April 2014
Vol 9, Issue 3
denise in garden
Denise Provost
Somerville Stateside
Contact Information

Representative Denise Provost
State House, Room 473B
Boston, MA 02133

 

Office phone number is: 617-722-2263

Fax number is: 617-722-2837  

Email address is: denise.provost@mahouse.gov.  

 

I look forward to hearing from you.  

Denise 

 

Please spread the word about what's going on in state government and in Somerville - forward this newsletter to a friend, colleague, or neighbor.

MBTA Fare Increases  

You have probably read about MBTA's plans to increase its fares by an average of 5%, as of July 1, 2014. What has been less publicized is that fare increases will not be evenly distributed; MBTA does not propose to increase fares for the Ride, for instance. MBTA also predicts that the higher fares will shift some riders back into their cars, causing "small" increases in air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions (This  information, and other analyses, is in an impact study of the fare increase conducted by the Central Transportation Planning Staff (CTPS).

 

As I learned at a recent briefing, the MBTA has scheduled a series of hearings to take public testimony on the fare increase proposal, which can be found here: http://www.mbta.com/about_the_mbta/?id=23567.

As you can see, the hearing location closest to Somerville will be at Medford City Hall on Wednesday,  April 30, 2014. Since the House will still be debating the FY 2015 budget that evening, I don't expect to attend. I'll be submitting written testimony, and you can, too; to:  fareproposal@mbta.com 

 
In This Issue
MBTA fare Increases
Mitigation for GLX delay
Ethanol update
LGBT posting
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Mitigation for Green Line Extension Delay: What Can We Expect?

The good news, of course, is that the Governor has signed a Transportation Bond Bill which provides well over a billion dollars to fully fund construction of the much-delayed Green Line Extension (GLX) project. Since the Commonwealth signed a legally binding agreement to deliver the GLX by December 30, 2014  (for how long have we known that MassDOT/MBTA will miss that deadline?) the state is required to provide "interim offsets" mitiigrations - measures that will equal the GLX's calculated air quality benefits- from the missed deadline until the GLX is up and running.

 

I have been attending meetings with MassDOT and MBTA about the offsets. MassDOT has not yet released its proposed "offset" projects, although it plans do so in a few weeks. I have been underwhelmed, however, by the "offsets" discussed so far. MassDOT says that completing the Community Path will not yield air quality improvements. What they talk about instead is increasing the frequency of buses - diesel fueled buses - in the GLX corridor. It is hard for me to imagine air quality benefits from this scenario. 

 

Once the actual offsets are put forward, there will be a public comment period, so stayed tuned.

 

Ethanol Update

Some of you have asked what is being done to address the hazards of ethanol transport and storage in populous urban areas like Somerville. I have continued to push for more protection, even though Governor Patrick amended out of existence strong legislation passed as part of last year's budget. This year, I've filed a provision which takes its cues from the governor's changed to last year's legislative efforts, to try and avoid his veto this year.

 

My amendment which would impose a 7-year moratorium on most expansions of ethanol mixing or storage facilities within Boston's Inner Harbor area.  It clarifies and expands the governor's proposal that the Massachusetts Emergency Assistance Agency (MEMA) create a statewide plan to respond to disasters involving ethanol and other fuels.  It is amendment 392 to the FY 2015 House Budget and can be viewed here: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/188/House/H4000/Amendment/House/392/OriginalText

 

The House will debate its budget starting April 28. You can watch the live streaming at http://mass.gov/legis

 

LGBT Posting

The LGBT Liaison to the City of Somerville provides programming and resource referrals for the LGBT community in the City of Somerville.  For more information, contact efield@somervillema.gov