Letter from The President
Greetings:
A Better City heads into 2012 poised to make gains on our longstanding priorities and to break ground on new ones. You can read our entire workplan online, but I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight some of our top goals for the new year.
Challenge for Sustainability
After a successful pilot in 2010, ABC is expanding our Challenge for Sustainability to include more of our member businesses and institutions. We are grateful to have received funding for this project from The Boston Foundation and the Barr Foundation. We have also received a grant from the City of Boston to explore expanding the Challenge beyond ABC members and to include hotels, restaurants and retail businesses. Sustainability is a relatively new area of focus for ABC, and we are excited to pursue aggressively the opportunities it presents for us.
Bridge Work Ahead
As we have since the days of the Central Artery/Tunnel Project, ABC continues to represent the interests of Greater Boston’s business and institutional community on major transportation projects. In 2011, ABC will continue to advise MassDOT on the reconstruction of bridges in the Charles River Basin and to communicate the latest news on the projects via our "Bridging the Basin" Web site and Twitter feed. We are also gearing up to do the same on MassDOT’s "Fast 14" project, which will replace 14 bridges on I-93 in Medford during weekends this summer. This will be a major undertaking with major impacts on traffic throughout the region. We have already begun working closely with MassDOT to communicate detours and lane closures to our members and the business community at large.
Preserving the Greenway
ABC continues to preserve the legacy of the Central Artery/Tunnel project by supporting the continued maturation of the Rose Kennedy Greenway. Thanks to the good work of the Greenway Conservancy, 2011 promises to be an exciting year on Greenway, with an expanded food vendor program and plans for a custom-made carousel. 2011 will also see the first permanent structure erected in the parks with the completion of the Boston Harbor Islands Pavilion. We congratulate the Conservancy and the Boston Harbor Island Alliance on this important milestone in the development of the parks.
At the same time, the Greenway Conservancy faces significant financial challenges as it continues to expand its activities. In 2010, ABC commenced a study of the feasibility of various funding options for the Conservancy. As we move into 2011, ABC is working closely with the Conservancy to explore these options and educate our abutting members about them.
Planning for the Future…
ABC continues to advocate for future transportation projects that will promote smart, sustainable development in Greater Boston. We continue our work as champions of the Urban Ring, a proposed circumferential transit service that would connect the outer spokes of the MBTA system. In 2011 we aim to promote incremental improvements in the Ring corridor that will pave the way for completion of the entire project in the future. We will also keep our members updated on other transportation projects in the pipeline, including the Green Line Extension to Medford, the expansion of South Station, and the prospects for true high-speed rail between Boston, New York and Washington, D.C. And we continue to lead meetings of key stakeholders in the South Boston Waterfront, a new neighborhood poised for major development, including a potential expansion of the Boston Convention and Exposition Center.
…and How to Pay for It
Even the best transportation projects cannot get off the drawing board without funding. That’s a challenge when the Commonwealth is having trouble just maintaining the transportation assets we currently have. ABC supported the creation of MassDOT and the new department’s efforts to reform our transportation bureaucracy – an effort that has realized over $100 million in savings thusfar. At the same time, we realize that no amount of cost-cutting will fill the significant gap in our transportation finances. That is why ABC continues to advocate, alone and as part of the broad-based coalition Our Transportation Future, for a sustainable transportation finance strategy for the entire Commonwealth. ABC also continues to monitor progress on the reauthorization of the federal surface transportation legislation. We are hopeful that the need to invest in our nation’s roads, bridges, railways and transit systems will be a point of bipartisan agreement in the year to come.
New Leadership
As ABC gears up for 2011, we do so with new leadership on our board of directors. One of ABC’s founding members, Larry DiCara of Nixon Peabody, is stepping up to the role of chairman. Larry is taking over for Mike Mooney of Nutter McClennen & Fish, who provided steadfast and inspired leadership for four years. Thankfully, we will continue to enjoy Mike’s wisdom and good humor as a member of the Executive Committee, as co-chair of our Sustainability and Climate Change Committee and as ABC’s representative to Mayor Menino’s Green Ribbon Commission.
All told, 2011 promises to be a year of challenge and opportunity for ABC. I am, as always, grateful for the opportunity to lead this great city-building organization, and I look forward to working with our board members, stakeholders and collaborators to improve economic competitiveness and quality of life in Greater Boston.
Sincerely,
Richard A. Dimino
President & CEO
A Better City
