Links
Address
Newton City Hall
1000 Commonwealth Ave
Newton Centre, MA 02459
617-796-1000
TDD/TTY 617-796-1089
Hours
Monday - Friday
8:30am-5:00pm
Tuesday
8:30am- 8:00pm
TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE
TAC Final Report
Join Us!
Mayor Warren invites you to participate in one of several subcommittees that have been formed to provide guidance to various transportation-related concerns. The following subcommittees have been created: (1) Parking; (2) Youth and Senior Travel; (3) Urban Fabric; (4) Outreach and Engagement; and (5) Transportation Planning & Complete Streets. Click on the "Subcommittees" link below for additional information. Each subcommittee will meet over the next several months and make recommendations to the full Transportation Advisory Committee. Any committee is open to any Newton resident or employee. Contact David Koses at 617.796.1133 or dkoses@newtonma.gov.
July 27, 2010
Newton's transportation systems connect the city's residents, businesses and visitors to each other and to jobs, schools, goods and services, and recreational and cultural opportunities in Newton and throughout the greater Boston region. Even while the city's population grows only modestly, traffic and tripmaking are steadily increasing. Transportation-related issues are among the most pressing quality-of-life issues cited by Newton residents.
Mayor Setti D. Warren has convened the Transportation Advisory Committee in order to undertake a wide-ranging review of transportation issues in Newton. As recommended by the 2007 Comprehensive Plan, the TAC draws “on citizens able to bring professional skills into service, as well as others who bring familiarity with Newton's users of transportation and the needs of various groups importantly affected by transportation decisions”. The task force will be supported by and coordinate with City staff from a number of departments, chiefly Planning & Development, but also Engineering, Public Works, Police and other departments as appropriate.
Unlike some advisory processes, the goal of the TAC is not to meet for a set period of time and then produce a final report and recommendations. Instead, the TAC is being asked to develop recommendations for policies, actions and strategies on an ongoing basis and to document and share those recommendations as consensus is reached. While the TAC must focus on reshaping transportation in Newton for the long-term, it should also provide the Mayor and city departments with concrete advice on what Newton can do right now to begin to achieve those longer-term goals.
THE TAC'S CHARGE
- Help shape a transportation system that provides Newton residents and visitors with a variety of choices for getting where they need to go, including work, school, shopping, recreation and other destinations. While driving will remain an important option for many trips, the TAC should focus on strengthening alternatives to driving alone in a car, including walking, biking, public transportation and car sharing. Newton's transportation system should work for everyone, including those too young or too old to drive, those having disabilities that preclude or limit driving and those who choose not to drive for health, environmental or budgetary reasons.
- Ensure that the City's policies, plans, investments and actions on transportation enhance the quality of life in Newton's neighborhoods and village centers and support the City's goals and policies with respect to economic development, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting healthy lifestyles for all residents. Transportation is a means, not an end in itself, and so the TAC must help ensure that Newton's transportation policies and systems support and advance our broader vision for the Newton that we all want to live in.
- Recommend an overall framework that can shape a longer-term transformation of Newton's transportation systems, while also providing short- and mid-term recommendations to begin implementing that framework right away. The TAC should examine all transportation decisionmaking, policy, planning and investments and craft recommendations for making changes both small and large. Recommendations should address necessary ordinance or regulatory changes, how the city can better organize and coordinate its transportation decisionmaking across departments, and how the city can advocate for regional and statewide transportation policies and investments that support Newton's transportation vision.
- Reach out to the whole Newton community as well as to impacted neighborhoods and interests to bring as many voices and ideas as possible into the work of the TAC, through the web, outreach meetings and activities and the work of the subcommittees. Broad-based, ongoing community input and participation is vital in order to ensure that the TAC helps Newton to develop a transportation system that works for everyone.
THE TAC PROCESS
The TAC will meet monthly (or more frequently if members so choose) through July 2011, at which time the TAC will disband. Meetings will be open to the public and will comply with Open Meeting requirements. Documents supporting the work of the TAC (agendas, meeting notes and background information) will be posted on the web so as to be available to TAC members and the public.
In addition to the full committee, the TAC will create a series of subcommittees which can work in greater depth on specific issues. Subcommittees can include non-TAC members and the TAC will reach out to the public to solicit involvement in the subcommittees. Subcommittee recommendations will be made to, and acted on, by the full TAC before being advanced to the Mayor and City departments.
The TAC will have an active process for public outreach and for soliciting input from Newton residents. The TAC website will allow residents to provide input to the TAC and the TAC will, at appropriate times, hold open community forums either on specific issues or to solicit community input on overall transportation issues in Newton.
The TAC is being asked to develop recommendations for policies, actions and strategies on an ongoing basis and to document and forward those recommendations, with any appropriate supporting documentation, to the Mayor as recommendations are developed. Whenever possible, the TAC will make decisions by consensus. Toward the end of the process, the TAC will decide whether or not it will prepare a final report to the Mayor in addition to the recommendations that have been made throughout the TAC process.
Committee Members
Contact Us! TAC@newtonma.gov
Stephanie Pollack, Chair
Ann Alvarado
Alicia Bowman
Beatrice Carp
Matt Cuddy
Lucia Dolan
Jerome Grafe
Phil Hanser
Ald. Jay Harney
Toni Hicks
Mark Jurilla
Lois Levin
Srdjan Nedeljkovic
Jane O'Hern
Trudy Reilly
Sean Roche
Jason Rosenberg
Ruth Hoshino
David Stein
Allison Wu
Anatol Zukerman