Task Force (City of Beverly) |
Darlene Wynne |
|
North Suburban Planning Council (Town of Burlington) |
|
|
Regional Transportation Advisory Council |
Lenard Diggins |
|
South Shore Coalition (Town of Rockland) |
Jennifer Constable |
|
South West Advisory Planning Committee
(Town of Medway) |
Peter Pelletier |
|
Three Rivers Interlocal Council (Town of
Norwood/Neponset Valley Chamber of Commerce) |
Tom O’Rourke Steve Olanoff |
|
Other
Attendees |
Affiliation |
|
Moiz Abdul Majid |
|
|
Sarah Bradbury |
MassDOT District 3 |
|
Paul Cobuzzi |
|
|
Margo Costigan |
MassDOT |
|
Jon Fetherston |
MWRTA |
|
JR Frey |
Town of Hingham |
|
Michael Garrity |
MassDOT |
|
Dennis Giombetti |
|
|
Joy Glynn |
MWRTA |
|
John Goggin |
|
|
John Gonzalez |
|
|
Josh Klingenstein |
MBTA |
|
Derek Krevat |
MassDOT |
|
Jeanette Rebecchi |
|
|
C Senior |
MassDOT District 5 |
|
Jon Seward |
|
|
Ishmael Sharif |
|
|
Tyler Terrasi |
MWRTA |
|
Charlie Ticotsky |
|
|
Frank Tramontozzi |
|
|
MPO
Staff/Central Transportation Planning Staff |
|
Tegin Teich, Executive Director |
|
Mark Abbott |
|
Logan Casey |
|
Jonathan Church |
|
Annette Demchur |
|
Kenneth Dumas |
|
Adriana Fratini |
|
Betsy Harvey |
|
Sandy Johnston |
|
Stella Jordan |
|
Martin Milkovits |
|
Rebecca Morgan |
|
Meghan O'Connor |
|
Gina Perille |
|
Sean Rourke |
|
Michelle Scott |
|
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 ·
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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
speakers, visit https://www.mass.gov/massrelay. |