A Better City Statement on Governor Baker’s Transportation Bond Bill
March 17, 2022
Prepared by Rick Dimino, President & CEO | FULL RELEASE
There are immense needs throughout the Commonwealth to fortify, modernize, and decarbonize our transportation system. These efforts are necessary to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change in order to meet the challenges of our future economy and enhance our region’s quality of life. There will be new competitive grant programs that can help address these challenges and the Commonwealth must maximize these opportunities.
Today’s release of Governor Baker’s transportation bond bill is a significant step forward to determine the potential impact and benefits of the federal infrastructure dollars in the Commonwealth. This proposal includes important policies that prioritizes speed and urgency for using these funds, and it would show Massachusetts is positioned as a top place in the country to deliver major capital investment projects.
We are particularly encouraged by the details of this bond bill that calls for updates to state laws related to capital project delivery. The proposal for A+B bidding would help to deliver projects faster in the Commonwealth, and also take advantage of federal funds. This project worked well for the MassDOT during the Obama Administration and should be allowed again.
Improving our procurement rules and having state matching funds available can help the Commonwealth win grants to support the I-90 Multimodal project in Allston, the Red – Blue Connector, modernization of our bus fleets, and transit improvements throughout the region that can help decarbonize our transportation system. Back in August, A Better City made recommendations in our report Ready to Move in Massachusetts: A Blueprint For Delivering Major Transportation Projects Through The Biden Infrastructure Plan, and this bond bill includes many of these ideas.
Today’s announcement is a step in the right direction, and we look forward to partnering with the Governor, legislature, and municipalities to realize these vital projects as soon as possible.
