Government

State Rep. Hecht Advocates for Electrical Vehicles at State House

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On Tuesday at the State House, Representative Jonathan Hecht joined his colleagues, Representatives Smitty Pignatelli, Joan Meschino, Solomon Goldstein-Rose and Jack Lewis to host an Electric Vehicle Ride and Drive, Hecht’s office announced in a press release. The day began with a morning briefing, which highlighted the benefits of electric vehicles, showcased the enormous advancements made in electric vehicle technology over recent years, and addressed the future of electric vehicles in the Commonwealth. Attendees also learned about Hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicles, which are expected to hit the Northeast car markets soon. The briefing brought in a diverse set of speakers, including Matthew Beaton, Secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs; Alli Gold Roberts, State Policy Director at Ceres; Basim Motiwala, Government Relations at Honda; and Karsten Barde, New Customer Offerings at National Grid. After the briefing, legislators, State House staff and media were invited to test drive a host of electric vehicles, including a BMWi3, a Nissan Leaf, a Chevy Bolt, a Mini-Cooper Plug-In, a Hyundai Ioniq, a Tesla Model X, and a hydrogen fuel cell Honda Clarity.

Transportation

Bike Sharing Program Coming Soon to Watertown, Surrounding Towns

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Watertown is planning to contract with companies that will provide a bicycle sharing program similar to Hubway but without the docking stations and bring the bikes to Town as soon as this spring. 

Assistant Town Manager Steve Magoon said the Town had been looking at working with Hubway, which provides bicycles that can be rented by the hour in Boston, Cambridge, Brookline and Somerville. However installing the docks would require the Town to invest thousands of dollars and find places in town to locate them. Then Watertown and other communities began receiving inquiries from other companies looking to do bicycle sharing, Magoon said. “About a year ago dockless systems came to municipalities and said we want to come into your community free of charge, and you don’t need a dock,” Magoon said. The bikes would have wheels that are locked and can be unlocked by people using the company’s app.

Government

Town Councilors Disappointed That Starting Date For Watertown Shuttle is Still Uncertain

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Progress on getting shuttle buses on the roads of Watertown appears to have stalled, with no start date in sight. The news disappointed Town Councilors and others at the Economic Development and Planning subcommittee meeting. In August, coordinators of the Watertown TMA (Transportation Management Association) hoped to get a pilot for a shuttle on Pleasant Street started by the spring of 2018. On Tuesday night, Michele Brooks from TransAction Associates, the firm hired by the Watertown TMA to mange the TMA, said the start of the shuttle will have to wait. She has been meeting with the TMA’s Board of Directors, which includes members paying into the TMA.

Transportation

MBTA Adding Early Morning Buses to 70 Route, Others in System

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Beginning Sunday, April 1, the MBTA will begin a one-year early morning bus service pilot on its busiest key bus routes serving neighborhoods within the immediate Boston core traveling to downtown Boston, the Seaport, and key stops in between beginning as early as 3:20 a.m., MBTA officials announced. Serving residents who start their work day before many people’s alarms ring, the new routes are part of the MBTA’s continued commitment to expanding offerings for those riders who need them most. “The T’s expansion into early morning bus service will provide an important opportunity for the changing needs of Massachusetts’ workforce,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “Throughout this one-year pilot, the MBTA will be able to gather important information about changes in bus ridership and analyze that data to better inform future transportation plans around the Greater Boston area.”
“The launch of early morning service demonstrates that the MBTA is acting on its top priority to put the needs of its customers first,” said Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack. “This new transit option will serve workers who must start their day earlier than most.

MBTA

MBTA Announces Reduced Service During Nor’easter

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 The MBTA is preparing for the next weather system forecast to hit parts of the MBTA service area Monday night and throughout the day Tuesday with predicted blizzard-like conditions, high snow totals, and very high winds. As this weather is expected to have an effect on service, the MBTA is taking proactive measures to protect critical infrastructure and vehicles while continuing to provide service. The MBTA Commuter Rail will operate an “Extremely Reduced Schedule” on all lines for the duration of service on Tuesday. Commuter Rail schedules will be updated onmbta.com to reflect changes in train times with schedules available in South, North, and Back Bay Stations. Customers are encouraged to check the MBTA website, sign up for T-Alerts, and follow the commuter rail on Twitter @MBTA_CR for the latest updates on service changes.

Government

Find Out About Improvements to Public Transit Planned for Mt. Auburn Street

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The Town of Watertown will host a public meeting on planned improvements to public transit on Mount Auburn Street, including new technology for traffic signals and piloting a bus-only lane for the 71 and 73 buses on a stretch of the street. The Department of Public Works sent out the following information:

Please join the Town of Watertown for a Mount Auburn Street project meeting to discuss bus transit planning along the corridor. We will also discuss potential technologies and amenities that could be incorporated into the project to improve bus service and reliability for the more than 5,000 daily riders. At the meeting, we will touch upon an exciting joint bus rapid transit (BRT) pilot project with the City of Cambridge and the MBTA to improve Route 71/73 service between Belmont Street and Fresh Pond Parkway. Although the pilot project will proceed independent of our Mount Auburn Street Complete Streets project, we hope to use the results and data collected from the pilot to inform our design.

Complete Streets

Second Meeting on Complete Streets Recommendations Planned

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Town officials announced they will host the second meeting in the process to create a Prioritization Plan for Complere Steeets projects in Watertown. The meeting follows an initial session in December where residents identified projects in their neighborhoods to improve the situation for motor vehicles, public transportation, bicycles and pedestrians. At the end of the process the Town will come up with a list of 15-20 projects to prioritize when funds become available. The Town sent out the following information:

Watertown Complete Streets Prioritization Plan Meeting #2

Review project recommendations for plans to help make a more walkable, bikable, and transit friendly Watertown. A public meeting about recommendations for the Town’s Complete Streets Prioritization Plan is scheduled for Wednesday, February 28th at 6:30 PM, in the Town Council Chambers in Town Hall.

Government

Public Sees Visions for Renovation Coolidge Square, Weighs In on Project

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Town officials invited the public to come give its ideas for how to redesign and improve Mt. Auburn Street in the area of Coolidge Avenue, while making the area more efficient for motor vehicles, buses, bicycles and pedestrians. Currently, the street has two lanes of traffic in each direction and parking on both sides of the street, but no dedicated bike lanes. Some ideas for changing the street include cutting the number of lanes of traffic to one each way with left turn lanes at intersections, adding bike lanes and making sidewalks wider in some places to allow easier crossings for pedestrians. Planning for all modes of transportation is known as Complete Streets.