Planning for a Better Transportation System

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Each year, the federal government allocates millions of dollars toward building and maintaining the Boston region’s transportation infrastructure.

How would you distribute this money? Whose input would you need to make sure your decisions are comprehensive, collaborative, and fair? What types of data would you need to make smart choices? Simply put, this is the work of the Boston Region MPO: to facilitate an informed and equitable decision-making process for the allocation of federal funding to improve transportation in the Boston region.

The transportation projects that the MPO funds often take years of planning and engineering before a single shovel breaks ground. For these projects to be successful, it is critical that you—and all project stakeholders—are informed and engaged in the planning process. We are committed to providing opportunities to participate all along the way.

Below is a brief description of our transportation planning process. We hope to hear from you!

Getting the right folks at the table

Getting the right folks at the table

You are the expert on your own commute; all of the data in the world would never match your daily experience on our roads, trains, and ferries. That’s why we need your input when decisions are made about your transportation system. Check out our calendar of upcoming opportunities to get involved, sign up to receive our updates and newsletters, and read our public engagement plan.

Developing a vision

Developing a vision

We invited citizens and organizations from all around the Boston region to help us imagine our transportation future in a federally mandated process and documentation—the Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP). The MPO’s current LRTP, Charting Progress to 2040, will guide investment in our region’s transportation system for the next 25 years, even as we revisit our assumptions and analyses regularly to capture emerging trends and demographic changes.

Turning ideas into reality

Turning ideas into reality

Charting Progress to 2040's vision will come to life through individual transportation projects. Each year, the MPO selects which transportation infrastructure projects and strategies to fund during the next five years and publishes them in a Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).

Monitoring progress, developing solutions

Monitoring progress, developing solutions

The transportation landscape is evolving at a dizzying speed, with new technologies, regulations, and user preferences. We stay abreast of these changes by analyzing data, collaborating with partner organizations, and engaging area residents. We monitor our progress and adjust our approach every year with a new Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP).

Ensuring access

Ensuring access

Everyone should enjoy at least a basic level of access to transportation. Our Transportation Equity Program examines the allocation of transportation benefits and burdens. Additionally, Congress supports a variety of programs that reduce barriers to transportation services and expand mobility options available to elderly individuals, people with disabilities, those with low incomes, and reverse commuters. The MPO taps into this federal funding by producing a Coordinated Public Transit—Human Services Transportation Plan, which describes the region’s current transportation network, documents unmet human-service transportation needs, and provides ideas for improving transportation services.

Managing congestion

Managing congestion

We know that it’s no fun being stuck in traffic, waiting for a late bus, or squeezing into an overcrowded train. Our Congestion Management Process monitors transportation facilities for congestion problems and implements mitigation strategies and projects to increase our system’s capacity.

Performance-Based Planning and Programming

Tracking performance

The MPO is monitoring transportation trends, establishing performance measures, and setting targets to make sure that its planning decisions in the LRTP, TIP, and other programs are helping to create the transportation system that will meet the region’s current and future needs. Learn more about the measures and tools the MPO uses to stay on track.

For more information on the MPO’s transportation planning or on how you can get involved: Contact Annette Demchur, ademchur@ctps.org or 857-702-3709.