Memorandum

DATE:     August 21, 2014

TO:         Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)

FROM:    Anne McGahan

RE:         Updated Central Vision and Goals and Objectives

1          background

Staff presented a draft of the MPO’s central vision and goals and policies at the August 7 MPO meeting. MPO members discussed this information and made comments and suggestions. We prepared this memorandum to show our responses to the comments. Staff requests that MPO members review the responses to comments and revised information and provide any further input on the draft central vision and goals and objectives at the MPO meeting on August 21. The revisions are shown in Track Changes.

2          REVISED CENTRAL VISION AND GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

2.1      Central Vision Statement

The draft vision statement that staff presented at the August 7 meeting is shown below:

MPO Vision Statement—August 7, 2014

The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization is committed to a transportation system that fosters sustainable cities and towns—where all people can access safe, healthy, efficient, and varied transportation options, and find jobs and services within easy reach of affordable housing. To this end, the MPO invests strategically in projects that maintain existing infrastructure and improve or expand the transportation system, where needed, in an equitable and effective manner. In addition to providing increased mobility and economic opportunities, these endeavors also benefit the environment, allow residents and visitors to enjoy improved air quality, and help transform the MPO’s vision into the region’s reality.

The MPO made several suggestions to shorten the vision and emphasize all activities, not just economic activity. Staff revised the central vision as shown below:

Revised MPO Vision Statement—Option 1

The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization is committed to a transportation system that fosters sustainable cities and towns—where all people can access safe, healthy, efficient, and varied transportation options, and find jobs, services, and other activities within easy reach of affordable housing. To this end, the MPO invests strategically in projects that maintain existing infrastructure and improve or expand the transportation system, where needed, in an equitable and effective manner to increase livability, mobility and economic opportunities .

Revised MPO Vision Statement—Option 2

The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization envisions a future transportation system that is safe, provides equitable access, excellent mobility, and varied transportation options—in support of a sustainable, highly livable, and economically sound region.

2.2      Goals and Objectives

Proposed goals and objectives also were presented at the August 7 MPO meeting.

Safety

• Goal: Transportation by all modes will be safe
• Objective: Reduce the number and severity of crashes, all modes

System Preservation

• Goal: Transportation system will be well maintained
• Objectives:
• Reduce the number of bridges that do not meet standards
• Improve condition of on- and off-system bridges
• Improve pavement condition on MassDOT-monitored roadway system 
• Improve transit reliability for all customers by maintaining and modernizing capital assets throughout the system
• Improve the condition of sidewalks for all users
• Improve access and accessibility for all customers and modes
• Minimize the environmental and community impacts of the transportation system, when possible

Congestion Reduction

• Goal: Congestion and delays will be reduced for all modes balanced by the MPO’s commitment to reduce single-occupant vehicle travel and promote transit, biking and walking1
• Objectives:
• Reduce delay for all modes
• Expand sidewalk network in the region
• Expand bicycle network in the region
• Reduce delay for transit customers
• Implement mode shift objectives as a means of congestion reduction

Transportation Options/ Healthy Modes

• Goal: Transit, bicycling, and walking options will be expanded
• Objectives:
• Reduce automobile usage in the Boston Region
• Increase the share of travel by transit, bicycling, and walking in Massachusetts
• Increase transit usage in the Boston Region
• Expand and close gaps in the bicycle and sidewalk networks in the region
• Increase automobile and bicycle parking capacity and usage at transit stations
• Increase the region’s land area, with more than 5,000 people per square mile served by transit
• Increase the percentage of population and employment within one-quarter mile of transit stations2
• Increase the percentage of population and employment within one-half mile of shared-use paths or on-road bicycle facilities

Greenhouse Gas (GHG)/Air Pollution

• Goal: GHG emissions will meet Global Warming Solutions Act requirements
• Objective: Reduce GHGs generated in the Boston Region by all transportation modes; look for new ways to reduce GHGs
• Objective: Reduce other transportation-related pollutants including volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter

Transportation Equity

• Goal: There will be an equitable level of mobility for traditionally underserved populations
• Objective: Maintain comparable access to jobs, hospitals, affordable housing, and schools for environmental justice (EJ) populations compared with non-EJ populations

Economic Vitality and Freight Movement

• Goal: Transportation network will provide a strong foundation for economic vitality
• Objectives for Freight Movement:
• Reduce delays on the freight network
• Improve the efficiency of the freight network
• Objectives for Economic Vitality:
• Minimize net loss from the 25-34 year old population in the region
• Minimize burden of housing and transportation costs for residents in the region
• Prioritize transportation investments that serve targeted development sites
• Prioritize transportation investments that support development consistent with the compact growth strategies of MetroFuture

Comment: Livability seems to have been eliminated in the goals and objectives. Response: The older livability policies have been included in the newly proposed Transportation Options/Mode Share and Economic Vitality goals and policies. As a reference, a list of the older policies from Paths to a Sustainable Region is provided below:

• Are consistent with MetroFuture land use planning; this means supporting transportation projects serving: already-developed locations of residential or commercial/industrial activity; locations with adequate sewer and water infrastructure; areas identified for economic development by state, regional, and local planning; and areas with a relatively high density of development
• Support health-promoting transportation options, such as bicycle and pedestrian modes, and activities that reduce single-occupant vehicle use and overall vehicle miles traveled
• Expand, and close gaps in, the bicycle and pedestrian network; promote a “complete streets” philosophy
• Support transportation design and reasonably priced enhancements that protect community cohesiveness, identity, and quality of life

3          NEXT STEPS

Staff requests that MPO members review the material above and provide any further comments. Staff will then incorporate those into a final draft version, which we will send back to you for review before circulating it for public review and comment.