PETITION TO DELAY
Green Line Extension Project
Background
This Petition to Delay is submitted by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation
(MassDOT), in conjunction with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), to the
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in order to fulfill the requirements
of 310 CMR 7.36(7), Transit System Improvements, as amended. Below is a Petition to Delay the
Green Line Extension (GLX) project with information on MassDOT’s proposed interim emission
reduction offset measures for the GLX project.
Green Line Extension Project
MassDOT and the MBTA are currently working to advance the GLX project. The GLX
project is a commitment of the Commonwealth under the Clean Air Act State Implementation
Plan (SIP) Transit Regulation. Substantial progress has been made on this project. MassDOT
has regularly provided updates to the DEP and to the public on the reasons for the delay, the
measures being taken to minimize the delay, the new schedule for the project and the amount of
time that the project will be delayed.
Since the GLX project will not be completed by the date in the Transit Regulation
(12/31/2014), steps must be taken to implement some type of project or service improvements
that can be in place by this date which will have air quality benefits (for those pollutants listed in
the regulation) that would have been achieved if the GLX were fully operational by that date.
The Transit Commitment Regulations require that “(f)or delayed projects, MassDOT shall
implement interim emission reduction offset projects or measures during the period of delay.
Such interim emission offset projects or measures shall achieve emission reductions of (NonMethane Hydrocarbons (NMHC’s), Carbon Monoxide (CO) or Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx)) equal
to or greater than the emission reductions that would have been achieved had the project not been
delayed.”
MassDOT is proposing a series of air quality projects that will serve to meet – and in fact
exceed – the emission reductions that would have been in place due to the GLX project by
December 31, 2014. MassDOT and the MBTA have identified three interim emission reduction
offset measures which together would meet the required emissions reduction targets and provide
valuable transportation benefits in the period prior to the full implementation of the Green Line
Extension project. Although the Transit Regulation does not require that an interim offset be in
the same area as the project, the package of proposed measures was developed with this goal in
mind. Other considerations were the ability of the interim service to be in place on or before
December 31, 2014, to avoid overtaxing the MBTA’s existing fleet, and to minimize the impact on
the MBTA’s operating budget. The interim offset measures identified by MassDOT and the
MBTA are as follows:
MassDOT Office of Transportation Planning
July 22, 2014
Page 1
1.
Additional off-peak service along existing routes serving the GLX corridor. MassDOT
proposes that the MBTA increase off-peak service by 20% on a series of key bus routes. We have
specifically targeted routes that shadow or overlap the GLX service corridor so as to try to provide
additional service to the future GLX customers. Specifically, we are proposing additional off-peak
service on the following local bus routes:
•
•
•
•
•
Route 80 (which serves College Ave., Ball Sq., Lowell St., Gilman Sq.,
Washington St.)
Route 88 (which serves Lowell St., Gilman Sq. and Washington St.)
Route 91 (which serves Union Sq. and Washington St.)
Route 94 (which serves College Ave.)
Route 96 (which also serves College Ave.)
In conjunction with the increased bus service, MassDOT proposes a 20% increase in offpeak Green Line service. This program will provide additional service to Lechmere Station, which
is a major transfer point for many of the customers who are currently in the service area and will
ultimately be customers of the GLX corridor. Two of the bus routes described above terminate at
Lechmere so there is a service synergy between the increased bus routes and the increased Green
Line service.
2.
Purchase of 142 new hybrid electric vehicles for The RIDE, the MBTA’s paratransit
service for customers with disabilities. These new, energy efficient and clean burning vehicles will
allow the MBTA to retire much older, less fuel efficient and dirtier vehicles currently in the fleet.
3.
Additional Park and Ride spaces at the Salem and Beverly Intermodal Facilities. The
MBTA is constructing new intermodal parking facilities in both downtown Salem and downtown
Beverly, providing much needed access to two of the three busiest commuter rail stations in the
MBTA system. MassDOT believes that Park and Ride spaces are an excellent mitigation; in fact,
the Transit Commitment Regulation actually identifies Park and Ride as a suggested form of
mitigation.
MassDOT requested that the Central Transportation Planning Staff (CTPS) estimate the
reduced emissions expected to be generated by the implementation of the GLX project (the
emissions reduction projections are shown in the table below). Before testing the interim offset
measures, the emissions reductions associated with constructing the GLX alone were established
for the forecast year 2015, which is when the GLX was scheduled to begin service. The emissions
reductions were estimated for the Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) region of
101 cities and towns. The CTPS travel demand forecast model and spreadsheet tools were used to
estimate air-quality benefits that would be realized from auto diversions resulting from
construction of the GLX. Based on an analysis from November 2011, the GLX should result in an
average daily reduction in 46,500 vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) in the Boston MPO region, which
translates to a GLX “budget” of 13.5 kilograms (kg) of VOC, 22.4 kg of NOx, and 459.2 kg of CO.
In order to be as liberal as possible in developing the estimate, the stationary source emissions that
would be produced by additional Green Line service were not subtracted from the budget.
MassDOT Office of Transportation Planning
July 22, 2014
Page 2
Green Line Extension Project
Emission Targets and Emissions from Interim Offset Measures Using MOBILE 6.2 Year-2015
Factors
CO
NOx
VOC (kg) VMT
(kg)
(kg)
GLX - Implemented (Target Emission 459.2
22.4
13.5
46,529
Reduction Goal)
Proposed Offset Measures
Emission Reductions from additional off- 167.2
8.2
4.8
16,899
peak service in the GLX project area,
including Green Line service to Lechmere
and on Five Selected Bus Routes (80, 88,
91, 94, and 96)
Emission Reduction from MBTA The
125.2
5.3
3.6
0
RIDE Replacements
Emission Reduction from Added Garage 286.0
12.2
8.3
30,732
Capacity at Beverly and Salem
578.4
25.7
16.8
47,631
TOTAL
MassDOT estimates that the operating and maintenance costs of these improvements will
be approximately $21 million annually. In addition, there is a one-time capital improvement cost
of $3.41 million to purchase the new hybrid electric vehicles for The RIDE. These costs are in
addition to the significant capital costs spent to date to design and build the two new parking
facilities at Beverly and Salem.
MassDOT believes that this approach meets and in fact exceeds our requirements for
mitigation during the delay of the GLX Project, and requests that DEP approve this petition.
MassDOT Office of Transportation Planning
July 22, 2014
Page 3