October Transit Advisory Committee
October TAC meeting - Venue | MIT Stata Center

We look forward to seeing you at TAC meeting in October.
Attending the October TAC Meeting?
LOCATION
MIT Stata Center, Room 32-144, 32 Vassar St, Cambridge, MA 02139

DATE AND TIME
10/02/19 5:30pm - 10/02/19 7:30pm

October Transit Advisory Committee meeting at MIT Stata Center
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Upcoming TAC meetings

We welcome comments from the public during two public comment periods at the beginning and end of every TAC meeting. Agendas are posted online and are included in each Transit Bulletin e-mail newsletter. Future meetings of the TAC are as follows:

November 6, 2019 at 5:30 PM | MIT Stata Center
December 4,2019 at 5:30 PM | Citywide Senior Center
Transit service updates
New! - Route 91 service change beginning Monday, September 30

On September 30th, the Route 91 bus will no longer use Hampshire Street, Springfield Street, and Newton Street. Instead, it will use Prospect Street via Webster Avenue.

The NEW stops with service from Route 91 are INBOUND: Prospect St @ Oak St, Prospect St @ Cambridge St, OUTBOUND: Prospect St @ Cambridge St, Prospect St @ Newton Ave.

Stops that will NO LONGER have service from Route 91 are INBOUND: Newton St @ Clark St, Newton St @ Concord Sq, Springfield St @ Newton St, Springfield St opp Houghton St, Hampshire St @ Inman St, OUTBOUND: Hampshire St @ Cambridge St, Springfield St @ Houghton St, Springfield St @ Newton St, Newton St @ Concord Sq, Newton St @ Western Ave.
The MBTA plans to implement the remaining changes proposed in the Better Bus Project later this year during the winter schedule change in December. Among many other changes in the region, the following bus routes in Cambridge are scheduled to have additional changes in December:
  • Route 1
  • Route 64
  • Routes 70/70A
  • Routes 72, 74, 75
Escalator and elevator closures

The MBTA has closed the following escalators:
  • Central - #360 - Up from the Alewife platform to street level for maintenance
  • *New* Alewife - #353 - Unavailable due to maintenance

The MBTA has closed the following elevators:
  • Central - #861 - between the Ashmont/Braintree platform and street level - through summer 2019 for replacement. No alternate route available - passengers needing to use elevator should board/exit at Kendall/MIT or Harvard stations for access.
  • Harvard - #821 - between the main lobby and street level - through end of 2019 for replacement. Alternate route available using Harvard elevator #973.
Actions & events
Tell us how River Street works (or doesn't work) for you today

The River Street Reconstruction project will refresh outdated infrastructure above and below the street surface. Tell us your perceptions and thoughts about River Street today. Your answers will inform how the City designs the street and the City will compare responses before and after reconstruction. This survey should take approximately 5-10 minutes to complete.
Vacancies on several city commissions and boards

The City seeks members of the Cambridge community to participate in several boards and commissions. The following commissions and boards are accepting applications:
  • Citizen's Committee of Civic Duty
  • City Manager's Digital Equity Working Group
  • Library Board of Trustees
  • Recycling Advisory Committee
Safe Streets High School Video Competition

MassDOT invites all Massachusetts High School students to write and produce a one minute video with a call to action for what you, your friends, your family, and/or your local community need to do in order to see a world where there are no pedestrian or bicyclist injuries or fatalities. The contest features two entry categories – a freshman/sophomore category and a junior/senior category. A grand prize and runner-up will be selected in each category.

View the full submission guidelines and prizes . The deadline to submit entries is October 4th. Winners from previous year’s contests can be found at  https://www.mass.gov/service-details/roadway-safety-video-previous-winners .
Transit Employment Opportunities
Traffic Engineering Director - City of Boston

The Boston Transportation Department is searching for a Director of Engineering who is well versed in state of the art tools and practices to create sustainable and multi-modal transportation networks including bicycle, pedestrian and transit focused street design and cutting edge safety treatments.
Active Transportation/Vision Zero Planner - City of Boston

The Boston Transportation Department (BTD) is seeking a highly motivated Vision Zero/Active Transportation Planner to work on projects that will realize the City’s vision to create streets and public spaces that are vibrant, multi-modal, resilient, and technologically advanced. The selected individual will work to lower the number of fatal and serious crashes on Boston’s roadways and increase the number of people bicycling and walking in the City.
Corridor/Transportation Planner - City of Boston

The Boston Transportation Department (BTD) is seeking a highly motivated Transportation Program Planner to lead a community process for revitalization of Blue Hill Avenue and Columbia Road, two of the City's most iconic and diverse boulevards.
Public Transit Manager - Institute for Transportation & Development Policy

The Public Transit Manager will play a key role in overseeing the conceptualization, design and implementation of sustainable transport solutions. The primary work area will be technical project management in greater Boston, specifically developing a BRT Roadmap planning document that considers infrastructure, operational, financial and communications components. The Manager must have a strong command of BRT service and infrastructure planning as well as a willingness to learn the latest international best practices for implementation in greater Boston.
Transportation Project Manager - City of Cambridge

The Transportation Project Planner will manage and oversee the City's public transit program, multi-modal and sustainable transportation infrastructure projects, regional transportation planning processes and other projects or initiatives as needed.
Bus Traffic Signal Systems Fellow - MBTA

The Bus Traffic Signal Systems Fellow will play a critical role supporting the MBTA and municipalities in developing and integrating the MBTA's transit signal priority system into existing or planned traffic signal networks and working with the MBTA and municipalities on other bus transit supportive signal improvements.

This position is project-specific and limited to June 2021. Employment beyond the two-year term is left to the discretion of the MBTA.
Municipal Engagement Fellow - MBTA

The Municipal Coordination Fellow will work directly with cities and towns to advocate for bus transit priority improvements, manage communication for technical assistance from the MBTA, provide general project management to support the development of a bus transit speed and reliability program, and coordinate the implementation of multimodal priorities of the MBTA, municipalities, and other relevant agencies. 

This position is project-specific and limited to June 2021. Employment beyond the two-year term is left to the discretion of the MBTA.
Program Manager of Bus System Enhancements - MBTA

The Manager Bus System Enhancement is responsible for managing and coordinating the Better Bus Project (BBP), which is a multi-year plan to improve frequency, reliability, and connectivity of bus service through optimizing existing service, investing additional resources, and redesigning the overall network. 
 
This position is project-specific and limited to June 2021. Employment beyond the two-year term is left to the discretion of the MBTA.
Project Manager - Commuter Rail, Transit & Facilities - MBTA

The Project Manager will manage the development of MBTA Capital Delivery projects from project inception (planning) through the design phase (conceptual, preliminary, and final) and the construction phase (including project close-out), with full responsibility for quality and control of schedule and budget. The Project Manager reports to either a Director or Program Manager.
Civil Asset Information Manager - MBTA

The Civil Asset Information Manager will assist in the oversight of the asset management program, create and document processes and procedures for Engineering & Maintenance (E&M) personnel to conduct asset type based condition assessments resulting in the FTAs 1-5 State of Good Repair Asset Scale.
Transit news
MBTA releases analysis of cause for June 11th Red Line derailment and Red Line returns to normal service
On September 16th, the MBTA released a report with the findings from the engineering investigation on the derailment. A build up of grease along a steel axle and ground ring caused arcs of electricity to weaken the system over time, eventually causing the axle to fracture. As a safety precaution, the MBTA removed an additional seven axles from the fleet. Red line service returned to pre-derailment schedules on September 25th. For information on events previous to this report: Boston.com created a timeline of the events since the Red Line derailment.
MBTA to begin fare changes for commuters to Foxboro, riders continue to urge MBTA to experiment with income based fares
Starting October 21st, the MBTA will reduce fares for the "backwards commute" of riders going outbound to Foxboro during typical morning and afternoon commute hours.
Chelsea commuter rail station begins construction
Opening in 2021, the fully accessible Chelsea Commuter Rail Station will be relocated approximately 1,800 feet west of the existing station for easier, more convenient transfers to the SL3.
LivableStreets highlights MBTA bus deficiencies as perpetuating racial inequality
Scout Cambridge writes about the work of LivableStreets report titled "64 Hours: Closing the Bus Inequality Gap" which points at the inequalities of the Boston bus network, and the 64 more hours black riders spend on bus transit than white riders.
October meetings
Conference Room 1, Cambridge Public Health Department, 119 Windsor Street.

Board Room, 10 Park Plaza, Boston, MA 02116

Planning Board Meeting 10/15/2019, 6:30 PM
2F Conference Room, 344 Broadway

Board Room, 10 Park Plaza, Boston, MA 02116

Board Room, 10 Park Plaza, Boston, MA 02116

Bicycle Committee Meeting 10/16/2019, 5:30 PM
4F Conference Room, 344 Broadway

Board room, 10 Park Plaza, Boston, MA 02116

Board Room, 10 Park Plaza, Boston, MA 02116

Planning Board Meeting 10/22/2019, 6:30 PM
2F Conference Room, 344 Broadway

Pedestrian Committee Meeting 10/24/2019, 6:00 PM
4F Conference Room, 344 Broadway

Board Room, 10 Park Plaza, Boston, MA 02116

Planning Board Meeting 10/29/2019, 6:30 PM
2F Conference Room, 344 Broadway