Working on the Railroad

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Western Mass. must be part of commuter rail service
by Nancy Considine

To the editor:

Praise to Governor Patrick for wanting better planning for expansion projects in the state's transport system, especially for commuter rail service. He outlined his intentions in a statement Nov. 13, but excluded any mention of planning for commuter rail service for western Massachusetts.

Governor Patrick suggests that new agencies make a "realistic plan." If so, then those agencies must make provisions for service to the communities here in the western part of the state. I suggest, specifically, that any new planning include the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield project being supported by the Pioneer Valley Advocates for Commuter Rail.

Already in Connecticut's transportation plan is commuter rail service from New Haven/Hartford into Springfield. Massachusetts is being asked to contribute 10 percent, or an estimated $30 million dollars, of the project's cost. Connecticut has pledged to pay 90 percent of the project cost for commuter rail service terminating in Springfield. If Massachusetts does not appropriate this money, the commuter trains will come to Springfield, turn around, head back to Connecticut, but will not open their doors so that workers, students, commuters and visitors may ride.

The Advocates for Commuter Rail encourage Massachusetts to pledge the 10 percent of costs now so that this needed service will be in effect by 2011-2012. This volunteer group also encourages a feasibility study for commuter rail service in the "Knowledge Corridor" to provide inexpensive and accessible rail travel between Springfield and White River Junction, Vt.

Pioneer Valley Advocates estimate that immediately the commuter rail project from New Haven/Hartford/Springfield will create new jobs, stimulate new economic activity and importantly improve air quality by taking cars off the highways. Trains help cut the region's carbon emissions.

Readers can find more information about Pioneer Valley Advocates of Commuter Rail on its Web page: www.SpringfieldRail.org.

Nancy Considine

Hatfield

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Why Support Commuter Rail?

The New Haven-Hartford-Springfield Commuter Rail line will:
1. stimulate an additional $152 million in economic activity
2. result in more than 600 new jobs
3. increase Springfield real estate values by $35-70 million
4. increase Springfield income tax revenues by 1.75 million
5. cut down on carbon emissions
6. serve as a user-friendly and sustainable transportation system

Revitalization of Springfield Union Station, apart from commuter rail developments will generate:
1. Creation of 335-1500 jobs
2. An average increase of $195 in household incomes across the metropolitan area
3. $35-205 million increase in property values
4. $1.75-10 million increase in property tax revenues

What Happens if Massachusetts Says NO?
1. Trains will still come to Springfield: TO TURN AROUND, with their doors shut.
2. Commuters to Hartford and Springfield will continue to pollute the Pioneer Valley.
3. New cases of asthma will continue to increase.

Connecticut will pay for the bulk ($270 million) of this project. Massachusetts only will have to contribute $30 million to make this project happen (e.g. the approximate cost of the Coolidge Bridge repair in Northampton).

Pioneer Valley Planning Commission Director Tim Brennan:

“Brining commuter rail service to Springfield is undeniably a major and positive change agent for the City and ultimately the interstate region of which it is a part. The New England examples cited at the summit such as Portland, Maine; Providence, Rhode Island; Stamford, Connecticut and more recently Worcester and Brockton, Massachusetts all provide compelling arguments why we need to invest in commuter rail as means to help achieve a sustainable and prosperous future both short and longer range. The bottom line for me is that if we choose to connect we're choosing to compete and be a player in the 21st century global economy. We've got an impressive set of transportation and other assets to leverage to advantage--we now need the vision, courage and will to translate our words into action."

Public Transportation FACTS (click here for the original page)

1. Public transportation consists of a variety of services including: buses, trolleys and light rail, commuter trains, streetcars, cable cars, van pool services, paratransit services for senior citizens and people with disabilities, ferries and water taxies, and monorails and tramways.

2. There are more than 6,400 providers of public and community transportation offering Americans the opportunity and the choice to travel by means other than a car.

3. Approximately 1,500 agencies provide bus service, 5,760 provide paratransit services and 200 provide rail services as well as other modes of public transportation.

4. Public transportation is a $43 billion industry that employs more than 359,000 people.

Public Transportation Increasing Ridership:

1. In 2006, Americans took 10.1 billion trips on public transportation - the highest ridership level in 49 years.
34 million times each weekday, people board public transportation.

2. From 1995 through 2006, public transportation ridership increased by 30 percent, a growth rate higher than the 12 percent increase in US population and higher than the 24 percent growth in use of the nation's highways over the same period.

3. Transit usage increased by 6.4 percent in the decade from 1990-2000.

Public Transportation Enhances Personal Opportunities:

1. Public transportation provides personal mobility and freedom for people form every walk of life.

2. Public transportation provides access to job opportunities for million of Americans as well as a transportation option to get to work, go to school, visit friends, or go to a doctor's office.

Public Transportation Saves Money

1. The average household spends 18 cents on transportation, and 94 percent of this goes to buying, maintaining and operating cars.

2. Public transportation provides an affordable, and for many, necessary alternative to driving.

3. Americans living in areas served by public transportation save $18 billion annually in congestion costs.

4. Each year public transportation households save over $1,399 worth of gas.

5. Transit availability can reduce the need for an additional car, a yearly expense of $6,251 in a household budget.

Public Transportation Reduces Gasoline Consumption:

1. Each year, public transportation use in the U.S. saves 1.4 billion gallons of gasoline. This represents almost 4 million gallons of gasoline per day.

2. Each year, public transportation use saves the equivalent of 34 supertankers of oil, or a supertanker leaving the Middle East every 11 days.

3. Each year, public transportation use save the equivalent of 140,769 service station tanker truck trips clogging our streets each year.

4. Public transportation use saves the equivalent of 300,000 fewer automobile fill-ups every day.

5. The typical public transit rider consumes on average one half of the oil consumed by an automobile rider.

Public Transportation Provides Economic Opportunity:

1. Every $1 invested in public transportation projects generates from $4 to $9 in local economic activity.

2. Every $1 billion in Federal funds invested in the nation's transportation infrastructure supports and creates 47,500 jobs.

3. It is estimated that every $10 million in capital investment in public transportation yields $30 million in increased business sales, and that every $10 million in operating investment in public transportation yields $32 million in increased business sales.

4. Every $10 million invested in public transportation saves more than $15 million in transportation costs, for both highway and transit users.

5. Real estate -- residential, commercial or business -- that is served by public transportation is valued more highly by the public than similar properties not as well served by transit.

6. Public transportation enhances local rural economic growth in many ways, increasing the local customer base for a range of services -- shopping malls, restaurants, medical facilities and other transportation services.

Public Transportation Eases Traffic Congestion:

1. According to the most recent Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) report on congestion in the top 85 cities in the US, congestion caused 3.7 billion hours of travel delay and 2.3 billion gallons of wasted fuel in 2003. The study found that the average annual delay per traveler climbed from 16 hours in 1982 to 47 hours in 2003.

2. Without public transportation, nationwide travel delays would have increased by 27 percent, costing residents in 85 urban areas an additional $18 billion in lost time.

3. In 2003, public transportation in America's most congested cities saved travelers 1.1 billion hours in travel time.

Public Transportation Offers Increased Mobility Options:

1. Largely because of limited transportation options, more than 50 percent of all non-drivers age 65 and older - or 3.6 million Americans - stay at home on any given day partially because they lack transportation options.

2. Compared with older drivers, older non-drivers in the US make 15 percent fewer trips to the doctor, 59 percent fewer shopping trips and visits to restaurants, and 65 percent fewer trips for social, family and religious activities.

3. By 2025, an estimated 20 percent of the population -- one in five persons -- will be over age 65. Providing mobility options is critical for older Americans and for those who care for them.

4. According to a national survey of individuals age 65 or older, conducted by Harris Interactive in November 2005, more than four in five seniors believe public transportation is a better alternative to driving alone, especially at night.
83 percent of older Americans agree that public transit provides easy access to the things that they need in everyday life.

5. At the 2005 White House Conference on Aging, ensuring that older Americans have transportation options to retain their mobility and independence received the third most votes of 73 issues considered, with 1,002 ballots out of a maximum of 1,200.

6. Public transportation systems provide a vital link to the more than 51 million Americans with disabilities.

Public Transportation Creates Community Benefits:

1. Public transportation foster transit orientated development that provides convenient access to public transportation and integration of transit in the community.

2. Public transportation encourages land-use programs that generate synergies and create a range of housing types, from single-family homes to apartments, to accommodate diverse incomes and family structures.

3. Public transportation revitalizes neighborhoods, increases social interaction and pedestrian activity, enhances safety, and helps create a sense of "place" that will help make a community unique and special.

4. Public transportation generates a financial return for communities and businesses as well as individual and collective savings that can be captured and invested in housing or amenities rather than transportation, parking and auto-orientated infrastructure.

5. When commuters ride public transportation or walk, contact with neighbors tends to increase, ultimately helping to bring a community together.

Public Transportation Impacts Urban and Rural Communities:

1. Public transportation encourages economic and social activities and helps create strong neighborhood centers that are economically stable, safe and productive.

2. Approximately 12 percent of public transportation users are en route to schools. Educators and concerned parents rely on expanded public transportation services.

3. Public transportation offers mobility for residents of rural America, particularly for those without cars. From 2002 through 2005, ridership for small urban and rural public transportation systems jumped nearly 20 percent.

4. Two-thirds of rural Americans -- 60 million people -- are almost wholly unserved by public transportation. They live in counties that have either no service or so little service that they can only be characterized as isolated.

Public Transportation Improves Air Quality:

1. Public transportation reduces pollution and helps promote cleaner air.

2. Public transportation produces 95 percent less carbon monoxide (CO), 90 percent less in volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and about half as much carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx), per passenger mile, as private vehicles.

3. Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions represent 82 percent of total US human-made greenhouse emissions.

4. By reducing smog-producing pollutants, greenhouse gases and by conserving ecologically sensitive lands and open spaces -- public transportation is helping to meet national air quality standards.

Public Transportation Fosters Healthy Lifestyles:

1. Public transportation fosters a more active lifestyle, encouraging more people to walk, bike and jog to transit stops.

2. An analysis of 2001 National Household Travel Survey data for transit users finds that walking to and from transit helps inactive persons attain a significant portion of the recommended minimum daily exercise they need.

3. Transportation is an integral part of health or social services programs. Operators of these programs rely on public transit to reach the intended target groups, and to assure access and opportunity for all Americans.

Public Transportation Provides Safety and Security:

1. In major evacuations of urban areas, only public transportation has the capacity to move millions of people quickly and to give critical support to first responders by delivering emergency equipment and transporting emergency response personnel. The 9/11 response illustrates public transit's vital role.

2. When Americans face natural or man-made disasters, America's public transportation systems provide comfort, safety, security and rescue.

Working on the Railroad

Sunday, November 23, 2008

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