On the Right Track

Meeting Greater Boston’sTransit and Land Use Challenges

May 17, 2006

Transportation Priorities Task Force

Goal was to bring new voices into the conversation about transit policy and investment

Catalyst was March 2005 release of a draft state transportation plan

Report and recommendations are authored by ULI Boston, not the Task Force

Re-framing the Issue:Transit = Economic Development

“This report views the MBTA transit system as a regional asset and critical piece of economic development infrastructure that anchors regional efforts to increase housing production, create jobs, grow smart and embrace diversity and inclusion.”

Why Transit? The New Housing-Transportation Cost Trade-Off To moderate high housing

costs, the pattern has been to “move to affordability”

Factoring in both housing and transportation costs, however, living farther out may not lower total costs

The calculus governing this housing-transportation cost trade-off may be changing and the reason is gas prices

Why Transit? The Future Demographics of Metro Boston

Source: MetroFuture

A Rapid Transit SystemA Network of Great Places

A Commuter Rail SystemA Network of Great Places

Transit-Oriented Development in Metropolitan Boston

In the City of Boston development “pipeline” Over 9,000 housing units More than 23 million square

feet of mixed-use development

In greater Boston excluding the City of Boston (including recently-built projects) Over 15,000 housing units More than 12 million square

feet of mixed-use development

Transit Oriented Development is compact, walkable development centered around transit stations that includes a mix of uses (such as housing, shopping employment and recreational facilities) within a design that puts a high priority on serving transit and pedestrians.

All stake-

holders work together on

land use and transitchallenges

Transit Supportive GrowthStation area housing

Role of cities and townsDevelopers and TOD

A Financially Stable MBTADebt Relief

Transit-oriented developmentRidership growth and service quality

Strategic Investment & ExpansionCoordinated transit planningLand use evaluation criteria

Financing strategies

Summary of Recommendations

Transit Supportive Growth A majority of housing units built in greater

Boston during the next decade should be concentrated near existing and planned transit stations

Cities and towns should plan and permit transit-oriented development to generate more riders and revenues for the T

Developers should collaborate with the T and communities to produce both more and better transit-oriented development

A Financially Stable MBTA The MBTA, as currently structured and

funded, cannot support the region’s current or future transit and development needs.

The Commonwealth should therefore relieve the MBTA of the responsibility for paying off bonds that were issued to fund transit projects undertaken before “forward funding” took effect in 2000.

The burden of prior debt . . .

MBTA Proposed FY2007 Budget ($ million)

$168.613%

$194.814% $985.3

73%

Operating Costs

Debt Service/Prior

Debt Service/Other

Remains an issue for many years

Source: MBTA

A Financially Stable MBTA The MBTA must create more

potential passengers by supporting transit-oriented development in areas around its stations and joint development of its real estate holdings

The MBTA must focus on both ridership growth and service quality to transform these potential customers into transit riders

“Transit agencies are not just about running trains and buses—they are also in the business of creating markets that will fill those trains and buses, largely through cutting deals with private developers to build trip-generation near train stops.”

Source: Cervero et al (2002)

What Do They Have in Common? Community

development corporations in Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan and Hyde Park

City of Lynn Longwood Medical Area

institutions Developer of

CitySquare in Worcester (along with the city of Worcester)

Cities of Fall River and New Bedford

Harvard University Developer of

Assembly Square in Somerville (along with the city of Somerville)

Strategic Investment and Expansion

From a regional economic development perspective, a moratorium on transit enhancement and expansion projects is not an option

It is past time for the Commonwealth to establish a clear timetable and framework under which transit investment priorities will be established and implemented

Strategic Investment and Expansion The Secretary of Transportation should

coordinate with the MBTA, metropolitan planning organizations and regional planning agencies to reach consensus on a transit investment strategy for the Commonwealth

Transportation planning agencies should prioritize transportation investments based on criteria that recognize the importance of land use objectives such as housing production and transit-oriented development

EOT, the MBTA, cities and towns and developers need to identify new ways to finance transit expansion projects