State Committee Hears County's Transportation Needs
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — From expanded bus hours to building a connection to the Massachusetts Turnpike, transportation and local officials made their pitch to legislators on Monday morning for additional investments in transportation.The Legislature's Joint Committee on Transportation held a public hearing at City Hall to discern the transportation needs of the county, one of several statewide hearings for next year's transportation budget.
Mayor James Ruberto kicked off the meeting by testifying that the Berkshire County needs to have a connection to the MassPike to help economic growth. He said the county struggles with attracting businesses because there is not easy way in and out of the state's westernmost district.
"It makes for a very, very inefficient transportation network and it is the cause why this location is often ruled out by site selections. We're simply too far in mileage and confusion from the Massachusetts Turnpike," Ruberto said.
Not only would that access help connect future businesses but also people who commute across county for work, he said. The need is growing because of developments at local business parks, including the WilliamStanley Business Park, and an increase in the county's tourism, Ruberto said.
Berkshire Regional Planning Commission Executive Director Nathaniel Karns also testified to that end by pointing out that truck traffic is now routed through the downtowns of Lee, Lenox and Pittsfield. To expand that, Karns advocated for reinitiating tolls on the western part of the turnpike, calling the state's removal of them a "goofy" idea.
More funding for transportation could also expand passenger rail, which the county lacks, and help the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority, Karns said. The BRTA has a 10-year backlog of needed bus repairs and the funding needs to be shuffled to the county to catch up.
Gary Shepard, BRTA administrator, said the organization has not been receiving its fair share of funding. A penny on the sales tax generated from Berkshire County, which he estimated to be about $27.4 million, would allow the organization to expand and upgrade its service, he said.
"Our customers want more hours later in the evening and more hours on Saturday," Shepard told the committee. "We have a real desire to expand our services."
Shepard said public transportation is not just bringing people from point to point but is also an economic engine. However, the buses do not run on Sundays and have limited hours while the business world is becoming even more "seven days a week and 24 hours a day," he said.
"Public transit can be an asset and not a liability," Shepard said. "The biggest challenge in transportation is finding sufficient and reliable funds to operate and maintain but also to expand our services."
The organization not only wants to extend hours but to replace buses and add a greater number of "mini-buses" to help serve the more rural areas.
MassDOT's Rail and Transit Division Administrator Jonathan Davis also spoke in favor of additional funding to the BRTA, citing the $1.8 million of backlogged work the organization needs. Nearly half of the bus fleet is beyond the normal lifespan of the vehicles, he said.
"Transportation is vital to the economy in the community it serves. Access to jobs continues to be a need
throughout the commonwealth. We need to lead the nation in transportation," Davis said.
Department of Transportation Secretary Richard A. Davey said the state is facing another "tough" budget year but the state needs to provide "equity" of resources across the state.
"In Berkshire County it's difficult to catch a bus on the weekends never mind service at 12:30, 1 o'clock at night. We need equity across the commonwealth," Davey said."There is going to be budget challenges for the commonwealth as a whole and for transportation. Tax revenues are expected to grow in fiscal 2013 but the growth is likely to be modest."
Costs to the state, however, are increasing and will surpass any increase in revenue, he said, so there will have to be budget cuts next year. MassDOT has "squeezed" everything it could out of reforming the department but will need extra funds to catchup on a backlog of infrastructure work.
That backlog includes upgrading the state's bridges. MassDOT Highway Administrator Frank DePaola said the state invested $3 billion in 2008 to upgrade structurally deficient bridges and there are 450 "deficient" bridges left. But that investment is running out and MassDOT will need an additional $90 million a year to keep the number of structurally deficient bridges at about 400. Most of the state's bridges were built in the 1950s and are aging, he said.
Fixing the bridges and the subsequent related growth has created an estimated 40,000 jobs, he said.
Registrar of Motor Vehicles Rachel Kaprielian asked for upgrades to the Registry of Motor Vehicle's Internet mainframe. The RMV has reduced its operating expenses by moving online, with transactions growing about 40 percent each year. The agency could further reduce staffing and other expenses just by upgrading its 25-year-old mainframe, she said.
"It's not your grandfather's RMV. You almost never have to go to a branch," Kaprielian said.
The input will help the committee find a balance of both state and local needs in a tough budget year, according to committee Senate Chairman Thomas McGee, of Lynn.
"Everywhere in the commonwealth, everybody understands the local investment that need to be made," McGee said.
Tags: BRTA, transportation,
