7/28/10 Boston Region MPO Certification Review Public Meeting — Beat Report

[Ref: 7/28/10 Boston Region MPO Certification Review Public Meeting]

[COMMENT: As I was an active participant in the meeting, what follows is from memory and is probably incomplete. Anyone present who has anything to add should do so as a "Comment" below.]

This meeting was held at 6:30 at the State Transportation Building, around the corner from the Boylston T-Stop. A half-dozen officials from the Federal transportation authorities were present, along with some translators (never called upon) and a half-dozen or so members of the MPO. Only about a half-dozen members of the public showed up, all from Somerville.

It became quickly clear that we (the members of the public) had not fully understood the purpose of the meeting. The MPO was being recertified by the Federal government, and the Federal authorities were looking for our feedback on MPO operations and on its relations with the public, not comments on specific projects (which they knew little of and had no power to affect). During the first half hour, the following points were made:

* The MPO was thanked for moving ahead with the Green Line Extension. It was asked to work to obtain funding for building the Somerville Community path along with the Green Line Extension. It should still be possible to complete the Extension on time (in 2014), and the state should work to make that so.

* The MPO attempted several years ago to cancel the Green Line Extension, arguing that regional improvements such as those to the South Shore rail somehow improved air quality in Somerville. Somerville got hundreds of people to meetings on the subject, and the MPO responded: it kept the Green Line Extension. Later, the MPO attempted to place the Maintenance Facility in a location about as far from a residential building as the length of the meeting room. Somerville got hundreds of people to meetings on the subject, and the MPO responded: it changed the Maintenance Facility to a more palatable location. The MPO deserves credit for being responsive to the public in these instances. It would be another thing if people didn’t show up and then complained after the fact.

Proceedings dragged for a while. More people trickled in. People who had spoken before spoke again, and after a while a restrained conversation began among the public, the Federal authorities, and the MPO members present. Points made:

* One reason given for canceling the Green Line Extension was that regional measures of air pollution were slated to improve due to changes outside Somerville. However, there are studies that show that people who live within 500 yards of highways receive elevated fine particulates, which are drawn into the lungs and cause health effects. Improving air quality in Weston may improve regional conditions, but it does not help those who are suffering in hot spots such as those near I-93. An air-quality study is now in progress in Somerville that includes a truck for regular air-quality measurements, together with volunteers from the population willing to be examined and provide blood samples and family histories.

* A speaker pointed out that the MPO, the DOT, the Mass EPA, the EOEA, and other agencies may get involved in development projects, but sometimes one agency doesn’t seem to know what the other is doing. This is a process problem.

* When the Maintenance Facility was analyzed, the evaluation matrix included as a plus the fact that design work had already been done on the Yard 8 option. This is a process problem, which the speaker called “engineering out”, a premature commitment to investing resources before achieving agreement from the public.

* One speaker asked for help in increasing public awareness of MPO operations. Discussion ensued of how complex the MPO process was and how difficult it was for the public to, for instance, distinguish the TIP (Transportation Improvement Plan) from the RTP (Regional Transportation Plan). (There are 30 acronyms in the MPO brochure glossary alone.) The MPO was praised for putting material like the MAPC regional maps on line, even though keeping up with it was something like drinking from a fire hose.

* In response to a question from the Federal authorities, people stated that they had found out about this meeting from an e-mail list server and from the LivableStreets.net calendar (one noted that this meeting was not on the MPO calendar). One person suggested the MPO make a policy of feeding events to a calendar like LivableStreets, and use it to consolidate meetings from multiple agencies (state and Federal) into one place. Also, web technology might be used to improve public access to MPO meetings. For instance, MPO meetings could be streamed over the internet like a webinar, with a chat room for typing in questions and other public input.

[COMMENT: There seemed to be some interest in calendars and webinars from the Federal authorities and from the MPO members present.]

* In response to a question addressed to the Federal authorities about what the public could do to help the MPO, the answer was, “come and give input.” After some discussion, one speaker summed it up as, “decisions are made by the people in the room.” The Federal official said, “Well, not quite, but it sure helps to be in the room.”

* An official from the MBTA asked the public contingent about bus service. Feedback was that it was too infrequent and unreliable for regular use. In Somerville, there is some service lengthwise (parallel to Highland Ave.), but none widthwise (parallel to Central St.). One remarked, “I wouldn’t use it to go to a job interview”, and suggested that the MBTA run a small bus frequently instead of running a big bus with 5 people on board every half hour. Another speaker praised work by the MBTA to support GPS location of buses in real time on cell phones.

At about 8 PM, after a lengthy silence, a member of the public said, “I think we should let our hosts go home now.”

Afterwards, I overheard members of the Federal contingent and the MPO remark on how hard it was to listen for three days straight.

[COMMENT: The mind boggles. Sheer compassion suggests that in the future I keep my input concise.]