PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A public roundtable discussion on the county's transportation needs is scheduled Monday evening from 4 to 5:30 at Berkshire Community College.

Panelists will be Mayor Daniel Bianchi, state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier of Pittsield, Berkshire Regional Transit Authority Administrator Gary Shepard, BCC President Ellen Kennedy, Berkshire Chamber of Commerce President Michael Supranowicz and Ben Forman, research director at MassInc and executive director of the Gateway Cities Innovation Institute.

The moderator will be Dick Lindsay of the Berkshire Eagle. Also participating will be students from BCC and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.

The forum is sponsored by Massachusetts Public Interest Group, think tank MassInc and Transportation for Massachusetts, a coalition of organizations advocating for affordable transportation choices, in cooperation with BCC.

The panelists will take part in a moderated discussion around public transportation. Members of the public will be able to share their experiences, ask questions and offer comments.  

As part of the event, MassInc will present a new research report for how new public resources in regional transit can be invested with a focus on improving the economic performance of Gateway Cities like Pittsfield.

Farley-Bouvier has been outspoken in advocating for more public transportation support in the Berkshires. She is a lead sponsor on the proposed Transportation Investment Act (HD 3119), which calls for equitable transportation spending statewide, funding for Gateway Cities to invest in transportation improvements and projects and to put into design concepts for federal grant applications. She is also lead on a bill that would create a pilot program to evaluate a mileage tax that could supplement or replace the gas tax (H3142).