Responses to Questions
I was asked to state my position on some of the pressing issues in Town.
MBTA Turnback Track
The MBTA says providing consistent service every 30 minutes in and out of Boston will increase ridership. I too, would like consistent commuter service at a frequency that makes it a viable alternative to driving. But it needs to be done the right way, with thoughtful analysis and an understanding of how it will affect the Town, for good or ill.
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My concern is that the MBTA seems not to have any plan to address the impacts of handling the increased ridership. Throughout all of the discussions with the MBTA over the turnback track, it has been obvious that there is no long range planning taking place. For example, the rebuilding of the Reading station to be ADA compliant is not included in their capital plan.
The first question the MBTA should address is where are the additional riders expected to come from? Obviously, it won’t be commuters along Route 93 in the North. Even If they were inclined to take a train into Boston, they would use the Anderson Regional Transportation center, with its easy highway access and available parking.
That leaves commuters from Reading and the surrounding communities along Routes 28, 129 and 128. The MBTA should provide a traffic study covering the assumed trip increases. This should model the impact on the intersections at Main/Lowell/Salem , Main/Woburn, Main/Haven and Main/Washington. These are the intersections that all of the additional traffic will be required to pass through on the way to the train station.
Once we know the effects of the increased traffic, we can make a determination on any improvements that will be required and how they will be paid for.
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The supposed environmental benefits, increased ridership would bring, do not exist. As currently proposed, the project will decrease Vehicle Miles Travelled (VHT), but increase CO2 and NOx gas emissions. This is due to the continued reliance on diesel locomotives. Reduction in greenhouse gases only occurs with electrification.
See page 81 of MBTA Rail Vision FINAL REPORT February 2020
https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2021-07/2020-02-rail-vision-report.pdf
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In my opinion, any project with a potential significant impact to the Town should be subject to review. The same way projects were reviewed during my years on the CPDC. This way we can understand the benefits, drawbacks and try to uncover and mitigate the unintended consequences. Otherwise, we end up reacting to poor situations with few options available to us.
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Growth
Reading has been a bedroom community for years. With few large tracts available for development, most future growth will be residential. But even the residential areas are mostly built out.
If we want to continue to grow, we will need to look at increasing residential density. This does not mean the elimination of single family housing. Increased density can take many forms. It can be through Additional Dwelling Units (ADUs), reduced lot sizes, shorter frontage requirements or multi-unit development.
The Select Board should be leading the discussion on future growth, presenting the community with options that can be debated. This way Reading can determine what works for us, without an artificial deadline being imposed.
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