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Joint letter sent by the Massachusetts Sierra Club and seven organizations urging regional transportation improvements.

September 8, 1998

Governor Paul A. Cellucci Senate President Thomas Birmingham House Speaker Thomas Finneran State House Boston, MA 02133

re: Setting Priorities for Transportation Projects. Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) 1999. North/South Rail Link Project (NSRL).

Gentlemen:

On behalf of the citizens of Massachusetts who desire and require better public transportation, who waste hours of productive time stuck in traffic, who are struggling with unsatisfactory air quality conditions, and are losing their urban and rural landscapes to sprawl, we strongly urge that the Commonwealth commit to a rational, objective process for prioritizing funds for transportation system improvements in the Boston region and statewide.

Working together we must insure that we obtain the most modern and cost effective transportation system possible, in exchange for the tremendous sums of taxpayer dollars (state and federal) expended annually. We believe that these dollars will be best spent by enhancing and building upon our existing railroad system; not by expanding highway capacity such as the proposed widening of Route 128 between Wellesley and Randolph. Consistent with Executive Order 385, we must develop a viable option to continued highway and airport expansion which is sprawling across our urban and rural landscapes eroding both the quality of our lives and the vitality of our economy/communities.

The Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) FY 1999-2004 for the Boston region, currently being circulated for review, is deficient because the single most important transportation project for both the State and the entire New England region is not contained in this draft. We're speaking of the TEA-21 authorized North/South Rail Link (NSRL) project which, in our opinion, must be advanced to the top of the TIP this year.

The North South Rail Link is the critical missing component in our regional transportation system. The NSRL will eliminate tens of thousands of daily trips and mode transfers from our near capacity transit systems, congested highways, and airport systems. No other single project compares in terms of benefits for overall efficiency, workforce mobility, reverse commuting, and regional travel through Boston for residents and tourists. Job access and reverse commuting initiatives are part of the new TEA-21 legislation authorized by Congress.

Therefore we ask you as leaders of the Commonwealth to work together to insure:

• The establishment of a Railroad Development Office to oversee and to coordinate the construction of the North South Rail Link (NSRL) and other passenger and freight rail projects throughout the Commonwealth.

• Legislative initiative to create an independent rail entity to secure funding for capital and operational expenses and to seek and identify all public and private revenue sources necessary to develop and construct the Rail Link in the most expeditious manner.

• The immediate release of the $4 million NSRL MIS/EIS/EIR (Major Investment Study/Environmental Impact Statement/ Environmental Impact Report) which has been underway since January 1995 and is overdue by more than a year and a half. The integrity of the Rail Link alignment through Boston is at risk until this report is completed.

• The immediate release of the $60 million included in the Commonwealth's 1996 Transportation Bond Bill to fund the completion of the NSRL's essential engineering design work.

• A coordinated effort by you to work with Senator Kennedy and the Northeast Congressional delegations to secure federal funding for the NSRL engineering design work in the FY 1999 Transportation Appropriations Bill (HR4328). This bill is going to the House Senate Transportation Appropriations Conference Committee in early September; the one million dollars for the NSRL included in the Senate version must be preserved and increased in the Conference Committee.

Thank you for your immediate action on this issue.

James Bryan McCaffrey, Director
Massachusetts Sierra Club

Jeanne M. Black, Executive Director
American Lung Association

Peter Rouderbush, President
Association Of Public Transportation (APT)

Lawrence T. Fay, Director
Citizens Transportation Action Campaign (CTAC)

Nancy Carapezza, President
League of Women Voters of Massachusetts (LWV)

John J. Clarke, Advocacy Director
Massachusetts Audubon Society

George Hall, Vice President
Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions (MACC)

CC: Senator Edward Kennedy
Senator John Kerry
John Devillars, EPA
Sec. Patrick Moynihan
Sec. Trudy Coxe
Sen. Robert Havern
Rep. Joseph Sullivan
Rep. John Businger
Rep. Anne Paulsen
Congressional Delegation