Draft Memorandum for the Record

Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization
Meeting Minutes

July 16, 2026, Meeting Minutes

10:00 AM–11:25 AM, 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 minutes of the meeting of June 4, 2026
• Endorse the Federal Fiscal Years (FFYs) 2026–30 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) Amendment Seven
• Release the FFYs 2026–30 TIP Amendment Eight for a 21-day public comment period

Meeting Agenda

1. Introductions

See attendance below.

2. Chair’s Report

David Mohler, MassDOT, expressed sincere condolences on behalf of MassDOT for the passing of Louisa Gag, an active transportation planner with the Boston Transportation Department.

Jen Rowe and Patrick Hoey, City of Boston, shared their experience working with Louisa and the positive impact she made on those around her.

3. Executive Director’s Report—Tegin Teich, Executive Director, Central Transportation Planning Staff

T. Teich shared her condolences for those impacted by the loss of Louisa Gag and restated her and the MPO’s commitment to advancing the Regional Safety Action Plan.

T. Teich announced that the 2026 annual meeting will likely be held Thursday, November 12, at 1:30 PM. She then shared staffing updates including  the departure of Zihao Jin and Olivia Saccocia and the arrival of Kaleigh Spears as a data analyst on the Project Analysis and Applications team.

T. Teich reported  that the Community Advisory Council has reached its one-year anniversary and previewed the upcoming agenda.

4. Public Comments

There were none.                                                                                            

5. Committee Chairs’ Reports

There were none.

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

C. Allen-Connelly also shared her sympathies for Louisa Gag’s passing and called for attendees to join a vigil at City Hall Plaza to call for immediate action to address the systemic failures that led to her loss.

C. Allen-Connelly provided updates from the one-year anniversary of the Community Advisory Council. She also stated that she will be stepping down from her position as Executive Director of TransitMatters and from the position of chair of the council.

7. Action Item: Approval of June 4, 2026, MPO Meeting Minutes

Documents posted to the MPO meeting calendar

• June 4, 2026, Minutes (pdf) (html)

Vote

A motion to approve the minutes of the meeting of June 4, 2026, was made by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) (Eric Bourassa) and seconded by the City of Somerville (Tom Bent). The motion carried.

8. Action Item: FFYs 2026–30 TIP Amendment Seven—Ethan Lapointe, MPO Staff

Documents posted to the MPO meeting calendar

• Amendment Seven (pdf) (html)

E. Lapointe presented Amendment Seven, which includes one cost and scope decrease on an FFY 2026 Regional Target project and the removal of a project from the FFY 2026 Statewide Highway program due to use of nonfederal funding.

Vote

A motion to endorse the FFYs 2026–30 TIP Amendment Seven was made by MAPC (E. Bourassa) and seconded by the City of Boston (J. Rowe). The motion carried.

9. Action Item: FFYs 2026–30 TIP Amendment Eight—Ethan Lapointe, MPO Staff

Documents posted to the MPO meeting calendar

• Amendment Eight (pdf) (html)

E. Lapointe presented Amendment Eight, which includes a change in funding source,  scope, and cost for early planning activities along Route 4/225 in Lexington and the rebalance of Advance Construction funds for Phase One of the Belmont Community Path.

Discussion

D. Mohler stated that as the board discusses programming the $8 million unprogrammed balance in FFY 2026, MassDOT is supportive of flexing additional funds to the MetroWest Regional Transit Authority to fill an additional funding request on a bus facility project. This proposal was not recommended for inclusion in this amendment.

Vote

A motion to release the FFYs 2026–30 TIP Amendment Eight for a 21-day public comment period was made by MAPC (E. Bourassa) and seconded by the City of Somerville (T. Bent). The motion carried.

10. Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) Performance Measures—Richard Barad and Erin Maguire, MPO Staff

E. Maguire shared goals for the performance measures development process and summarized what the measures are. She then shared examples from peer MPOs.

R. Barad explained the metric screening criteria and provided an example for “Number of Fatal Crashes.” He then requested feedback from the board on the metric selection process and asked if there were any quantitative safety or access and connectivity metrics that the board would prioritize tracking.

Discussion

E. Bourassa asked if destination access would be a subset of equity metrics. R. Barad responded that this metric would be considered.

Steve Olanoff, Three Rivers Interlocal Council, asked what the High-Injury Network is. R. Barad responded that it is a part of the Regional Safety Action Plan and is a network of areas that had high rates of fatalities and serious injuries.

J. Rowe stated that it should be considered that some metrics, such as destination access, could be improved in ways that diminish other MPO goals. For example, increased access by cars could result in lower safety.

Lenard Diggins, Town of Arlington, asked if there were plans to back test metrics against past LRTPs. E. Maguire responded that data availability would be a limiting factor but asked for direction prioritizing metrics and making initial selections.

John Strauss, North Suburban Planning Council, shared his experience with the High-Injury Network and its reliability in terms of the recency of data.

11. Members’ Items

E. Bourassa announced that the next MPO election of municipal members is upcoming and more information will be sent out shortly. There are four seats up for election.

L. Diggins shared his desire for a discussion on TIP project selection at a future board meeting.

12. Adjourn

A motion to adjourn was made by MAPC (E. Bourassa) and seconded by the Town of Arlington (L. Diggins). 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 this information in a different language or format, 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.