It was disappointing when Secretary of Transportation Monica Tibbits-Nutt announced that the Massachusetts Department of Transportation was embarking on a path forward for Allston Landing that backtracked on prior commitments to the impacted communities and may jeopardize (and in some ways reverse) the project’s commitment to providing important environmental, economic, and social justice outcomes.
Monica Tibbits-Nutt
Posted inTransportation
Regional transit agencies are getting state funding to go fare-free. The T won’t be on the list.
Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt said while 13 of the 15 Massachusetts regional transit authorities can now provide year-round fare-free bus service, thanks to state grants, that won’t be happening anytime soon at the MBTA, the state’s largest transit agency.
Posted inTransportation
Millionaire tax won’t eliminate T’s fiscal cliff, Tibbits-Nutt says
“I reject the notion that all we’re going to produce is a tool kit,” said James Rooney of the Greater Boston Chamber. “I really don’t want to do that because I think we could’ve spent far less hours producing a tool kit.”
Posted inTransportation
Political notebook: Healey’s ‘tool kit’ task force | Pushback on merger of state agencies
“What we are really hoping to give [to the governor] is a tool kit that lists sources and uses. I am not so sure – again, I’m not a member of the task force, I’m staff to the task force — that they will get to the prioritization level. It’s possible, but we haven’t really discussed that yet.”
Posted inTransportation
MassDOT reverses course, includes $243m for I-90 Allston project in capital plan
The explanations left many observers scratching their heads, and some wondering whether the MassDOT staff simply forgot to include funding in the capital investment plan for one of the Healey administration’s highest transportation priorities.
Posted inTransportation
New tone for Healey transportation funding task force
The task force met on Wednesday and several members, who asked not to be identified, indicated afterward that the group is no longer going to work on developing a transportation funding plan. Instead, they said, the group intends to focus on developing a “tool kit” that could be used by policymakers to develop a transportation funding plan.
Posted inTransportation
Political notebook: Tibbits-Nutt silence | cannabis chief resurfaces | Southie rep race
The former head of the Mass. Taxpayers Foundation told the MBTA board of directors on Thursday that a political coalition is needed to tackle the T’s problems, but the natural leader of such an effort, Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt, who stirred controversy with recent comments about ways to raise revenue, was conspicuously silent during the meeting.
Posted inTransportation
Short takes: Developing a new system of transportation financing
“We’re not going to be dodging potential options just for political reasons. That’s what’s going to be different this time,” said Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt.