 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dear Jeffrey,
Click here to view this ebulletin as a printable PDF.
Contact: Jeff Rosenblum (617) 621-1746,
jeff@livablestreets.info
Click here for a comprehensive
calendar of events.
* SHORT JULY ISSUE * -- Reminder
about our next street social. In light of the Big Dig
tunnel closures, we have written an opinion piece on
the importance of transit in emergency planning.
 Click here for a printable PDF
version.
OPINION: Public Transportation
Essential During Emergencies
By Jeffrey Rosenblum and Chella Rajan
July 12, 2006
Amidst this week’s finger-pointing barrage, following
Milena Del Valle’s tragic death in the Big Dig, one
agency stepped up efforts to maintain normalcy in
Boston and the region: the MBTA.
Tuesday, as state and federal inspectors began
investigating the cause of the collapse of 12 tons of
roof slabs in the Ted Williams tunnel, travelers had to
use alternate routes to Logan Airport. With the
motorists’ two-tunnel option to Logan now cut in
half, many travelers clogged the Callahan tunnel,
formerly the primary route to Logan Airport, causing
massive traffic backups.
Meanwhile, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation
Authority increased service levels to rush-hour
frequency on both the Orange and Blue Lines, and
secured special access for Silver Line buses through
the stricken Ted Williams tunnel.
(No doubt, the thousands of travelers heading to
Logan airport were glad to have someone step in
with solutions that kept the city and state running,
rather than politicking and finger-pointing.)
The state police also granted Silver Line buses
access to a special emergency ramp, at frequencies
of one bus every 20 minutes, which kept an
additional route to Logan open while maintaining
necessary access to emergency personnel.
The tunnel collapse, and the aftermath of delays on
roadways all over Boston, should serve as a wake-up
call to reduce risks throughout our entire
transportation system. Having a multi-modal
transportation system significantly muted the impact
of the Ted Williams tunnel closure. It could have
helped another urban area in a recent emergency
situation.
The post-Katrina evacuation of New Orleans is an
object lesson on what not to do; the lack of a
detailed action plan – which included no transit – left
evacuees to rely solely on cars that crawled on
gridlocked highways even as huge numbers of transit-
dependant riders were left behind to face death and
disease.
A variety of planning policies and programs are
needed to create a resilient transport system. These
benefit everybody in a community, including drivers.
As with the staged evacuation of Washington DC’s
Mall last July, cars alone were insufficient. Dense
cities can only be evacuated efficiently by prioritizing
transit modes rather than cars. During emergencies,
moving more people in fewer vehicles would mean a
safer and more efficient evacuation.
Once the flurry of accusations subsides, there is
bound to be significant political pressure to increase
investments to secure the safety of the tunnels
associated with the Big Dig.
Fortunately we already had the necessary public
infrastructure in place to maintain connections with
the airport when the tunnel ceiling gave way late
Monday night. Ironically, it was the Big Dig which
allowed for these connections, when the state
agreed to fund significant transit expansions and
improvements to offset the environmental impact of
the unprecedented highway project.
When the state signed the Big Dig transit
commitments agreement with the Conservation Law
Foundation it included Silver Line access to the
airport and improved Blue Line service.
The Silver Line Phase II, which opened in late 2004,
provides direct access to the airport from South
Station, with dedicated right-of-ways.
Improvements to the Blue Line, including platform
lengthening, signal upgrades and train replacements,
have made access to Logan more convenient.
Unfortunately, the state has reversed its course of
supporting crucial public infrastructure, significantly
cutting the MBTA’s funding since 2000, when it
moved the MBTA to “Forward Funding”. The MBTA
remains in a state of fiscal crisis as it attempts to
make up for a forecasted $70-million budget gap in
FY 2007. It has proposed significant fare hikes, the
third in seven years, to make up that budget gap and
has proposed significant restructuring of
fares.
Unfortunately, further fare hikes are likely to drive off
riders, destroying the long-term stability of the
MBTA. Any fare hike should await the Transportation
Finance Commission’s long-awaited recommendations
and the 2006 gubernatorial race. In the meantime,
the state, which is in better fiscal shape than it has
been in the past five years, must step in and support
the MBTA with the $35 million necessary to maintain
the agency through the first half of 2007.
The MBTA has proven itself a state and regional
asset, particularly during emergency situations.
Investment in the MBTA did not happen overnight,
but rather has been the conscious effort of
dedicated public leaders, with an eye toward the
region’s long-term stability. This week, that
investment paid back in spades.
Jeffrey Rosenblum is the executive director of
LivableStreets Alliance, Chella Rajan is a senior fellow
at the Tellus Institute and a LivableStreets Alliance
board member.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
