MPO Meeting Minutes

Memorandum for the Record

Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization Meeting

July 15, 2021, Meeting

10:00 AM–11:15 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)

Decisions

The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) agreed to the following:

Meeting Agenda

1.    Introductions

See attendance on pages 57.

2.    Chair’s Report—David Mohler, MassDOT

D. Mohler said that MassDOT submitted three Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grants through the United States Department of Transportation for discretionary federal highway funding, two of which are in the MPO’s planning area: 1) creation of a center running bus lane on the Lynnway in Lynn, MA, and 2) creation of a bicycle-pedestrian connection between the Assembly Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) station and the Northern Strand path in the cities of Everett and Somerville.

3.    Executive Director’s Report—Tegin Teich, Executive Director, Central Transportation Planning Staff (CTPS)

T. Teich introduced Steven Andrews as the new Data Strategist at CTPS. She announced the success of two recent events: the pilot transit working group meeting and the American Planning Association (APA) Massachusetts Transportation Committee event. T. Teich said the next Inner Core Committee (ICC) Transportation meeting will be held on October 13, 2021, and the UPWP virtual open house will be held July 20, 2021.

4.    Public Comments  

There were none.

5.    Committee Chairs’ Reports

Benjamin Muller (MassDOT), UPWP Committee Chair, said that the UPWP committee voted to recommend the MPO board vote to release the draft FFY 2022 UPWP for public comment. The committee met immediately prior to the MPO board meeting.

Eric Bourassa (Metropolitan Area Planning Council [MAPC]), TIP Project Costs Ad Hoc Committee Chair, said that the committee met on July 8, 2021, to discuss issues with project cost increases at each design stage and to develop a potential policy to address them.

6.    Regional Transportation Advisory Council Report—Lenard Diggins, Chair, Regional Transportation Advisory Council

L. Diggins said that Emily Torres-Cullinane (MAPC) and Anne McGahan (MPO staff) spoke about the MetroCommon 2050 plan and the MPO’s Long-Range Transportation Plan, respectively.

7.    Action Item: Approval of June 3, 2021, MPO Meeting Minutes—Kate White, MPO Staff

Vote

A motion to approve the minutes of the meeting of June 3, 2021, was made by the MBTA Advisory Board (Brian Kane) and seconded by MAPC (E. Bourassa). The motion carried.

8.    Discussion of the FFY 2022 UPWP—Sandy Johnston, MPO Staff

Documents posted to the MPO meeting calendar

1.    Draft FFY 2022 UPWP

S. Johnston said that this year’s UPWP programs total approximately $5.5 million in federal funding to CTPS and MAPC, and approximately $1.6 million for contract work. He said the FFY 2022 UPWP has the same organizational pattern as last year’s document. He noted two changes: 1) a new “MPO Resiliency Program” task listed in the Certification Requirements section, and 2) Appendix A now contains only the federally required elements: federally funded studies and those of “regional significance.”

S. Johnston provided an overview of the FFY 2022 UPWP discrete studies, which are posted to the MPO meeting calendar. He noted there are fewer discrete studies than what were proposed at the May 6, 2021, UPWP Committee meeting. S. Johnston said MPO staff is hosting a Zoom-based open house during the 30-day comment period. The public is invited to comment on the UPWP’s content within the 30-day comment period.

S. Johnston requested that the MPO vote to release the FFY 2022 UPWP for a 30-day public comment period, with the anticipation of final endorsement of the document in August.

Discussion

There was none.

Vote

A motion to release the FFY 2022 UPWP for a 30-day public comment period was made by MAPC (E. Bourassa) and seconded by the North Suburban Planning Council (City of Woburn) (Tina Cassidy). The motion carried.

9.    Work Plan: Cedar Street Ramp to Interstate 93 Study—Ben Dowling, MPO Staff

Documents posted to the MPO meeting calendar

1.    Work Plan: Cedar Street Ramp to Interstate 93 Study

B. Dowling said that MPO staff will work with the City of Woburn to examine the potential addition of a new ramp onto Interstate 93 southbound from Cedar Street in Woburn, MA. The project will take eight weeks to complete and is estimated to cost $39,996. The project does not use MPO funds; it is contract work.

Discussion

Steve Olanoff (Three Rivers Interlocal Council [TRIC] Alternate) asked who the client is and the funding source. T. Teich said MPO staff is working with the consultants on behalf of the City of Woburn and the funding aspect is being finalized. T. Cassidy (North Suburban Planning Council [City of Woburn]) said it is a privately-funded project and will not use MPO funds. Brian Murrihy (Cummings Properties) said that the Cummings Organization, a private organization, has provided a grant to the City of Woburn to fund the scope of work. He expressed support for the project.

L. Diggins requested the final technical memorandum and asked if there would be a presentation to the MPO board. B. Dowling said MPO staff can fulfill both requests.

Rich Benevento (WorldTech Engineering) said WorldTech Engineering consultants are working on the project with the City of Woburn. CTPS’s contribution will be incorporated into the Interchange Justification Report, which is required by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

Vote

A motion to approve the work plan for the Cedar Street Ramp to Interstate 93 Study was made by the Regional Transportation Advisory Council (L. Diggins) and seconded by the North Suburban Planning Council (City of Woburn) (T. Cassidy). The motion carried.

10.Mapping Major Infrastructure Milestones—Ken Dumas, MPO Staff

K. Dumas presented the main features of the new online interactive application “Mapping Major Infrastructure Milestones.” He said that the project was inspired by a poster first created by MPO staff over 20 years ago. The “Mapping Major Infrastructure Milestones” application displays information on the major multimodal transportation infrastructure milestones within the Boston region from 1800 to the present. The project was funded through the FFY 2021 UPWP as a discrete study.

Discussion

L. Diggins asked whether the application will be kept up to date. K. Dumas said there have not been discussions on the matter.

Brad Rawson (ICC [City of Somerville]) suggested incorporating land use patterns and social implications into the application in the future.

Matt Moran (City of Boston [Boston Transportation Department]) asked how users can navigate to the application on the MPO website. K. Dumas said it will be added to the “Interactive Applications” section of the MPO website.

11. Members Items

B. Kane introduced the MBTA Advisory Board’s new transportation planner, Amira Patterson, to the MPO board. A. Patterson expressed appreciation for the introduction and new role.

12.Adjourn

A motion to adjourn was made by the MBTA Advisory Board (B. Kane) and seconded by the Regional Transportation Advisory Council (L. Diggins). The motion carried.


Attendance

Members

Representatives

and Alternates

At-Large City (City of Everett)

Jay Monty

At-Large City (City of Newton)

David Koses

At-Large Town (Town of Arlington)

At-Large Town (Town of Brookline)

Todd Kirrane

City of Boston (Boston Planning & Development Agency)

Joe Blankenship

City of Boston (Boston Transportation Department)

Matt Moran

Federal Highway Administration

Ken Miller

Federal Transit Administration

 

Inner Core Committee (City of Somerville)

Brad Rawson

Massachusetts Department of Transportation

David Mohler

MassDOT Highway Division

John Bechard

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)

Josh Klingenstein

Massachusetts Port Authority

MBTA Advisory Board

Brian Kane

Metropolitan Area Planning Council

Eric Bourassa

MetroWest Regional Collaborative (City of Framingham)

Thatcher Kezer III

Minuteman Advisory Group on Interlocal Coordination (Town of Acton)

North Shore Task Force (City of Beverly)

Darlene Wynne

North Suburban Planning Council (City of Woburn)

Tina Cassidy

Regional Transportation Advisory Council

Lenard Diggins

South Shore Coalition (Town of Rockland)

Jennifer Constable

South West Advisory Planning Committee (Town of Medway)

Three Rivers Interlocal Council (TRIC) (Town of Norwood/Neponset Valley Chamber of Commerce)

Tom O’Rourke

 

 

Other Attendees

Affiliation

Aleida Leza

Belmont resident

Ali Kleyman

City of Somerville

Amira Patterson

MBTA Advisory Board

Benjamin N.W. Muller

MassDOT

Brian Murrihy

Cummings Properties

C Senior

MassDOT

Chase Modestow

 

Darlene Bruen

 

Emily V

MetroWest Regional Transit Authority (MWRTA)

Gus Norrbom

 

Johannes Epke

Conservation Law Foundation

John Casey

 

Jon Seward

 

Joy Glynn

MWRTA

Matthew Petersen

TransitMatters

Mike Garrity

MassDOT

Michaela Boneva

 

Michelle Ho

MassDOT

Nick Mellis

Rich Benevento

WorldTech Engineering

Steven Olanoff

TRIC Alternate

Todd Baldwin

Town of Saugus

Wesley Lickus

 

 

MPO Staff/Central Transportation Planning Staff

Tegin Teich, Executive Director

Mark Abbott

Steven Andrews

Matt Archer

Annette Demchur

Ben Dowling

Ken Dumas

Róisín Foley

Hiral Gandhi

Matt Genova

Betsy Harvey

Sandy Johnston

Anne McGahan

Marty Milkovits

Rebecca Morgan

Ariel Patterson

Gina Perille

Michelle Scott

Kate White

 


 

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
Boston Region MPO
10 Park Plaza, Suite 2150
Boston, MA 02116
civilrights@ctps.org

By Telephone:
857.702.3702 (voice)

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·         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