TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM

DATE:   July 10, 2025

TO:         Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) Committee

FROM:   Tegin Teich, Executive Director

RE:         Amendment Three to the Federal Fiscal Year 2025 UPWP

This memo contains the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) staff’s recommended revisions to the Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2025 UPWP, forming Amendment Three to the document. This proposed amendment includes budget reallocations, an updated description of the Multimodal Mobility Infrastructure Program, and the addition of two federal discretionary grant awards.

            Budget reallocations

Each fiscal year, budget modifications to the current UPWP are made in the fourth quarter, following a staff review of spending patterns across UPWP programs and projects during the first three quarters of the year. Table 1 shows the budget changes for applicable UPWP line items in the FFY 2025 UPWP and includes a justification for each. These proposed budget changes have a net zero impact on the overall UPWP budget.

Budget reallocations are made to the UPWP for two primary reasons: staff turnover and refined program or project needs.

1. Staffing changes typically result in lower expenditures than anticipated for certain UPWP line items due to the time it takes to recruit and train new personnel.
2. UPWP budgets also need adjustment because certain project or program needs may evolve after the UPWP has been developed. Staff develop budget estimates for UPWP work areas each spring, which allows the UPWP to be endorsed and adopted before the start of the next fiscal year. As work progresses, staff can better determine how much staff time or effort is needed for each project for the remainder of the fiscal year. Thus, budgets are adjusted to reflect these changes.

            Multimodal Mobility Infrastructure Program Description Update

The UPWP Committee and MPO Board are also asked to consider a change to the Multimodal Mobility Infrastructure Program description in Chapter Three of the document. The revised description will include work related to the MPO’s Vision Zero efforts so that staff can continue to develop the Regional Vision Zero Action Plan beyond the expiration of the MPO’s FFY 2022 Safe Streets and Roads for All federal grant agreement.

This Vision Zero work will include continued stakeholder engagement, data analyses, and strategy development to strengthen the Vision Zero Action Plan. The final deliverable will be an updated Vision Zero Action Plan that incorporates input from key stakeholders including the MPO board; the Vision Zero Task Force; municipal, state, and federal partners; and members of the public.

            Federal discretionary grants

This amendment also includes the addition of two federal discretionary grants into Appendix A of the UPWP. Descriptions of these two grants are as follows.

Mobility, Access, and Transportation Insecurity (MATI) Grant

The Boston Region MPO was awarded a $150,000 MATI grant through the Federal Transit Administration to explore strategies to improve people’s mobility and access to reliable transportation options within the Boston region. As part of this grant, MPO staff will develop a pilot design of a low-cost community electric vehicle car-sharing program for residents of affordable housing in Revere, Chelsea, and Everett.

Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Action Grant

A $1,001,100 MVP Action Grant was awarded to the Boston Region MPO from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and will support the MPO’s “Neutralizing Onerous Heat Effects on Active Transportation” project, also known as NO-HEAT. This project aims to address dangerous heat exposure faced by pedestrians and bicyclists in the region. Through this grant, MPO staff will integrate microclimate data with high-resolution mobility data to assess heat exposure levels in key pedestrian and bicycle network segments in the Boston region and collaborate with local partners to design and implement pilot mitigation measures.

Thank you for considering these recommended changes to the FFY 2025 UPWP. MPO staff would be happy to discuss and answer any questions from the UPWP Committee and board members about this proposed amendment. After a discussion, we hope that you will agree with these recommended modifications. We request that you then vote to waive the 21-day public comment period and endorse Amendment Three to the FFY 2025 UPWP at the July 17, 2025, board meeting.

Table 1
FFY 2025 UPWP Budget Changes

UPWP = Unified Planning Work Program.

CIVIL RIGHTS NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC

Welcome. Bem Vinda. Bienvenido. Akeyi. 欢迎. 歡迎

You are invited to participate in our transportation planning process, free from discrimination. The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is committed to nondiscrimination in all activities and complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin (including limited English proficiency). Related federal and state nondiscrimination laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of age, sex, disability, and additional protected characteristics.

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