CHAMBER

Transportation in MetroWest
MetroWest Chamber of Commerce May Board Meeting
Wednesday, May 24, 2006

This was the third of four panel discussions the MetroWest Chamber of Commerce plans on hosting. All four panel discussions will be moderated by Helen Lemoine, Director of the Leadership MetroWest Program.

Panel Participants (Area Transportation Experts):

1.      Robert Nagi, PE, Principal – Transportation Systems Vanasse Hangen & Brustlin

2.      Susan Tordella, Director – MetroWest/495 Transportation Management Association

3.      Michele Brooks, RTA Consultant - MetroWest/495 Transportation Management Association

4.      Paul Matthews, Executive Director - MetroWest/495 Transportation Management Association

5.      Edward Carr, District Liaison – Executive Office of Transportation.

Introduction: (Helen Lemoine) – “Today we are going to talk about transportation and usually when we think about that we think about traffic as the number one problem.  Traffic congestion is not going away and there is little room in the area for newer or larger highways.  So as our region continues to grow and develop how can we do it without the corresponding increase in the number of cars we see on the road?  Of course there are no simple solutions to the problem and there are certainly many people who think there are no solutions at all.  Today we have a collection of experts who spend their days working on ways to bring us closer to the ‘elusive solution’ to transportation and infrastructure issues.”

 Panelists:

1. Robert Nagi – Rob has been a transportation planner and engineer for over 16 years. Rob lives in Westboro so he sees the traffic issues the MetroWest region is facing on a daily basis. “Traffic and transportation is my life.” He can only imagine how hard it is for employers to recruit new employees when the first thing the potential employee sees is the traffic congestion in the area.

VHB (Vanasse Hangen & Brustlin) is a transportation company that helps municipalities deal with transportation issues that face them. (Question) “What was last major project in the MetroWest area that occurred?” Marlborough Interchange exit 23C was probably the last big infrastructure investment the state has put forward. It was driven by the private sector. Business wanted to locate in the Marlboro West Commercial area but they needed any easier way to get people in and out.

“Infrastructure dollars in Massachusetts are short there is just not enough money to go around to pay for the projects that people want to get done, and they all want them to be done now.  Route 9 is an example.  We all know that it is congested throughout the day, especially during the am and pm rush hours, but development continues to happen. Especially Southborough, the growth that is happening along Route 9 continues to put stress on the corridor. And in the future there is a lot more developments being planned along the Route 9 Corridor. In the future we are going to have to focus on the larger picture. Are we really doing the right thing for the transportation environment in the MetroWest area?

Studies and evaluations are underway; in many cases the studies are very preliminary. What they are finding is the major road ways – Mass. Pike, Route 9 and I-495 are at their capacity and we are seeing little growth in the traffic congestion.  The areas were the traffic is growing at an alarming rate is the secondary road ways – Rte. 30, Rte. 20, Rte. 135.  The reason is you can’t get through the region as easily as you used to, the major roads are inaccessible. There is a definite connection between land use and traffic congestion and as we move forward we would like to see businesses being more adept at what their impact to the road ways will be and reacting and adjusting accordingly.”

2. Susan Tordella (TMA) – “There are about 11 Transportation Management Associations (TMA) in Massachusetts and they work together to improve congestion and air quality. The MetroWest/495 TMA has 30 members; a few examples are Bose, Genzyme and Staples. We have over 30,000 employees that can participate in our program. Our main thrust is to serve our 30 member companies.”

Susan will go to these companies set up a table in their cafeteria or other meeting areas and try to recruit participants (Social Marketing). Susan then asked a number of questions regarding carpooling – she rewarded each correct answer with a prize.

One of the major ways they promote the program is their “Ride Matching Database.”  You go online, create a profile.  Then you can see if someone near you would let you join their carpool or if they would be interested in starting a new car pool.

The “Guaranteed Ride Home” program is a major aspect of the program. If you are carpooling and you run into an emergency you will be guaranteed either 1) A taxi ride home or 2) a rental car will be provided for you. This type of Social Marketing works, but it takes time and patience. It’s a great program that really seems to be picking up steam!

3. Michelle Brooks (TMA) – She has more than thirteen years experience in transportation demand management (TDM) – “Which is implementing strategies to reduce demand on the roadways and improve air quality.”

She is currently working with 495/MetroWest Partnership to explore the feasibility of a local Regional Transit Authority (RTA).  She started by explaining what an RTA is.  The way public transportations provided in Mass. is either thought the MBTA or local transit authorities. Both organizations are paid for by local assessments and State and Federal funding.  Under forward funding the MBTA area was expanded and now covers a large area that stretches from Boston to beyond Worcester. According to legislation any town within this area is not allowed to join another regional RTA or start their own.

Michele and Paul Matthews took all the existing data regarding what has been done in this area in the past and put it all together to make the argument that the MetroWest needs it’s own RTA.

57 % of the area residents are commuting to work inside the 32 community 495/MetroWest region.  So we are no longer a region were people live and commute into Boston for work. Over half of the MetroWest residents work within the area they live. The roadway system was put together based on needs at a particular time; it was not built with the entire transportation plan in mind.

The demographics prove that our area is growing and the need for our own RTA is growing.  Efforts are underway to change legislation to make the plan for a RTA a reality.

4. Paul Matthews (Executive Director of the 495/MetroWest Partnership since 2005) –

The transportation network is at capacity and we need further infrastructure   investments by the State.  Rob pointed out earlier in the discussion that most infrastructure support comes from the private sector.

Paul then handed out a packet that included a list of top ten nightmares in the region. The list identified the top ten needs in the region for infrastructure investment. The number one need is public transportation.

One of the things that led to the Partnership’s founding is the fact that the entities that fund transportation infrastructure enhancements are Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO). One is based in Boston and another is located in Worcester, the boundary is I-495.  So when you talk about enhancements along the I-495 belt, each one points the finger at the other. The Partnership is working hard to bridge this gap.

Paul thanked the Chamber for all of their past help!

5.     Edward Carr – Ed deals with transportation at a state level but he brings a unique point of view because he has lived in the MetroWest Area his entire life. He was born and raised in Natick and has a good understanding of the transportation issues currently facing the MetroWest region. Ed served two three year terms as a selectmen in Natick.  (1997 -2001)

“Transportation is really the engine that makes the economy go. Transportation is a key factor in locating a business. The Secretary of State is well aware of the traffic problems in this region and as an elected official he realizes that between I-495 and Route 128 there is ‘gold in them there hills’ and he wants to do everything he can to help out in this region”

Ed is currently working on several different projects in the area.  One project is a technical research project – Mass. highway gave them a small grant last year to “find a way to connect the dots” in the MetroWest region. One of the issues is that 58% of the travel in this region is intra-district travel. And over the past few years people are having more and more problems traveling around the region. He believes the answer to the traffic problems in this area is technology. Try and find a way to take the resources out there and somehow connect them by technology.  An example is GPS phones in Lift Buses to provide locations over the Internet.