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The Massachusetts State House in downtown Boston.

Major Transportation Funding Bill Passes the Massachusetts House

By Christian MilNeil | Mar 4, 2020 | No Comments

The House proposal would raise roughly half a billion dollars in additional revenue for transportation projects through a 5-cent gasoline tax increase, a 9-cent increase to diesel fuel taxes, hikes to the Commonwealth’s minimum corporate tax rates, and higher fees on app-based ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft.

About 40 cars occupy five lanes of highway in crawling traffic that stretches off to the horizon..

A Big Tax Break for the Trucking Industry Hides in the House Transportation Bill

By Christian MilNeil | Mar 4, 2020 | No Comments

The bill's proposal to eliminate sales taxes on trucks is forecast to cost $9 to $11 million annually in lost revenue to the Commonwealth's Transportation Trust Fund.

The City of Boston's preferred concept for Cummins Highway would address safety concerns by reducing the street's width, widening sidewalks, and adding protected bike lanes. Courtesy of the City of Boston Public Works Department.

City Proposes Road Diet, Protected Bike Lanes On Cummins Highway in Mattapan

By Christian MilNeil | Mar 3, 2020 | No Comments

The Boston Public Works Department is recommending a major reconfiguration of Mattapan’s Cummins Highway to reduce vehicle speeds and add protected bike lanes, but drivers in the neighborhood are pushing back against the city’s recommendations. Cummins Highway links Roslindale Village to Mattapan Square, and is a key point of access to the Blue Hill Avenue […]

An Amtrak Lake Shore Limited train passes through Chester, Mass. Photo by Benjamin Turon, licensed under the Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0 license.

MassDOT Will Revisit Its East-West Rail Ridership Projections

By Christian MilNeil | Mar 2, 2020 | No Comments

A coalition of regional planning groups wrote that the East-West passenger rail study's low ridership projections "require more explanation, clarity and re-analysis."

Blue Hill Avenue facing south towards Mattapan in August 2016.

Thursday: Boston Hosts Events On Blue Hill Ave., ‘Connect Downtown’ Projects

By Christian MilNeil | Feb 27, 2020 | No Comments

City of Boston planners have scheduled two separate public meetings next Thursday, March 5 to present their progress on two major street safety projects: a transit-focused redesign of Blue Hill Avenue in the southern part of the city, and the “Connect Downtown/Southwest Corridor Extension” project, which is aiming to improve bike and pedestrian access into […]

House Bill Proposes Higher Corporate, Gas Taxes To Fund Transit Improvements

By Christian MilNeil | Feb 26, 2020 | No Comments

It's not yet clear whether the House bill will provide a sufficient amount of funding to meet the MBTA's needs for additional staff and new capital projects.

Advocates Crowd State House For ‘Game-Changing’ Transit Funding Bill

By Christian MilNeil | Feb 25, 2020 | 1 Comment

"I believe, and I am incredibly optimistic, that this transportation bill is going to be a generational game-changer in how we fund - and more importantly how we provide public transit for the citizens of Massachusetts," said Rep. Sarah Peake.

A red light camera in Springfield, Ohio. Public domain photo by Derek Jensen, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Mass. Senate Takes Up Automated Enforcement Bill

By Christian MilNeil | Feb 24, 2020 | No Comments

The amended bill now includes provisions to allow automated enforcement of dedicated bus lanes.

T4MA Issues ‘Call To Action’ As Advocates Await Transit Funding Bill

By Christian MilNeil | Feb 21, 2020 | No Comments

Transportation for Massachusetts (T4MA) and 22 of its partner organizations are hosting a “Call to Action” event in the State House next Tuesday as House leaders continue to work on a long-promised transportation funding bill. The “Fix Our Transportation Crisis Call To Action” event will be held on Tuesday, February 25th, 2020 at 10 am […]

Photo by harry_nl, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Auto Lenders Are Helping Fuel Pedestrian Death Crisis

By Kea Wilson | Feb 21, 2020 | No Comments

A heat map of harsh braking incidents recorded by the City of Boston's "Safest Driver" app in 2019. Courtesy of the City of Boston.

‘Safest Driver’ Data Reveal Where Boston’s Most Dangerous Driving Is

By Christian MilNeil | Feb 20, 2020 | No Comments

Data collected from a city-sponsored safe driving competition reveal that Boston’s notoriously bad drivers are at their worst behavior on major high-speed state roadways that lie outside of the city’s direct control. In 2019, the City of Boston’s Office of New Urban Mechanics re-launched its “Boston’s Safest Driver” contest, an app-based competition that challenged travelers […]

The aftermath of a truck crash on I-290 in Worcester.

America’s Mayors: Cars are Ruining Our Cities — But We Won’t Do Much About It!

By Gersh Kuntzman | Feb 18, 2020 | No Comments

“I was really struck … about [the mayors’] unwillingness to support or implement things that we in transportation planning know are evidence-based ways to make roads safer for vulnerable road users,” said Katherine Levine Einstein, a Boston University political science professor.

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