1. 1
On Street Parking and Transit
Capacity Expansion
Scott Hamwey
MassDOT
April 16, 2014| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot

2. April 16, 20142 | Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
• Legislature created MassDOT in
2009 to streamline transportation
bureaucracy
• Four divisions:
• Highway
• Rail and Transit
• Aeronautics
• RMV
• Office of Transportation Planning
serves all divisions
Transportation Reform -
MassDOT

3. Transportation Revenue –
The Way Forward
• Governor Patrick’s $19 billion/10 year revenue proposal submitted to the
Legislature in January 2013
• Legislature’s funding bill passed in July 2013, includes less than half of The
Way Forward funding levels
• MassDOT Capital Investment Plan released in 2014 programs these new
revenues, but also highlights limitations
• Bus Rapid Transit, not rail rapid transit, will be our best bet for capacity
expansions going forward
April 16, 20143 | Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot

4. 4
What is Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)?
• Combines flexibility of bus with
features that collectively achieve
rapid transit service quality:
• Off-board fare collection
• High frequency
• Stations with amenities
• Wider station spacing
• Branding
• Segregated right of way
• Planning informed by BRT
industry standards, such as
ITDP*
*Institute for Transportation & Development Policy

5. 28 X Proposal
5
BRT Elements:
• Physically segregated
median busway
• Off board fare collection
• ½ mile station spacing
• High capacity vehicles
• Transit signal priority
Challenges:
• Lack of familiarity
• Advocacy for rail
• Lost median, trees, on-
street parking, turning
movements and travel
lanes
Where Roxbury, Dorchester,
and Mattapan
When 2009
Cost $173 million
Ridership
(proj)
3,000 new riders per
day
Peak Freq. Every 7-8 minutes

6. 28X – Impacts and Public Response
• Parking eliminated at station locations and where left-turn
lanes are preserved
• 249 parking spaces eliminated out of 1344. All but one of
these were on the 3 miles of Blue Hill Ave
• $6 million included in the TIGER application for off-street
parking replacement
• Parking loss totals = good ammunition for project opponents
• Pulled proposal in October 2009
4/16/2014| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot6

7. Silver Line Gateway
7
BRT Elements: Dedicated busway
with high quality stations and
countdown clocks; off board fare
collection; 1/2 mi station spacing
Where South Boston, East
Boston and Chelsea
When 2013
Cost $83 million
Ridership
(projected)
8,730
Peak Freq. Every 10 minutes

8. SL Gateway – Impacts and
Response
• Evaluated 3 alternatives
• On Street alignment (80 spaces eliminated)
• Busway/On-Street (29 spaces eliminated)
• Busway (No spaces eliminated)
• Busway alternative performed best
• Highest ridership
• Most new riders
• Fastest trips
• Busway also generated the most support (by far) from City and
public process
4/16/2014| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot8

9. SL Gateway - Hawthorn Street
9
• Improve reliability and travel
time for local bus service
• 3 of MBTA Key Routes already
serve this block
• 4,000 bus riders/day compared
to 7,000 cars
• Relocation of Bellingham
Square bus stop
• Net loss of 14 parking spaces

10. Existing Section of Hawthorn Street

11. Section of Hawthorn Street with
Left Side Bus Lane
9’ SIDEWALK
8’ ±
PARKING LANE
11’ ±
TRAVEL LANE
16’ ± BUS LANE WITH
SHARED BIKE
ACCOMMODATION 9’ SIDEWALK
35’ ± PAVEMENT
WIDTH

12. Other Experience
4/16/2014| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot12
SL4
Key Bus Routes / Articulated Buses
Barr Foundation
Other Cities

13. BRT Challenges in Boston
For BRT generally:
• Street width
• Lack of grid
• Existence of rail
• Municipal fragmentation; transit/city mismatch
For BRT as it relates to taking parking:
• Travel time savings are modest
• Reliability improvements are difficult to
communicate
• Actual riders underrepresented in process
4/16/2014| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot13