Event Recap: Public Works & Transportation
May 27, 2020
MONDAY, MAY 18, 2020 | ZOOM MEETING
CHRIS OSGOOD, CHIEF OF THE STREETS, TRANSPORTATION, AND SANITATION, CITY OF BOSTON
On Monday, May 18, Rick Dimino, President and CEO of A Better City, welcomed Chris Osgood, Chief of Streets for the City of Boston to discuss the recent work of Boston Transportation, Public Works, and Sanitation Departments. Fifty-one participants joined in the Zoom session.
Chris began his slide presentation with a view of the pandemic “curve” and three major phases: response, recovery, and thrive. Under the response portion of the curve, the initial objectives were to flatten the curve, expand medical capacity, and assist with making worksites safe. Ongoing activities were: continuing to work with residents, youth and education, food, and housing. Chris said that the city was using all the tools in the toolbox and working cooperatively with other groups. Actions included improving transportation for health care workers and assisting with food deliveries for residents.
In the recovery stage, the focus is on lives, livelihoods, and places.
Actions include repurposing roadway lanes to help small businesses recover, calming traffic speeds on local streets, supporting safe transit with dedicated bus lanes and expanded bus boarding areas for physical distancing, and expanding the bike route network. To support transportation, the City is continuing to encourage work from home, encouraging walking and biking for short trips, supporting service availability on short trips, supporting the MBTA in safe service restoration, and increasing MBTA capacity by increasing reliability and schedules by providing dedicated bus lanes.
Chris reviewed a number of bridge projects under construction or design such as the North Washington Street, Dalton Street, Long Island, and Northern Avenue Bridges.
To thrive, Chris mentioned a focus on neighborhood streets, major corridors, and new programs.
Rick Dimino began the questions asking about sanitation activities.
Chris said that in recent weeks the volume of trash and recycling has increased: recycling by 25% and trash by 20%, which he said was like adding the volume of trash equal to that of Springfield to Boston’s total. This condition will have obvious budget implications. The City will begin a new zero waste initiative that will address the 1/3 of waste that is food or yard waste that is compostable.
Regarding construction that is in the first phase of reopening, work in streets, utilities, and one to three unit residential buildings can continue now, and on May 26 all construction can resume with approval of a COVID-19 Site Safety Plan and a signed affidavit certifying compliance with the approved plan.
The objective is to have all people at work as safely as possible.
Rick asked about water transportation, which Chris said could resume in part during Phase 2, and in full during Phase 3 of the reopening. It would be helpful to have guidance on other supplements to the public transit system such as private shuttle buses and services like Uber and Lyft.
Rick also asked about the impact of increased use of private cars due to concerns about safety on the MBTA, and Chris said that data are being developed to track regional traffic trends but he expects that with shifts in work hours and near term lower use, the city can absorb some additional volume of traffic within the fixed roadway capacity. Rick suggested that continuing remote working from home and limits on office capacity can help in the short term as can Transportation Demand Management.
Concerning public meetings, Chris said that he has seen more participation from the public on well-attended calls. There have been two or three official Public Improvement Commission meetings. Permitting for use of City streets had required a visit to City Hall in the past can now be done online.
Jeanne Pinado described crowding and physical distancing issues at Dudley Station. Chris said that the City needs to support the MBTA in encouraging better behavior and providing more space for queuing at bus stops.
Chris reviewed the construction COVID-19 safety process that requires a safety plan and affidavit stating compliance with the plan submitted to the Inspectional Service Department. Violations can result in shutting down the construction site.
Responding to a question about setting up cafes in parking lanes, Chris noted the public realm guidelines that A Better City helped to prepare, the hiring of a Director of Public Realm by the City, and the 2017 elimination of the prohibition of establishments serving across the public way (sidewalks) all supporting use of parts of the public right of way for dining.
The concept of Build Back Better regarding sustainable infrastructure will be part of the recovery phase. Bike infrastructure is expanding with the Blue Bikes program adding capacity Downtown and growing into Mattapan, Hyde Park, and parts of Dorchester. Rick notes that the ABC TMA has supported the use of the bike sharing program by hospital workers.
Currently, ridership on the commuter rail system is about 1% of the previous levels, and the question is how to advance the Rail Vision Urban Rail concept? Chris said that the commuter rail system is a valuable asset and that the Fairmount Line needs to have increased frequency of service.
Parking meter revenue is currently way down. Larry DiCara suggested that total revenue for the City maybe $100 million below the original budget.
Regarding dedicated bus lanes, Chris said that there will be bus lanes for the SL4 and SL5 routes from Tufts to Downtown and bus lanes on Blue Hill Avenue, Columbus Avenue, and Warren Street. The focus will be establishing bus lanes that will serve the greatest number of riders.
The City is looking at commercial loading zones to coordinate with the businesses to share loading zones with other uses.
Chris concluded by welcoming comments and feedback on activities of his departments. Rick Dimino thanked Mr. Osgood for covering a wide range of topics.
