WORK PROGRAM

west station area transit study

August 29, 2019

Proposed Motion

The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) votes to approve this work program.

Project Identification

Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) Classification

Boston Region MPO Planning Studies and Technical Analyses

Project Number 22213

Client

Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC)
Client Supervisor: Travis Pollack

Project Supervisors

Principal: John Gliebe
Manager: Scott Peterson

Funding Source

MAPC Contract

Schedule and Budget

Schedule: 12 months after work commences

Budget: $17,500

Schedule and budget details are shown in Exhibits 1 and 2, respectively.

Relationship to MPO Work

This studyis supported in full with non-MPO funding. Committing MPO staff to this project will not impinge on the quality or timeliness of MPO-funded work.

Background

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is currently planning the replacement of the Interstate 90 (I-90) viaduct in Allston and the existing interchange of I-90 with Cambridge Street and Soldiers Field Road (Exit 20). The project will replace existing highway ramps with an urban interchange and street system that will facilitate the ultimate redevelopment of Beacon Park Yards, a former rail yard, into a mixed-use development. Harvard University owns the majority of the land within the project study area, but has not yet proposed plans for its future development. The proposed new Allston I-90 Interchange design may include a North-South path for future transit between North Allston and Harvard University north of Cambridge Street over Beacon Yards to Commonwealth Avenue and points south (such as Boston University and the Longwood Medical Area), and will preserve rail connections to the Grand Junction bridge leading to East Cambridge and North Station. It will also provide direct access to the Framingham/Worcester Commuter rail line connecting to points east and west, including Worcester, Framingham, and Downtown Boston. The ultimate buildout of the area is expected to be of significant size and scope. MassDOT, the Cities of Boston and Cambridge, and the Town of Brookline would like to maximize the use of non-auto forms of transportation for trips that start or end in Beacon Park Yards, and for regional trips that travel through Allston to access major employment centers in Harvard Square, Kendall Square, Longwood Medical Area, and Downtown Boston.

Included in the interchange project is the addition of a multimodal bus and commuter rail station within Beacon Park Yards referred to as “West Station.” MassDOT and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) are committing to designing and building West Station with financial support from area property owners (once development of a sufficient amount occurs in Beacon Park Yards and nearby population and employment centers).

The key questions to be addressed in the study are as follows:

• What transit services, such as new connections, stations, operations, or increases in service, are most beneficial for maximizing regional and local non-auto travel to, from, and throughout the study area under different future development scenarios?

• What is the optimal sequencing for each new element of transit infrastructure or service as it relates to development benchmarks or thresholds (amount and type of development, timing, and associated trip generation) that might trigger implementation?

• How might other modes, including on-demand mobility services and pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, affect travel behavior and be leveraged to increase the use of modes other than the single-occupant vehicle?
• What are the best metrics to determine if particular transit investments, both infrastructure and services, can be successful in improving multimodal accessibility in and throughout the study area? 

• What Transportation Demand Management (or TDM) strategies, parking policies, and urban design policies should the municipalities and others adopt to meet sustainable transportation goals?

• What are the policies, funding mechanisms, partnerships, and implementation mechanisms that could better achieve mode share and multimodal accessibility goals under the different buildout scenarios?

• What commitments could the relevant municipalities, landowners, MassDOT, the MBTA, and others make as a result of this study?

Objective(s)

The objectives of this study are as follows:

• Provide municipal and state government, and the development community with an objective evaluation of strategies that could best improve non-auto accessibility to jobs, labor, housing, healthcare, and other major destinations for the Beacon Park Yards area.
• Help municipal and state governments to proactively plan for and implement regional mobility improvements as Beacon Park Yards and surrounding areas are developed.
• Inform the design of the new West Station so it supports the type of transit service that meets the accessibility and non-auto mode share goals identified by this study.

Work Description

This study will be completed according to the following tasks:

Task 1  Project Coordination

The Central Transportation Planning Staff (CTPS) will work with MAPC on this project for its duration or up to one year from the start of the contract, whichever comes first. CTPS will meet periodically with MAPC staff and their consultant to clarify the project schedule, scope of tasks, and deliverables. CTPS will require a MAPC staff person to provide direction in all discussions and requests coming from their consultant. CTPS will also work with MAPC in coordinating the work with the MassDOT Allston FEIR Project team. MAPC will provide CTPS with updates on the progress and the final product of the work to help understand the methodology and usefulness of the accessibility tool for future work.

Product of Task 1: Meetings, phone calls, and administrative tasks that are needed to successfully complete this project within the budgeted funds set aside for this task.

Task 2 Support Tool Development

In support of MAPC’s consultant, CTPS will provide data sets that can inform, update, and help improve the tool to be used in the accessibility analysis.

Subtask 2.1  Define Geography

Defining the geography around the project zone will assist in aggregating data sets into trip tables and travel times. MAPC and their consultant will provide details on the geographic aggregation by Boston Region MPO area transportation analysis zone.

Subtask 2.2  Travel Model Data Request

The data requested could include model documentation, transportation networks, travel impedances, and trip tables. MAPC and the project team will need to sign a data-use agreement governing the application and distribution of this data set. MAPC and their consultant, in consultation with CTPS, will work to identify the time frame for delivering this information in a manner consistent with Exhibit 2. Additionally, the three scenarios from which CTPS will extract data from will be the Base Year, Long-Range Transportation Plan 2040 Build, and FEIR Allston Build Land Use scenarios. During the support process, the CTPS project team will coordinate with the Allston FEIR effort.

Product of Task 2: Information on the project geography, documentation, and travel model data that MAPC and their consultant needs to undertake this work within the allocated funds for this task.

Task 3 Support Transit Service Scenarios

CTPS will assist MAPC with the development of conceptual transit service plans to be tested in the transit accessibility analysis. This may include providing information about previously identified transit service concepts; providing first order assessments of the feasibility of ideas developed through public outreach; and assisting MAPC with the specification of stops, speed, and frequency for potential transit service. 

Product of Task 3: Transit service planning and transportation planning support which MAPC needs to undertake the work with the allocated funds for this task.

Task 4 Documentation

CTPS will document all of the information being requested, such as scenarios CTPS assisted with, and how the information will be used by the consultant. CTPS will then try to access the benefits of the accessibility tool being developed. This documentation will be in addition to any report MAPC and their consultant produces.

Product of Task 4: Memorandum documenting CTPS’ involvement in the project.