Projected Federal and state funding for the Commonwealth’s transportation infrastructure falls far short of the amounts needed to properly maintain roads, bridges and public transportation. Preliminary findings released late in 2006 by a special state Transportation Finance Commission concluded that the 20-year shortfall—the difference between available Federal and state funding and need—could total $13-17 billion. This funding is needed for maintenance of state highways, municipal roadways, Department of Conservation and Recreation roads and bridges and the state bridge program, as well as for regional transit authorities and the MBTA. This figure does not include any funding for either highway or transit expansion projects. The state’s gasoline tax, which has not been raised since 1991, has been mentioned as a potential revenue source. State and local elected officials, business leaders and transportation advocates have begun to explore ways to work together to generate public support for increased transportation investment.
The MBTA’s existing financial structure cannot support Greater Boston’s current or future transit needs. The MBTA cannot improve existing transit services or enhance and expand the region’s rapid transit and commuter rail system unless the transit system is put on a sounder financial footing. A May 2006 report by the Urban Land Institute’s Boston District Council proposed relieving the MBTA of responsibility for paying off the billions of dollars in debt that the MBTA inherited when the forward funding legislation took effect in 2001. The savings on debt service costs—totaling more than $200 million annually—could be invested in improved service quality, better maintenance, enhancement projects and efforts to increase ridership.
Proper monitoring, maintenance and repair of the new Big Dig roads and tunnels by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority (MTA) will help protect the Commonwealth’s investment and ensure public confidence in the safety of the system. Although the “stem to stern” safety review and post-ceiling collapse repairs are largely complete, the public remains concerned about the safety of the Big Dig tunnels. Repair work will need to continue to address the issues identified in the safety review and persistent water leaks. Perhaps the greatest challenge will be ensuring that the MTA has adequate resources available to monitor and maintain the Big Dig roadways and tunnels as they age, so that the safety and performance of this critical new infrastructure is not allowed to deteriorate due to insufficient maintenance.
Reducing local and statewide greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 baseline levels is proving difficult due to the rising proportion of carbon dioxide emissions attributable to the transportation sector. The transportation sector accounts for nearly one-third of carbon dioxide emissions in Massachusetts and this proportion is likely to grow as vehicle miles traveled grow at the same time that intensive efforts are underway to reduce emissions from power plants and building energy use. Between 1990 and 2004, estimated carbon dioxide emissions from the transportation sector in Massachusetts increased 16%. Rising greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles pose a major challenge to the City of Boston and Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions substantially below 1990 levels.
Greater Boston’s mobility, environment and economy depend on continued investment in expanding the MBTA’s regional rail and transit system, including completion of the transit investments committed to as part of the environmental mitigation for the Central Artery project. The MBTA can ill afford to take on additional debt and further increase the proportion of its budget spent on interest payments. Yet many promising transit projects are on the drawing board: converting what is now the Fairmount Line commuter rail service into a rapid transit-like service, extending the Blue Line to Lynn and building a circumferential transit line called the Urban Ring that would connect residents and businesses in Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Medford, and Somerville. One important set of projects were promised by the Commonwealth as a condition of receiving regulatory approval for the Big Dig. While a recent litigation settlement reaffirmed Massachusetts’ commitment to these projects, including the Fairmount Line and Green Line extension to Somerville, financial resources for construction have yet to be identified. A combination of Federal, state, local and private funds and innovative financing will be needed to support new transit projects in greater Boston.
Many people in Boston, and especially in surrounding cities and suburbs, lack viable alternatives to driving. Demographic trends, including the aging population and growing number of immigrants, will likely increase the demand for transit and other alternatives to the automobile. Yet for too many people and too many trips, the only realistic choice is driving and often driving alone. Before more people can be expected to choose walking, biking or transit, there need to be more transportation options. Boston and other communities can use zoning and development approvals to promote transit-oriented development and smart growth approaches to ensure that new development includes pedestrian facilities, bicycle facilities, and access to transit. Boston neighborhoods and cities and towns throughout Greater Boston can also invest in sidewalks, bicycle lanes and paths and other infrastructure that will make them more pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly.
MBTA ridership could continue to stagnate unless service quality is improved. The MBTA faces many challenges in its efforts to improve service on its commuter rail, rapid transit and buses. Consistent on-time performance is a persistent problem on buses, subways, trolleys and commuter rail alike. Overcrowding is an issue on buses and some subway lines. Community groups complain that its Silver Line bus does not meet the quality of light rail; schedule adherence is often compromised when the bus-only lane on Washington Street is blocked by parked cars. The MBTA is just beginning to establish specific service quality standards and to provide regular reporting on its success in meeting such standards.
Car owners in Boston’s neighborhoods face disproportionately high automobile insurance premiums which contribute to high transportation costs. Automobile insurance premiums have declined in recent years, and suburban drivers subsidize urban drivers as a group, yet insurance premiums in Boston’s neighborhoods remain substantially higher than the 2006 statewide average premium of $1,004. Average premiums in 2006 were more than $2,000 in Roxbury and Dorchester and above the statewide average even in neighborhoods such as West Roxbury and Back Bay/Beacon Hill. Reducing these high urban rates will require reducing the value of claims made, which means either improving road and driver safety or reducing the rate of fraudulent claims, or both (See Indicator 10.1.2).
Despite the newly-rejuvenated Boston Harbor and growing amount of waterfront real estate development, Boston has a very limited water transportation network. The MBTA currently provides commuter boat service from Hingham, Hull, Quincy and Charlestown to Boston (and Logan Airport). Water transportation ridership rose during the 1990s but has been stagnant since 2000. In 2002 the Boston Redevelopment Authority released a water transportation plan to expand water transportation services linking downtown, South Boston, Charlestown and East Boston but large parts of the plan have yet to be implemented due to lack of resources.
The continued growth of the Port of Boston is hampered by inadequate access. Boston’s cargo port is facing increasing competition from deep-water ports in New York, New Jersey and Halifax, Canada, in part because of awkward port-to-highway connections for container cargo. Unlike many ports, Boston’s container facility at Conley Terminal lacks direct rail access. Massport and the City of Boston are exploring truck by-pass roads for its East Boston, Charlestown and South Boston ports to improve highway connections. Access is also a growing problem on the water side. With worldwide port trade expected to double by 2020, cargo ships are being built larger to take advantage of economies of scale. At the same time, cruise ships are getting larger. For these reasons, Boston is one of more than 25 US ports that are either expanding the depth of their shipping channels or considering such dredging projects in order to accommodate these larger vessels. Massport is studying a project that would deepen the 11-mile shipping channel from its current 40 foot depth to 45-50 feet deep, a challenging project that could cost $100 million and generate 10 million cubic yards of clay and mud in need of disposal.
New evidence is raising concerns about the localized health impacts of air pollution levels very close to busy roads and highways. Recent research suggests that people who live in close proximity to major roadways face a significantly higher risk of cardiopulmonary problems than those with less exposure to vehicle air pollution. The culprit may be emissions of fine particulate matter from motor vehicles. Vulnerable individuals such as the elderly, children or those with pre-existing cardiac or pulmonary diseases may be at even greater risk. The Metropolitan Area Planning Council sponsored a workshop on this growing concern in March 2006 and identified a number of priorities for further investigation and action, including mapping efforts to identify high risk areas where sensitive populations and high emissions exposure overlap.