Draft Memorandum for the Record

Regional Transportation Advisory Council Meeting

June 9, 2021, Meeting Minutes

2:30 PM–4:15 PM, Zoom

Lenard Diggins, Chair, representing the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Ridership Oversight Committee

Meeting Agenda

1.    Introductions

Lenard Diggins called the meeting to order at 2:30 PM. Introductions were skipped. (For attendance list, see page four.)

2.    Discussion with Matthew Raifman—Matthew Raifman, Department of Environmental Health, Boston University

M. Raifman presented findings from his research paper “Active Mobility, Health, and the Transportation Climate Initiative” (TCI) and discussed how health, climate, and transportation are interrelated.

M. Raifman defined “active mobility” as any transportation mode that burns calories. He said that active mobility modes such as walking and bicycling are particularly healthful but also entail greater exposure to pollution and higher risk of traffic fatality.

M. Raifman described the TCI as a set of discussions among 13 states aimed at creating a market for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions allowances specifically from the transportation sector. The end goal is to reduce transportation sector GHG emissions for the entire northeast and mid-Atlantic region. The TCI would reinvest the proceeds from GHG emissions allowances into sustainable transportation projects, including the following:

·       Personal vehicle fleet electrification

·       Charging infrastructure

·       Transit electrification

·       Public transit capacity

·       Active mobility (walking and cycling infrastructure)

M. Raifman said that their research shows a number of key findings:

·       TCI active mobility investment would result in a net reduction in mortality

·       Monetized benefits exceed direct investment costs for cycling and pedestrian infrastructure

·       Active mobility benefits tend to be larger than air quality impacts

·       Benefits are concentrated in urban counties

Discussion

Andy Reker, City of Cambridge, and M. Raifman discussed whether the introduction of new bicycling facilities has changed the bikers’ exposure to pollution or risk of traffic fatalities in ways that is not reflected in some older research.

Galen Mook, MassBike, asked whether research shows that increases in the bicycling mode would bring a corresponding decreased risk of traffic fatality—a “safety in numbers” benefit.

John McQueen, WalkBoston, and M. Raifman discussed whether any infrastructure reinvestment from TCI proceeds could be directed to obtaining rights-of-way for biking or pedestrian projects.

AnaCristina Fragoso, Boston Society of Civil Engineers, asked how compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act factored into investment in active mobility infrastructure.

3.    Destination 2040 Needs Assessment Discussion—Lenard Diggins, Chair

L. Diggins led a discussion of Chapter 8, Transportation Equity Needs, of the Destination 2040 Needs Assessment.

Discussion

A. Reker and Betsy Harvey, MPO Staff, discussed whether pockets of racial and ethnic populations sometimes get overlooked by counting methods used in Long-Range Transportation Plans.

L. Diggins suggested that a web resource page be created for the Transportation Equity Program.

Chris Porter, MassBike, suggested that quality of bike routes be factored in when calculating accessibility to various services.

4.    Chair’s Report—Lenard Diggins, Chair

L. Diggins and Matt Archer, MPO Staff, discussed an expected update from the Governor of Massachusetts about requirements for physical versus remote meetings of groups conducting commonwealth business.

L. Diggins and A. Reker discussed the use of two-way left turn lanes in the context of the Route 53 Corridor Study in Norwell.

L. Diggins and A. Reker discussed the recent first meeting of the Transportation Improvement Program Project Costs Ad Hoc Committee.

5.    Approval of Meeting Minutes

A motion to approve the minutes of the January 8, 2020, meeting was made by the Town of Needham (David Montgomery) and seconded by the Town of Burlington (John Strauss). The minutes were approved.

6.    Old Business, New Business, and Member Announcements

C. Porter announced that June 9 is his last meeting as a member of the Advisory Council.

M. Archer announced that Karl Quackenbush, the former Executive Director of CTPS, had passed away in February.

7.    Adjourn

A motion to adjourn was made by the Boston Society of Civil Engineers (A.C. Fragoso) and seconded by the Town of Burlington (John Strauss). The motion carried.

 

Attendees

Member Municipalities	Representatives and Alternates
City of Cambridge	Andy Reker
Town of Needham	David Montgomery
Town of Westwood	Steve Olanoff
Town of Burlington	John Strauss

 

Member Citizen Advocacy Groups	Representatives and Alternates
MBTA Ridership Oversight Committee (ROC)	Lenard Diggins
National Rural Transportation Assistance Program	Scott Zadakis
American Council of Engineering Companies	Fred Moseley
Association for Public Transportation	Barry Steinberg
Boston Society of Architects	Schuyler Larrabee
Boston Society of Civil Engineers (BSCES)	AnaCristina Fragoso
MassBike	Galen Mook
MassBike	Chris Porter
MoveMassachusetts	Jon Seward
WalkBoston	John McQueen

 

Other Attendees	Affiliation
Sheila Page	Town of Lexington
Matthew Petersen	TransitMatters
Laura Wiener	City of Watertown
Todd Kirrane	Town of Brookline
Matthew Raifman	Boston University, School of Public Health
Patrick Kinney	Boston University, School of Public Health

 

MPO Staff/Central Transportation Planning Staff
Matt Archer
Betsy Harvey