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The State's Transportation Systems

Building a Sustainable Transportation Financing System
The Massachusetts Transportation Finance Commission recently issued a report determining that the Commonwealth's transportation system is functionally broke. Most alarmingly, they state, "we estimate that over the next 20 years, the cost just to maintain our transportation system exceeds the anticipated resources available by $15 billion to $19 billion. This does nothing to address necessary expansions or enhancements." (click here to read the report)

In addition to crumbling highway infrastructure, it notes that virtually every transit authority in the state is running structural deficits and has been forced to resort to short-term borrowing to support essential levels of service. The MBTA is in the worst fiscal condition; it carries a crushing debt burden, operating costs are growing at an alarming rate, and dedicated sales tax revenues and fares have failed to keep pace with projections since Forward Funding was established several years ago. At the same time, the federal government has delayed approving the state's Central Artery mitigation plans because they are behind schedule, which could result in the loss of federal aid, until it can pass a transportation bond bill to finance these projects. The state is also behind with its clean air goals, and we need to improve and expand our public transit systems wherever feasible to create viable alternatives to the private automobile.

The Transportation Finance Commission has made 28 recommendations for cost savings, revenue enhancement and other reforms to maintain our existing transportation infrastructure and support its expansion where warranted. For example, it advocates that the state should increase the gas tax (which was last raised in 1991 and is now lower than in all of the neighboring states) to 11.5 cents and be indexed to inflation, that the state pay directly for all future MBTA capital expansions and curbing the T's explosive growth in employee benefits.

Mass Money, Mass Roads, Mass Transportation
Studies clearly demonstrate that new roads are not the solution to traffic congestion. Yet in 2000, Massachusetts' capital spending on roads was $2.4 billion – seven times what the commonwealth spent on public transportation. The Massachusetts Sierra Club has released Mass Money, Mass Roads, Mass Transportation, a report detailing the inequities between road spending vs. public transportation, and we offer some solutions to solve our transportation woes. [download]

Silver Line: Washington Street Corridor     
Click on the map to enlarge it
No matter what color you paint a bus, it still gets stuck in traffic. Over 15 years ago, the MBTA – after tearing down the elevated Orange Line – promised equal or better service. For 15 years, that service was a dirty diesel bus that contributed to residents' suffering asthma rates six times higher than the state average. Now the MBTA has unveiled its equal or better plans: building an elaborate tunnel system underneath downtown Boston so buses can turn around. Otherwise known as the "Silver Line Phase III," this plan will cost millions more than using existing tunnels and restoring light rail service on Washington Street. Even MBTA studies showed using the existing tunnel for Green Line-type service is only a matter of new lights and tracks, a substantial savings.

Boston-Metro Area Commuter Rail
Our transportation monitors the service levels, proposed changes, and advocates for expansion of service and routes.

The Urban Ring
The Urban Ring is a project of the MBTA to develop a circumferential transportation route. It would run around the urban core, located approximately two miles out from downtown Boston. It would allow riders entering the city on the MBTA’s rapid transit, commuter rail, and bus lines to transfer to this new system to get to their destinations without having to go all the way into downtown, thereby easing the stress on the subway's central transfer stations. In seeking to build this line “on the cheap” by making it initially a bus system, the construction of its tunnels and busways risks wasting hundreds of millions of dollars to create something that cannot function well—if it works at all. Visit the Urban Ring page for more information.

Bus Systems Throughout Massachusetts
Our transportation monitors the service levels of the state's RTAs (Regional Transit Authorities) in Worcester, Springfield, Pittsfield, Fall River/New Bedford, Lowell, Worcester.

MBTA Fare Increase
Click here to download a pdf of the Sierra Club letter to the MBTA addressing the fare hike and restructuring proposal.

Regional Rail

North South Rail Link
The North/South Rail Link project (NSRL) is the backbone for a modern, efficient, convenient rail service that offers an attractive transportation option for residents and tourists traveling throughout New England and the entire Northeast.

High Speed Rail
The nation's rail system has long been neglected by our federal government, despite its ability to offer an attractive transportation alternative to costly and inefficient highway transit.

Airport Expansion

Boston/Logan
The Massachusetts Port Authority (MPA) continues to pursue its three part expansion project of a new runway known as 1432, a new centerfield taxiway, and a lowering of the minimum decision point at which a pilot decides if he/she is willing to land. All options to expansion at our northeast airports should be explored and have community input before any additional expansion plans are approved. Click here fore more.

Hanscom
Hanscom Field is the busiest general aviation airport in New England, and the second busiest in terms of total flight operations. Hanscom has approximately 218,000 operations per year, compared with 455,000 operations at Logan Airport. The airport's main access road crosses through the middle of Minute Man National Historical Park, the site of the colonists' first battles with the British on April 19, 1775. Increased traffic to the airport would negatively impact the park. Save Our Heritage, the local group that is working to oppose Hanscom scheduling any commercial airline flights.

Other Airports (under construction)

Sprawl

Poorly planned development threatens our environment, our health, and our quality of life. In communities across Massachusetts "sprawl" - scattered development that increases traffic, saps local resources and destroys open space - is taking a serious toll. Many of the effects of sprawl can be traced to poorly planned transportation infrastructure, including highway and airport expansion. The Massachusetts Sierra Club is working throughout the state to find solutions to our transportation and sprawl problems. We are working to promote rail - the most environmentally sound form of transportation - over continued highway and airport expansion.  Click here for the report.