Draft Memorandum for the Record

Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization

Unified Planning Work Program Committee Meeting

September 3, 2015 Meeting

9:20 AM to 9:45 AM, State Transportation Building, Conference Rooms 2 and 3, 10 Park Plaza, Boston

Trey Wadsworth, Chair, representing the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT)

Decisions

The Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) Committee agreed to the following:

• Approve the July 23 and July 30, 2015 UPWP Committee meeting minutes
• Recommend that the MPO approve FFY 2015 UPWP Amendment One

Materials

Materials for this meeting included:

• An agenda
• Draft minutes from the July 23, 2015 UPWP Committee meeting
• Draft minutes from the July 30, 2015 UPWP Committee meeting
• FFY 2015 UPWP Amendment One, as posted to the MPO website on August 3, 2015
• A comment letter from the MAGIC subregion regarding FFY 2015 UPWP Amendment One
• A document describing ideas for a study related to transportation to schools (updated since July 23, 2015)

Meeting Agenda

Introductions

Trey Wadsworth, Chair, Unified Planning Work Program Committee (Massachusetts Department of Transportation) called the meeting to order at approximately 9:20 AM. UPWP Committee members, other MPO members, and MPO staff introduced themselves. (For attendance list, see page 5.) Michelle Scott, MPO staff, provided an overview of the materials.

T. Wadsworth noted that Sreelatha Allam, who had been MassDOT’s liaison to the Boston Region MPO and the previous chair of the UPWP Committee, has transferred to MassDOT’s Highway Division to be a project manager. Bryan Pounds will serve as the new MassDOT liaison to the Boston Region MPO and the new UPWP Committee chair.

Action Item: Approval of UPWP Committee Meeting Minutes

A motion to approve the July 23, 2015 UPWP Committee meeting minutes was made by Eric Bourassa, Metropolitan Area Planning Council, and seconded by Lara Mérida, City of Boston (Boston Redevelopment Authority). The motion carried. Laura Wiener, At-Large Towns (Town of Arlington), Brad Rawson, Inner Core Committee (City of Somerville), and T. Wadsworth abstained.

A motion to approve the July 30, 2015 UPWP Committee meeting minutes was made by E. Bourassa and seconded by Dennis Giombetti, MetroWest Regional Collaborative (Town of Framingham). The motion carried. Brad Rawson, Inner Core Committee (City of Somerville), and T. Wadsworth abstained.

Review of Comments Received on the Draft FFY 2015 UPWP Amendment One, with MPO Responses

M. Scott explained that FFY 2015 UPWP Amendment One would remove the Safety Analysis of Intersections near MAGIC Schools project and transfer its remaining budget to the Fairmount Line Station Access Analysis project. It would also remove the Land Use Baseline for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) task from MAPC’s set of Corridor/Subarea Planning Studies, and transfer its budget to the Opportunities for and Impediments to Creating Transit-oriented Development (TOD) task. The MPO approved this draft amendment to be released for public review and comment on July 30, 2015 and the public comment period ran from August 3 to September 1, 2015.

During the public comment period, the MPO received one comment letter from the Minuteman Advisory Group on Interlocal Coordination (MAGIC) subregion. MAGIC members recognize that the Safety Analysis of Intersections near MAGIC schools project, as proposed, was not a good fit for the FFY 2015 UPWP.  They endorsed removing the project from the document and postponing it so that its scope can be refined. Safety and congestion near schools continue to be important issues for the MAGIC subregion.

The letter also lists suggestions for a new study from the Town of Acton, which is interested in looking at the feasibility of Complete Streets infrastructure as a means of improving the safety of trips to schools. The Town suggests that a study could forecast how much such improvements would help reduce vehicular trips and congestion or reduce the demand for school campus parking. It could also assess the current constraints to making Complete Streets improvements, and provide cost analyses for making such improvements. M. Scott explained that these suggestions have been added to the UPWP Committee’s list of ideas for a new study related to travel to schools.

Action Item: Recommendation to the MPO on Approval of FFY 2015 UPWP Amendment One

A motion to recommend that the MPO approve FFY 2015 UPWP Amendment One was made by E. Bourassa and seconded by D. Giombetti. The motion carried.

5. Member Items

M. Scott said that the FFY 2016 UPWP is now available on the UPWP page of the MPO website. She added that MPO staff is compiling candidate locations for study as part of the corridor and intersection projects in the FFY 2016 UPWP. She encouraged UPWP Committee members to contact her or Mark Abbott, MPO staff, with suggestions for study locations. M. Abbott also encouraged UPWP Committee members to contact him with suggestions for study locations for the Community Transportation Technical Assistance and Livable Community Workshop programs. 

6. Next Meeting

The next UPWP Committee meeting will likely take place in late October or early November. At that meeting, the UPWP Committee will review the FFY 2015 UPWP Fourth Quarter status reports.

E. Bourassa said that Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and UPWP outreach to the subregional groups will take place in the fall. He suggested having a UPWP Committee meeting in the fall that would focus on potential ideas for the FFY 2017 UPWP. He said that such a meeting would give the Committee an opportunity to be more proactive about ideas earlier on in the UPWP development process, which could inform the staff’s brainstorming on ideas. Karl Quackenbush, MPO Executive Director, agreed that this would be a good idea. M. Scott said that the date for such a meeting could be coordinated with the subregional outreach schedule, so that Committee members could hear about the feedback gathered at the subregion meetings.  

7. Adjourn

A motion to adjourn was made by E. Bourassa and seconded by D. Giombetti. The motion carried.

Attendance