Draft Memorandum for the Record

Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization
Meeting Minutes

December 11, 2025, Annual Meeting

1:00 PM–3:30 PM, Transportation Board Room, 2nd Floor, 10 Park Plaza, Boston, MA

Zoom Video Conferencing Platform

David Mohler, Chair, representing Phillip Eng, Interim Secretary of Transportation and Chief Executive Officer of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT)

Decisions

The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) agreed to the following:

• Approve the Committee Slate Appointments.
• Elect Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) to Vice Chair.
• Approve the minutes of October 9, 2025

Meeting Agenda

1. Introductions

See attendance below.

2. Welcome by the Executive Director—Tegin Teich, Executive Director, Central Transportation Planning Staff

T. Teich welcomed attendees to the annual meeting and briefly summarized the role of the Boston Region MPO as a steward of federal dollars for the region of 97 cities and towns. T. Teich also thanked board members for continuing to engage and carry out this important work that benefits our region in the context of fiscal and political uncertainty that we all face.

3. Interim Secretary’s Remarks—Phillip Eng, Interim MassDOT Secretary and CEO

P. Eng thanked attendees and acknowledged Mayor Ballantyne, City of Somerville, and Mayor Cahill, City of Beverly.

P. Eng opened by emphasizing that while each of us may have different agency goals and priorities, we all serve a common goal, which is to collectively deliver a robust transportation network, improving the quality of life, and supporting affordability, housing, business and job, and growing the economy.

He stated the goal of making taxpayer dollars lead to meaningful outcomes. He also emphasized the shared vision of stakeholders in the room and the need to focus on accelerating the delivery of that vision.

P. Eng shared his experience from a project on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, a 1.1-mile section of which was at the end of its useful life, and the completion of the project on an accelerated timeline. He emphasized the need to learn from such successes of projects both large and small.

He stated that public agencies need to show they can deliver results, and an open dialogue is necessary between all stakeholders to do so.

He finished by sharing his focus on collaboration in the roles of Interim Secretary of MassDOT and Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) General Manager.

4. Board Member Remarks

Jonathan Gulliver, Undersecretary of Transportation, shared his appreciation for the MPO’s balancing of multiple needs in local communities. He stated Grant Central 2.0 was launched to assist communities with grant identification. He also stated MassDOT has adopted a one-stop grant program system where its team works to match grants with submitted project scopes. He shared that grant limits have been increased on key programs such as Small Bridge.

He explained other programs with major positive impacts on the commonwealth such as the new Chapter 90 bill and a period of support from Congress and local government. He finished by stating the importance of maintaining momentum in investment and encouraged members to communicate with their congressional delegation about the importance of transportation.

M. Cahill thanked his planning director, Darlene Wynne, as well as MPO Staff for their work throughout the region.

K. Ballantyne highlighted the design pilot program, transit transformation program, and new cost and readiness policy.

Lizzi Weyant, MAPC Executive Director, introduced herself and emphasized the connection between transportation and housing, energy, the environment, and more. She stated she would like to turn MAPC from a planning agency into a “planning and implementation” agency and increase its regional focus.

Kairos Shen, City of Boston, thanked the MPO for supporting key projects such as Cambridge Street Bridge and Rutherford Avenue.

Nick Gove, City of Boston, echoed Kairos’s statements and shared his excitement for upcoming events such as the nation’s 250^th Anniversary, the FIFA World Cup, and Sail Boston.

Brain Kane, MBTA Advisory Board, emphasized the importance of believing in the goal of Vision Zero and thanked MPO Staff for their work.

5. Community Advisory Council Report—Caitlin Allen-Connelly, Chair, Community Advisory Council

C. Allen-Connelly, Chair, representing TransitMatters, introduced herself and Karl Alexander, Vice Chair, who represents the Mystic River Watershed Association. She thanked MPO Staff and Community Advisory Council Members for their participation.

6. Public Comments  

There were none.

7. MPO Progress Update—Tegin Teich, Executive Director, Central Transportation Planning Staff

T. Teich shared examples of how the MPO has expanded its practice together with stakeholders through building partnerships, data, and tools, and turned planning into action. She emphasized the need for a regional vision of a safe, robust, reliable transportation system. 

8. Panel Discussion: From Partnerships to Action—How Strong Foundations Enable Continuous Improvement in Project Delivery—Moderator: Elena Ion, MPO Staff; Panelists: Laura Gilmore, Senior Director of Strategic Transit Planning, MBTA; Brad Rawson, Director of Mobility, City of Somerville; and Michael Trepanier, Manager of Modernization Programs, MassDOT Highway Division

E. Ion introduced the panelists and themes including early engagement, project readiness as a shared responsibility, and the MPO’s role as a convener.

E. Ion asked for reflections on what is moving the needle on project delivery and coordination between agencies, starting with M. Trepanier. He shared how his team builds capacity to bridge the planning and delivery phases. They are leveraging targeted modernization strategies to address urgent needs with an expedited process. E. Ion asked how he sees the MPO taking a role in the early project development process. He shared how their work is modeled after MPOs and they collaborate with the Boston Region MPO on creating new data driven tools.

E. Ion asked B. Rawson about aligning regional and local priorities. B. Rawson shared the local perspective of constrained resources and the importance of regional solutions to issues such as stormwater, affordable housing, traffic congestion, and more. He emphasized the importance of learning from and working with larger agencies such as MassDOT to “demystify” processes for residents, staff, and partners. 

E. Ion asked L. Gilmore how projects are brought earlier into the MPO's process and aligned with regional goals as well as program priorities at the MBTA, such as mobility integration. She responded that her team has been working to break down silos and, along with the General Manager, accelerate project delivery. She also emphasized the recent role of her team to plan long term for the MBTA.

E. Ion asked panelists to reflect on how we can work better at the regional level in service of accelerating project delivery. L. Gilmore emphasized that users are crossing municipal, regional, state boundaries, and more, which are opportunities for collaboration. B. Rawson emphasized the success of the Green Line Extension as a connection across boundaries. He also shared how the Mystic/Maffa bridge project achieved both good repair and upgrades to a Vision Zero-standard design. M. Trepanier shared how the Mass Trails team has been an example of municipal, Department of Conservation & Recreation, community collaboration, and more.

E. Ion asked how instances of misaligned goals should be resolved. L. Gilmore stated that clearly articulating goals should be set in advance and trust should be built in partnerships. M. Trepanier spoke about the importance of transparency and collaboration with MBTA and host municipalities. B. Rawson stated that L. Gilmore and M. Trepanier’s teams are a major part of the solution to the structural challenges of scope control and cost increase.

B. Rawson stated that the MPO is learning from MassDOT’s processes and the MBTA’s design guidelines and standards. L. Gilmore highlighted that the MPO worked with MBTA to pilot new programs such as service changes using operating funds. B. Rawson also emphasized the importance of increasing funding to support the maintenance of new infrastructure. M. Trepanier stated that asset management will become increasingly important. L. Gilmore stated her team is working to build partnerships with regional agencies.

E. Ion thanked panelists for their time and responses.

9. Action Item: Appointment of Committee Slates—David Mohler, MassDOT

D. Mohler read the proposed committee slates.

Vote

A motion to approve the Committee Slate appointments was made by MAPC (L. Weyant) and seconded by the City of Boston (Jen Rowe). The motion carried.

10. Action Item: Election of Vice Chair—David Mohler, MassDOT

D. Mohler shared the Vice Chair nominee, MAPC.

Vote

A motion to approve the Election of Vice Chair nominee was made by the City of Boston (J. Rowe) and seconded by Massport (Sarah Lee). The motion carried.

11. Action Item: Approval of October 9, 2025, MPO Meeting Minutes

Vote

A motion to approve the minutes of the meeting of October 9, 2025, was made by the City of Boston (J. Rowe) and seconded by the City of Beverly (Darlene Wynne). The motion carried.

12. Committee Chair Report

There were none

13. Members’ Items

There were none

14. Adjourn

A motion to adjourn was made by MAPC (L. Weyant) and seconded by MassDOT (J. Bechard). The motion carried.

Attendance

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.

For additional information or to file a civil rights complaint, visit www.bostonmpo.org/mpo_non_discrimination.

To request accommodations at meetings (such as assistive listening devices, materials in accessible formats and languages other than English, and interpreters in American Sign Language and other languages) or if you need this information in another language, please contact:

Boston Region MPO Title VI Specialist

10 Park Plaza, Suite 2150

Boston, MA 02116

Phone: 857.702.3700

Email: civilrights@ctps.org

For people with hearing or speaking difficulties, connect through the state MassRelay service, www.mass.gov/massrelay. Please allow at least five business days for your request to be fulfilled.