Massachusetts News Advisory and Daybook Calendar
BOSTON (Media Advisory) Acadia Center and Transportation for Massachusetts announced today that a sign-on letter regarding clean transportation has been submitted to the Commission on the Future of Transportation in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The letter is signed by a wide array of transportation, business, social justice, health, and environmental groups. Groups signing the letter are pressing to have the key action items outlined in the letter be incorporated into the Commission’s final report to the Governor in December.
The full text of a sign-on letter sent today to the Commission on the Future of Transportation in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is copied below:
Dear Chair Kadish, Vice Chair McAnneny, and Commissioners,
“The undersigned 46 organizations, representing a broad range of transportation, environmental, business, and community stakeholders, write to you in support of an ambitious vision for the future of transportation in the Commonwealth. We offer these concrete recommendations for action to achieve that future in an efficient and equitable manner. We appreciate your hard work as a part of the Commission on the Future of Transportation in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (“the Commission”) and thank the Baker-Polito Administration for launching this effort.
“All residents of Massachusetts know that the Commonwealth is facing a broad array of transportation challenges. Our roads are among the most congested in the nation, and for too many Massachusetts residents, options like public transit, walking, and biking are inaccessible, impractical, or unsafe. Lost time in traffic is a major drain on the Commonwealth’s productivity and deteriorates quality of life. Long commutes present a major obstacle between businesses and potential employees, exacerbating unemployment in low-income communities and making it harder for businesses to fill open positions. Meanwhile, pollution from the transportation sector is the Commonwealth’s leading contributor to climate change and a major driver of respiratory illnesses, like asthma, with particularly devastating health impacts in low-income communities and communities of color.
“Massachusetts cannot afford to wait to address these challenges, and the Commonwealth cannot succeed with siloed policy approaches. We need thoughtful, ambitious leadership and holistic solutions to confront the urgent and intertwined challenges posed by our current transportation system.
“A shared vision of the Commonwealth’s future of transportation will help us achieve a clean, modern, and equitable system, but we need much more than a set of long-term goals. The limitations and failures of our current transportation system have dire consequences, and we need urgent action. The action steps offered below would make substantial progress towards a vision of the future of transportation in which all of the Commonwealth’s residents and businesses are connected by affordable, low-carbon mobility options.
Regional Transportation Climate Policy and Equitable, Clean Transportation Investments
“Massachusetts has a history of leadership on difficult issues, and regional collaboration has been a key to success. Given the regional nature of our transportation challenges, from interstate traffic and commerce to the pollution we breathe from our upwind neighbors, Massachusetts should lead the way in developing regional solutions.
- Establish regional climate policy that ensures reductions in transportation CO2 emissions, provides a price signal to incentivize low-carbon transportation investments, and delivers improved air quality and mobility options in disadvantaged communities.
- Implement regional climate policies that deliver resources necessary to make targeted, clean transportation investments. These targeted investments must be informed by community and stakeholder input and should align with the holistic vision for equitable, low-carbon transportation.
Mode Shift, Traffic Reduction, and Smart, Equitable Growth
“Addressing the diverse transportation needs of the Commonwealth’s communities and businesses will require a significant shift from the current landscape dominated by single-occupant vehicles. Public transit, walking, and biking reduce traffic and improve public health, and Massachusetts must do more to enable widespread use of those alternatives to single-occupant vehicles. How we travel is often determined by where we live, and Massachusetts should promote transit-oriented development with an emphasis on preserving and expanding affordable housing and providing incentives that promote more concentrated development patterns.
- Consider and integrate all modes of travel into major state transportation projects, such as busonly lanes and bike lanes, and expand the municipal Complete Streets program to make walking, biking, or public transit safer and more appealing as an alternative to driving.
- Expand affordable housing and anti-displacement efforts to preserve intact communities and ensure that our cities and centers of job growth are accessible to all Massachusetts residents.
- Pursue high-density transit-oriented development to increase transit ridership and minimize vehicle trips.
- Increase and prioritize investment in public transit to expand coverage, enhance capacity, upgrade facilities, and ensure reliability, resiliency, and affordability.
- Electrify public transit vehicles, including school buses, transit buses, and trains to maximize climate benefits and reduce harmful air pollution in nearby communities.
Electric Vehicles
“Last but not least, we need to switch from fossil fuels to electricity wherever possible for our transportation needs. Doing so will dramatically reduce harmful pollution and will keep Massachusetts dollars in the local economy, rather than spending billions of dollars each year on imported fuels.
- Expand incentive programs in Massachusetts to make electric vehicles (EVs) more affordable, particularly for low-income residents. A rebate program for all eligible low-income customers across the Commonwealth will accelerate adoption of EVs and give more drivers the opportunity to switch to cleaner vehicles.
- Increase deployment of charging infrastructure in Massachusetts to improve range confidence and meet growing demand from EV owners.
- Build awareness of EVs as a viable option for all drivers through widespread public education and coordinate those efforts with public policy programs, like expanded EV infrastructure.
- Implement smarter electricity rates, utility investments, and other programs to promote EV adoption to optimize and ensure a reliable and efficient electric system.
- Offer large-scale and low-cost opportunities (through incentives and the use of Volkswagen settlement funds) to electrify public and private fleets.”
SIGNING ORGANIZATIONS
Acadia Center
Transportation for Massachusetts
A Better City
Alternatives for Community and Environment (ACE)
Bedford Mothers Out Front Bedford
Net Zero Working Group
Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT)
Climate Action Now, Western Mass
Climate Coalition of Somerville
Conservation Law Foundation
CrossTown Connect TMA
E2 Environmental Entrepreneurs
Environmental League of Massachusetts
Environment America
Environmental Massachusetts
First Parish in Bedford, Climate Justice Group
Food & Water Watch
Framingham State University
Franklin County Continuing the Political Revolution, Climate Change Task Force
Friends of the Community Path
Green Cambridge
Green Energy Consumers Alliance
Green Streets Initiative
Health Care Without Harm
Kendall Square Association
League of Women Voters MA
LivableStreets Alliance
Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations
Massachusetts Biotechnology Council
Massachusetts Climate Action Network
Massachusetts Sierra Club
Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance
Mothers Out Front
National Consumer Law Center, on behalf of our low-income clients
Natural Resources Defense Council
Neponset Valley TMA
No Sharon Gas Pipeline | Clean Energy Now
Northeast Clean Energy Council (NECEC)
Pioneer Valley Planning Commission
Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership (STEP)
Springfield Partners for Community Action
The Nature Conservancy
Toxics Action Center
350 Massachusetts
Unitarian Universalist Mass Action Network
WalkBoston
MEDIA CONTACT: Pat Mitchell, (703) 276-3266 or [email protected].