| NAME | CONTACT INFO | TOPIC | COMMENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joel N. Webber II | 225 Summer Street #3, Somerville MA 02143 | Website Links | Boston MPO plans (such as the 2014-17 TIP) typically include MassDOT project numbers, but the Boston MPO does not seem to have been in the habit of making these hyperlinks. If I copy and paste the project number into the Google search box, and append a space and MassDOT, I generally get a web page with some information about the project. I am writing to ask the Boston MPO to make this process slightly easier by making the project number a hyperlink in future plan documents, so that members of the public will be able to simply click on the project number instead of having to go through Google. |
| Joel N. Webber II | 225 Summer Street #3, Somerville MA 02143 | Website Project Description and Links | The MassDOT project Web pages often seem to be lacking in detail. In particular, the Web pages tend to say something to the effect that the design is 25% complete or 75% complete. This seems to imply that someone somewhere probably has drawings showing lots of detail about exactly what is planned for these projects, but from the few sample Web pages I have looked at, it is not obvious how or whether members of the public would be able to get these drawings. I would like to see MassDOT do a much better job of communicating with the public by posting links on these Web pages to where the public can download these detailed drawings, probably in PDF form. |
| Lee Auspitz | jlauspitz@comcast.net | Meeting notification | In response to your call for public comments on the Draft Public Participation Plan, I request that the following be internalized in the document: That timely and conspicuous notifications of off-site and/or cancelled meetings will be posted on the MPO website, and that the main calendar will be regularly updated to reflect such changes. The meeting of Oct. 2 was cancelled, but notification did not appear on the calendar prior to the meeting. The cancellation notice for the October 2 meeting appeared on the calendar only after I went to room 3910 to inquire what had happened. The Sept. 4 meeting was held offsite in Needham but not so listed on the main calendar (though available with further drilling down). As it happens, I appeared for both of these meetings at the usual time and place. |
| Elisabeth Bayle | ebayle@comcast.net Medford Resident |
Public Participation Plan | 1. This draft is 96 pages long, only 44 pages of which were provided in printed form at a public meeting I attended. I wish I could have attended one of the meetings on this draft plan, because it might have been easier to digest the information. The plan represents an enormous amount of work, but reading it and making constructive suggestions on something so complex is daunting. 2. The number of acronyms and other abbreviations makes it difficult to follow for one who is not steeped in the lingo and what all the different groups do. Again, the complexity is daunting, even with the help of Appendix E – List of Acronyms and Abbreviations. For example, I still don’t have a good understanding of the UPWP even though I see what the initials stand for. I’m tempted to suggest that something like Appendix E be included as the page after the title page on all documents. |
| Elisabeth Bayle | ebayle@comcast.net Medford Resident |
Participation Process | Over the years, I have submitted many, many public comments (and attended many, many public meetings), and it feels like I have to make the same comments over and over again on the same topics. The process feels quite exhausting and there has been a huge attrition in the number of people who care about this project (Green Line Extension) who have the energy to pursue it. I feel discouraged that something so important seems to almost come down to an exercise in stamina and persistence. |
| Elisabeth Bayle | ebayle@comcast.net Medford Resident |
Project Notifications | I wish I could get alerts, notifications, or emails when anything is being discussed or is about to change (or has changed) related to the project I am most interested in (Green Line Extension). It is difficult to wade through documents that cover many, many projects and try to tell what has changed concerning the project that affects me most. |
| Ken Krause | kenneth.krause@comcast.net 50 Mystic Street Medford, MA 02155 781-396-0920 |
Public Outreach Strategies | Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Draft Public Participation Plan. I think the plan is sound and identifies ways in which the MPO can improve upon its already robust public participation efforts. One suggestion I would like to offer as a way for the MPO to become more publicly visible and engaging is for the organization to utilize each of the cities and towns it represents, as well as other affiliated organizations to assist in outreach. A link to the Boston MPO website from the website of each of the 101 cities and towns in the MPO would be a good start in making the public aware of the organization and its activities. At present, there are very few avenues to take to get to the MPO website – an excellent resource – other than searching for the website itself. Links to the Boston MPO website from each of the cities and towns in the region, and other agencies represented on the MPO, would be a natural connection and could be easily implemented with little time, effort or expense. Thank you for your consideration and best wishes for continued success. |
| MEETING | TOPIC | COMMENT |
|---|---|---|
| Framingham 9/16/14 | Website | It is difficult to view documents on the computer screen. |
| Framingham 9/16/15 | TRANSREPORT | Regarding TRANSreport, because of the pdf controls, the newsletters are not easy to read. It would be good if we had the capability to print simply one article . Also, the photos in the pdf are very low resolution and difficult to see; it would be good if there were the capability to click on them and get to a higher resolution photo, as is possible in other newsletters. |
| Framingham 9/16/15 | TRANSREPORT | Please ask MassDOT to make the TRANSreport editor aware of all the Massachusetts Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board meetings so that they all can be posted in TRANSreport. |
| Framingham 9/16/16 | Outreach | Do more media outreach. Prepare a public-service announcement for television. |
| Framingham 9/16/17 | Public Meeting Notices | Post your policy about posting public meeting notices. |
| Fields Corner, Dorchester, Boston 9/17/14 | Outreach | Staff should ask to be interviewed on VietAid television. Many people watch the show. Also, make a YouTube video and distribute it. |
| Fields Corner, Dorchester, Boston 9/17/15 | P3 Plan | These graphics are good communication tools. Add the names for the acronyms for the graphics (or stop using the acronyms). |
| Fields Corner, Dorchester, Boston 9/17/16 | MBTA | Regarding the transportation network, the MBTA is a jewel and the MPO should keep it well maintained. |
| Fields Corner, Dorchester, Boston 9/17/17 | Translation | Translate the Transportation Equity Survey into Vietnamese. |
| Fields Corner, Dorchester, Boston 9/17/18 | Outreach | Do more outreach. |
| Fields Corner, Dorchester, Boston 9/17/19 | Outreach | Don’t start meetings at 5:30. This is too early for working people to attend. Starting at 6:30 would be better. |
| Lynn 9/30 | Outreach | Getting information through the MPO email lists works well. They give us a lot of good information. |
| Lynn 9/30 | Outreach | Emails should be brief because it is hard to spend a lot of time reading them. |
| Lynn 9/30 | MPO Process | It’s hard to tell whether a comment is being heard, whether it will ever have an affect, or whether a comment given at a meeting will make a difference. It seems as though the MPO just programs its favorite projects and only goes through the motions to satisfy the federal requirements. It’s hard to recognize the input. MassDOT knows what it wants the projects to be. It feels as though the MPO is going through the motions and that they already have their minds made up. |
| Lynn 9/30 | MPO Process | The system is bureaucratic and frustrating. The process is slow and there are an endless number of meetings. It seems as though the MPO produces more reports with numbers and metrics, but the effect of these reports is unclear. The MPO should clarify its role in the process and make its work more accessible. |
| Lynn 9/30 | Projects | The region does not get much money or many projects. |
| Lynn 9/30 | MPO Process | Boston dominates the planning process. (Commentor cited the South Coast Rail project and its potential positive impact on parking in Boston as an example.) |
| Lynn 9/30 | Projects | Capital dollars are being spent on projects that don’t meet good standards for siting or Transit-Oriented Design (TOD) planning; land-use planning should be better coordinated with capital spending. |
| Lynn 9/30 | TIP Criteria | Regarding the criteria, the MPO should do a better job of examining the land-use impacts of transportation spending; many of the projects funded will only contribute to sprawl instead of making improvements in areas of currently concentrated development. There is too much highway-oriented development. If a project, competing for TIP funding, is found to create sprawl, then it should be given a negative score in its TIP evaluation. |
| Lynn 9/30 | Projects | Some of the parking garages are too big. |
| Lynn 9/30 | Projects | North Shore Community College should be served by rail; now they just have a big parking garage. |
| Lynn 9/30 | MPO Process | The MPO should become more deeply involved in project design development. |
| Lynn 9/30 | Projects | Widening Route 1 is a very important safety project. |
| Quincy 10/1 | Outreach | Develop your social media policy. Social media is the way to get people to engage with you these days. |
| Quincy 10/1 | Outreach | You need to reach people where they are comfortable, social media is a way to do this. |
| Quincy 10/1 | Outreach | Some of your outreach material is too technical. Public engagement must make the MPO appear less bureaucratic. |
| Quincy 10/1 | Outreach | You have to make people comfortable in your meetings. Meetings can be treated more like workshops with less formal presentation and more interaction. |
| Quincy 10/1 | Outreach | Public engagement won’t work unless it’s fun. |