Cities and towns, through their home rule powers, hold the key to protecting the long-term quality of their drinking water supplies.  The federal Safe Drinking Water Act establishes the maximum levels of contaminants allowed in public water supplies to meet public health needs, but achieving those quality standards is largely a local responsibility.

Efficient freight provision should be an economic development priority of the Commonwealth. Rail and truck freight is facing encroachment from residential and commercial development.  Routes are increasingly fragmented.  The state’s unbalanced reliance on truck freight over rail is exacerbating existing congestion and roadway maintenance issues.  A comprehensive statewide priority needs assessment is needed.  EOTPW is currently conducting a Statewide Freight plan.  This planning process should incorporate asset need assessment elements including:  

Rail rights of way are a valuable and increasingly rare resource that should be preserved and utilized.  Rights of way constantly face encroachment from development and other competing uses.  Once rights of way are fragmented, it is nearly impossible to return to viable track use.

Like all other transportation infrastructure, pedestrian and bicycle facilities must be maintained and managed so that they operate safely and efficiently.  Bike lanes, multi-use paths, and sidewalks (both publicly and privately owned) need to be kept in a state of good repair, cleared of snow, and made safe through the enforcement of traffic laws.  Greater safety can also be achieved through education and enforcement of traffic laws, as they apply to both motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians.  Better monitoring and reporting of pedestrian and bicycle crashes and injuries w

Greater local planning capacity is necessary to support the creation of sustainable land use plans, the development of efficient transportation projects, and comprehensive review and mitigation of development proposals and their transportation impacts.  The land use decisions that drive transportation are, for the most part, made locally, and municipalities are the proponents of many transportation projects, especially roadway projects.  Municipal officials and staff must have a better understanding of issues such as cumulative impacts, secondary land use impacts, and transportation

To be effective, Metro Boston’s regional transportation planning and land use planning should be fully integrated activities, conducted independent of state agency control.  Such integration would help ensure ensure that sustainable land use plans support efficient transportation investments, and vice versa.  

The Boston MPO should adopt project evaluation criteria that explicitly address the alignment between proposed projects and local zoning, land use plans, and the regional plan.  The highest ranking should go to those projects that support a land use plan that will efficiently utilize new capacity to support sustainable growth.  Projects that promote unsustainable growth patterns inconsistent with MetroFuture should be given a very low priority, and the MPO should work with those proponents to revise the project design and land use plans to support sustainable growth.  

Corridor planning is a process to formally coordinate land use plans, transportation investments, and transportation demand management strategies along key roadway or transit lines.  With support from the Commonwealth, the Boston MPO should commit to a full corridor planning process whenever:

Funding is not the only issue to consider when striving for equitable provision of Adult Basic Education and English language classes. New and innovative service delivery systems may be necessary.

As with any infrastructure built with public money, the Commonwealth’s public higher education institutions must be located in areas that both take the most advantage of existing infrastructure and allow the greatest amount of access from a variety of transportation modes.  Locating these institutions in smart growth locations, largely Regional Urban Centers and downtowns, will help meeting MetroFuture’s land use objectives by concentrating development near existing infrastructure.  Furthermore, locating these facilities in transit accessible locations will help enhanc