BRTA Public Meetings on Proposed Service Changes

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Regional Transit Authority (BRTA) will be holding public meetings to receive comments on the proposed service changes that would go into effect on July 1, 2022.
 
The BRTA continually evaluates the performance of its bus routes and other services. Successful services may be improved, while other services may need to be revised. These service changes are necessitated due to changes in ridership patterns, vehicles, staffing levels, and funding.
 
BRTA's Advisory Board authorized these public meetings to receive comments on the proposed service changes at their Board meeting held on Feb. 24, 2022.
 
The proposed options for the Fixed Route bus service include:
  • Timetable/bus schedule adjustments, both weekday and Saturday Routes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 11, 12, 14,15, 21, 21X, and 34
  • Route travel pattern adjustments Routes: 1, 3, 4, 11, 14, 15, and 21
  • Bus stop location or name changes Routes: 1, 3, 4, 5, 12, 14, and 15
  • Limited additions Route: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 11, 12, 14, 15, and pilot micro-transit option
  • Limited reductions Route: 4 and 14
  • Discontinued service Route:16 and 22
Detailed information on the proposed service changes will be on our website at www.berkshirerta.com and will be discussed at the public meetings. All public comments will be given to BRTA's Advisory Board for their final decision to be made in late Spring 2022.
 
Public comments may be submitted until April 15, 2022.
  • Online: "Contact Us" form at www.berkshirerta.com
  • In person: Participate in any hosted public information session
  • By mail: BRTA, 1 Columbus Ave. Suite 201, Pittsfield, MA 01201
  • By email: info@berkshirerta.com
  • By phone: (800) 292-2782 ext. 2895 voicemail box
Virtual Public Meeting Sessions via Zoom.
In-Person Public Meeting Sessions
  • Thursday, March 24 from 10:30 AM-12:30 PM location to be announced
  • Wednesday, March 30 from 2:30 PM-4:30 PM at the ITC, 1 Columbus Ave., Pittsfield
 
View the BRTA's website https://berkshirerta.com/announcements/ for updated information regarding the Public Meetings on the Proposed Route Changes.

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EPA Lays Out Draft Plan for PCB Remediation in Pittsfield

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Ward 4 Councilor James Conant requested the meeting be held at Herberg Middle School as his ward will be most affected. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric have a preliminary plan to remediate polychlorinated biphenyls from the city's Rest of River stretch by 2032.

"We're going to implement the remedy, move on, and in five years we can be done with the majority of the issues in Pittsfield," Project Manager Dean Tagliaferro said during a hearing on Wednesday.

"The goal is to restore the (Housatonic) river, make the river an asset. Right now, it's a liability."

The PCB-polluted "Rest of River" stretches nearly 125 miles from the confluence of the East and West Branches of the river in Pittsfield to the end of Reach 16 just before Long Island Sound in Connecticut.  The city's five-mile reach, 5A, goes from the confluence to the wastewater treatment plant and includes river channels, banks, backwaters, and 325 acres of floodplains.

The event was held at Herberg Middle School, as Ward 4 Councilor James Conant wanted to ensure that the residents who will be most affected by the cleanup didn't have to travel far.

Conant emphasized that "nothing is set in actual stone" and it will not be solidified for many months.

In February 2020, the Rest of River settlement agreement that outlines the continued cleanup was signed by the U.S. EPA, GE, the state, the city of Pittsfield, the towns of Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Sheffield, and other interested parties.

Remediation has been in progress since the 1970s, including 27 cleanups. The remedy settled in 2020 includes the removal of one million cubic yards of contaminated sediment and floodplain soils, an 89 percent reduction of downstream transport of PCBs, an upland disposal facility located near Woods Pond (which has been contested by Southern Berkshire residents) as well as offsite disposal, and the removal of two dams.

The estimated cost is about $576 million and will take about 13 years to complete once construction begins.

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