PUBLIC HEARING TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2011 AT 6:30 P.M. AT STATE TRANSPORTATION BUILDING
10 PARK PLAZA, SECOND FLOOR
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
TO DISCUSS
CITY OF BOSTON’S PROPOSED
NON­RADIOACTIVE HAZARDOUS MATERIAL ROUTE
IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
HIGHWAY DIVISION
FRANK A. DEPAOLA, P.E.
HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATOR
THOMAS F. BRODERICK, P.E.
ACTING CHIEF ENGINEER
Arlington Reporting Company
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2 PRESENTERS & OFFICIALS Thomas F. Broderick, P.E., Acting Chief Engineer, MassDOT Jeffrey Mullan, Secretary and CEO, MassDOT Neil Boudreau, State Traffic Engineer Donny Dailey, Public Affairs, MassDOT John Romano, Municipal Affairs Liaison, MassDOT Arthur Greenberg, Battelle Memorial Institute Charles D. Rennick, Esq., Legal Counsel Thomas Tinlin, Commissioner, Boston Transportation Department Sal LaMattina, Boston City Councilor Aaron Michlewitz, State Representative Anthony Petruccelli, State Senator Frank Kodzis, City of Boston Fire Marshal Bill Evans, Boston Police Deputy Supervisor Don McGough, Director of Emergency Preparedness, Jim Gillooly, Deputy Commissioner, Boston Transportation Department Henry Luthin, Esq. City of Boston Corporation Counsel Charles Dyer, Esq. City of Boston outside counsel SPEAKER INDEX Name Page Thomas Broderick, MassDOT, 5, 15, 16, 29, 30, Acting Chief Engineer 80 Arthur Greenberg, 9 Battelle Memorial Institute Thomas Tinlin, Commissioner, 16 Boston Transportation Department Donny Dailey, MassDOT, 31, 38, 41, 44, 48, Public Affairs 50, 53, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 63, 65, 69, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 79, 80 Arlington Reporting Company
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3 SPEAKER INDEX
Page
Aaron Michlewitz, 31
State Representative
Anthony Petruccelli, State Senator 34
Sal LaMattina, 36
Boston City Councilor
Anne Lynch, Mass. Motor 38
Transportation Association
Debra Boronski, President, 41
Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce
John Hamel, J&S Transport Company 44
Larry Noonan, J.P. Noonan 48
Transportation
Monica Tibbits, Executive Director, 50
128 Business Council
Brendan O’Brien 52
Stephanie Hogue, President, North End/ 53, 55
Waterfront Residents Association
Nancy Brennan, Greenway Conservancy 56
Evvajean Mintz 57
Joanne Prevost­Anzalone, 58
North End Business Community
Paul Foster 59
Amy Jarvis 59
Joanne Hayes­Rines 60
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4 SPEAKER INDEX
Name Craig Fossa Matt Conti, North End/Waterfront HazMat Task Force Richard Dimino, President and CEO, A Better City Donna Freni, President, North End/ Waterfront Neighborhood Council Sandra Harcourt Michele Brogan Virginia Kimball Elizabeth Philipps Mimi LaCamera, President, Freedom Trail Foundation Amanda Hamel Kathy Palano Ray Samantha Popowicz EXHIBITS Description Notice of Public Hearing/Brochure Sign­In Sheet Page 61 63 66 69 71 72, 73 73 74 74 75, 76 77 79 Page 80 81 Arlington Reporting Company
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5 1 P R O C E E D I N G S THOMAS BRODERICK: Good evening. If we 2 3 could ask everybody to take their seats so we can get 4 the hearing commenced. Can you hear okay in the back 5 of the room or should I bring the microphone closer? Okay. Just as a piece of information, 6 7 this meeting is being taped by Matt Conti of the 8 Northendwaterfront.com, just so everybody’s aware of 9 that. Good evening. My name is Tom 10 11 Broderick. I’m the Acting Chief Engineer for MassDOT. 12 And I’m joined here tonight by Neil Boudreau, our 13 State Traffic Engineer, to my right, and with Charles 14 Rennick, from our legal department to our left. 15 Arthur Greenberg from Battelle Memorial Institute, the 16 consultant who prepared the hazmat study, is also here 17 to provide a very brief summary of the report and its 18 findings in compliance with the federal routing 19 criteria. 20 Some background on why we’re here 21 today. Following the 2009 decision by the Federal 22 Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the City of 23 Boston was required to conduct a risk analysis subject 24 to federal routing criteria, evaluating alternative Arlington Reporting Company
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6 1 hazmat routes. The City of Boston engaged the 2 services of Battelle Memorial Institute to perform 3 that risk analysis, which examined a number of routes 4 in consultation with MassDOT, which ultimately 5 concluded that the existing route through the downtown 6 area of Boston is significantly higher in risk than 7 travel on the beltway around Route 128. MassDOT conducted technical reviews 8 9 with the report’s risk assessment, and we requested 10 additional information to ensue that proper procedures 11 and consistent methodologies were employed to assess 12 the risks. And these comments and responses are 13 located on our website. In accordance with the federal 14 15 regulatory process, we are here today to provide the 16 public and interested parties with the opportunity to 17 provide their comments and testimony on the proposed 18 hazardous material routing designation that came about 19 as a result of the risk analysis performed by 20 Battelle. 21 What is the proposed route designation? 22 Under the proposed route, hazmat vehicles would be 23 prohibited from using the downtown area of the City of 24 Boston for the through transportation of hazardous Arlington Reporting Company
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7 1 materials. Hazmat deliveries with a point of origin 2 or destination in the downtown area would still be 3 permitted provided the motor carrier receives the 4 required permits. Route 128 would be designated as the 5 6 preferred through route over which hazardous materials 7 approaching the city would be transported. What the law says is under the federal 8 9 law, MassDOT is the state agency with the governing 10 responsibility for ensuring that all hazmat routing 11 designations comply with the federal routing 12 standards. MassDOT must resolve all conflicts among 13 hazardous materials routes and approve all hazardous 14 material routing designations under these federal 15 regulations. 16 Federal routing standards include, 17 among others, population density, type of highway, 18 type of hazardous material, emergency response 19 capabilities, consultation with affected parties, 20 proximity to schools, hospitals, playgrounds, and 21 other sensitive areas, terrain considerations, 22 continuity of routes, alternative routes, affects on 23 commerce, delays in transportation, climatic 24 considerations, and congestion and accident history. Arlington Reporting Company
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8 1 There are a lot of folks here today, so 2 I’d like to remind everyone to try and keep their 3 comments brief so that everybody that wishes to speak 4 can participate. Copies of the report, the federal 5 routing standards, and frequently answered questions 6 and other relevant information are available through 7 the MassDOT website. If you have any questions, 8 please submit them to us tonight through the comment 9 sheets available at the sign­in desk and we will 10 11 respond accordingly. The format for tonight’s hearing will 12 be for MassDOT to solicit testimony. Responses to 13 comments will be grouped by topic and responded to 14 through our website. There are a number of frequently 15 asked questions already displayed on the website, and 16 we’ll be adding to that list as the hearings progress. 17 And this is so that we can be consistent in our 18 responses, make sure that all the right information is 19 getting out. And we do expect that there will be a 20 duplicate of information and a good deal of duplicate 21 comments that are received, so we want to respond to 22 them as quickly as we can. 23 24 After receipt of all comments and an analysis of any new routing information presented for Arlington Reporting Company
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9 1 review relative to the risk assessment that may alter 2 the initial determination, MassDOT will inform the 3 Federal Motor Carriers of the final preferred routing. Thank you again for being here to 4 5 present testimony this evening. This public hearing, 6 the first of four, is an important part of the public 7 process. And we need to review the process, the 8 proposed routing designation, and I look forward to 9 hearing your testimony. At this time I’d like to ask Art 10 11 Greenberg from Battelle Institute to come up and make 12 a few remarks regarding the hazmat evaluation that was 13 undertaken by their firm. ARTHUR GREENBERG: Okay. Thanks very 14 15 much. I think the main focus of what I’m 16 17 about to say is to discuss the process that Battelle 18 followed to complete this analysis. We’ve already had 19 some of the introduction, and we know that Battelle 20 was hired by the City to conduct an analysis, and that 21 we also know that Battelle was following the federal 22 standards, the federal regulations, when we conducted 23 our analysis. 24 One of the things that wasn’t mentioned Arlington Reporting Company
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10 1 is that we also ­­ that also included under the 2 federal regulations are guidelines which tell you how 3 to assess a hazardous material route, to look at the 4 risk. And we followed those guidelines. They’re 5 actually DOT, Department of Transportation, 6 guidelines, which are called Guidelines for Apply 7 Criteria to the Designated Routes for Transportation 8 of Hazardous Materials. And so we followed those 9 guidelines. And so we weren’t I guess creating a 10 methodology. We were using a methodology which we 11 were required to follow. 12 We did look at those 13 factors that 13 were mentioned, such as population density and 14 emergency response, so forth. And we sought to obtain 15 the best kind of quantitative data that we could. So, 16 we went after, as some of you know, we tried to get 17 the best data available. 18 One of the fortunate things in this 19 process was that we had actually the cooperation from 20 a number of agencies, including, as we know, MassDOT, 21 State Police, the Mass. GIS, Geographic Information 22 System, the CTPS, which is planning staff, and the 23 various agencies in the City, including the fire 24 department, the police department, the transportation Arlington Reporting Company
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11 1 department, and others. And, we also consulted with 2 the UMassSAFE people, which is an interdisciplinary 3 program at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. 4 And they work on transportation safety. And so we 5 were referred to them by UMass and the State Police. 6 And they worked to create accident rates for us. 7 So, in addition, in order to select the 8 alternative routes, we also had considerable 9 cooperation from some organizations, groups, for 10 example, North End/Waterfront, HazMat Task Force, the 11 Massachusetts Motor Transportation Association, and 12 really many, as I indicated, many government agencies. 13 The key data that we needed to conduct 14 the risk assessment included truck accident rates ­­ 15 that was key, population within half mile on either 16 side of the route, and we also had to know the types 17 of current hazmat trucks on the road. The accident 18 rates, as I indicated, were developed for us by 19 UMassSAFE, or the University of Massachusetts. And 20 they have the data for that, the accident data for 21 serious truck crashes. And, Battelle, we supply them 22 with truck flows, truck movements, so they could give 23 us the accident rates. And they gave us accident 24 rates by road functional class for urbanized areas. Arlington Reporting Company
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12 1 And then for population, in order to 2 get the population on either side of the routes, we 3 actually looked at ­­ we got ­­ a lot of our data came 4 from the Census, residential, and employment. And 5 then we estimated populations for hotels, hospitals, 6 nursing homes, schools, and we even looked at the 7 visitors, especially from the National Park Service, 8 which is one of the focal points for tourists. And 9 even after the report was completed, we also, in 10 answer to a question from MassDOT, we looked at 11 visitors or shoppers at shopping centers. 12 To get the type of hazardous material, 13 we looked at the various sources, including hazardous 14 material spill data, so you get some idea of what kind 15 of material is moving through by what sort of 16 accidents or incidents you have. We had police 17 department inspection records. We actually, we sent 18 out something like 1,200 questionnaires, primarily to 19 hazmat carriers in Boston and the vicinity. And the 20 U.S. Bureau of Census Hazardous Material Commodity 21 Flow Survey did a special run for us for the Boston 22 region. And what we concluded is probably what most 23 of you know; the greatest quantity of hazardous 24 materials is the flammable, or are the flammable Arlington Reporting Company
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13 1 liquids, or, as some of you know, it’s Class 3, such 2 things as gasoline. And that’s more than 90 percent 3 of the shipments. 4 So, the routing analysis really then 5 looked at the relative risk to the public of 6 transporting hazardous materials. And so we ended up, 7 we finally, we used a formula which was risk equals 8 accident rates times number of people adjacent to the 9 routes. And this was a formula that is specified in 10 11 the federal guidelines itself. The through routing risk criteria tell 12 us that if a ­­ when you’re looking at comparing 13 routes, if one has 50 percent more risk than another, 14 then you could choose the one with the less risk. In 15 other words, if one risk is one­and­a­half times the 16 risk of another risk, we can actually select the one 17 with the less risk. 18 When we looked at ­­ when we compared 19 the risk for major routes we were examining, and 20 there’s kind of a map on the stand there, we basically 21 looked at one route which flows from Everett to Quincy 22 going through Boston. We compared that with another 23 route going around Boston on 128. And we found that 24 during the day, we looked at it for day ­­ it’s Arlington Reporting Company
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14 1 supposed to be a separated population out for day and 2 night ­­ during the day, it was approximately four 3 times the risk for going through Boston as going 4 around. And, at night, it wasn’t ­­ the difference 5 wasn’t as much. It was a little bit over two times 6 the risk of going through Boston as going around. 7 We also, in addition to this risk to 8 the population, we also looked at emergency response 9 capabilities, the environment, burden on commerce. We 10 judged emergency response to be adequate to handle a 11 hazmat incident. So, every place we looked, all the 12 routes we looked at, there was a reasonable emergency 13 response infrastructure in place. The environmental 14 risk, although important, was also judged ­­ and we 15 looked at that as well ­­ it was judged to be 16 secondary. And we also looked at the burden on 17 commerce and found that to be ­­ found that to be 18 reasonable if that 128 route was selected as opposed 19 to going through the city. 20 So, really just to sum that up, the 21 factors besides risk, such as emergency response 22 capabilities, the location of sensitive environmental 23 features, climate, burden on commerce, those factors, 24 although important, did not trump, did not overcome Arlington Reporting Company
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15 1 2 the risk to the population. So, based on our analysis, we really 3 felt it was, in the analysis, that it really was 4 really ample justification to restrict daytime through 5 hazmat shipments in downtown Boston because, as we 6 said, there was much greater risk by going through 7 Boston as opposed to going around. And, at night, 8 there is also ­­ it’s not as great ­­ but there is 9 justification for restricting through nighttime 10 traffic because there is a ratio of over two. That 11 makes two times the risk going through. 12 And, as indicated earlier, there was 13 really nothing in our analysis to say that local 14 shipments of hazardous material, say deliveries, you 15 know, within the City of Boston, there was nothing in 16 our analysis to say that that traffic should be 17 restricted, and nothing to say that it should be 18 restricted beyond the restrictions currently in place 19 under the permit system. 20 So, that’s a very quick summary. 21 THOMAS BRODERICK: Thank you, Art. 22 Next, I’d like to ask Commissioner 23 Thomas Tinlin from the Boston Transportation 24 Department to speak on behalf of the City of Boston as Arlington Reporting Company
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16 1 the agency that commissioned the study. 2 THOMAS TINLIN: I don’t get a chair? 3 THOMAS BRODERICK: You’re younger than 4 I am. 5 THOMAS TINLIN: And don’t be alarmed by 6 the number of pages in my remarks. The words are very 7 big so that I can read them. 8 Good evening. My name is Thomas 9 Tinlin. I’m Commissioner of the Boston Transportation 10 Department. And I’m here tonight to provide testimony 11 on behalf of Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino. 12 This testimony will lay out the City of 13 Boston’s public safety decision to seek and propose an 14 alternative highway route for the transportation of 15 hazardous materials to bypass the downtown and North 16 End neighborhood portion of the City of Boston when 17 neither the pick­up nor drop­off location for the 18 cargo is located in the City. 19 We all remember the events of 9/11, and 20 how they horrified and shocked the world. At that 21 time, governments around the globe began a determined 22 effort to ensure the safest environment possible for 23 all who live, work, and visit their cities. As a 24 massive undertaking began to harden targets of Arlington Reporting Company
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17 1 opportunity against terrorist attacks, simultaneously, 2 an equally important effort was underway to identify 3 and mitigate everyday hazards to our city that also 4 posed a very real risk to life, property, and economic 5 vitality. 6 The City of Boston participated in this 7 self­review along with almost every major city in the 8 country. One issue that stood out immediately was the 9 transport of hazardous materials through the City of 10 Boston, with hazmat cargo trucks using downtown 11 streets as shortcut for the sake of profit and 12 convenience for the trucking industry. 13 The completion of the Central 14 Artery/Tunnel Project and the depression of the 15 elevated John Fitzgerald Expressway and I­93 corridor 16 in downtown Boston, which previously served as the 17 designated hazardous materials route, transformed this 18 roadway into a tunnel from which hazardous materials 19 are excluded. As a result, those hazardous material 20 trucks that were once confined to the interstate 21 highway system were now re­routed to surface streets 22 in downtown Boston neighborhoods, bringing these 23 hazmat cargoes into much closer proximity to the 24 general population on and adjacent to these public Arlington Reporting Company
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18 1 2 ways. For many years, the Boston Fire 3 Department, under City regulations established in 4 1980, had regulated the transportation of certain 5 quantities of hazardous materials on our roadways and 6 had issued what were known as “cut through” permits to 7 the trucking industry, allowing them through access on 8 City streets where there was neither a point of origin 9 nor destination. 10 It is important to remember that these 11 permits were granted by the City purely as a 12 convenience measure for the trucking industry, not as 13 a right. In point of fact, the permits were granted 14 by the Fire Commissioner for the specific purpose of 15 authorizing these motor carriers to operate on City 16 streets in exception to the otherwise applicable 17 restrictions contained in the City’s regulations, but 18 only where “a compelling need” was shown by a company 19 and where transporting of hazardous materials was 20 found to be “in the public interest.” 21 It became clear that if these carriers 22 were not dropping­off or picking­up cargo in Boston, 23 the risk of having them on our streets in the densely 24 populated downtown neighborhoods was too great. We Arlington Reporting Company
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19 1 welcome, and continue to welcome, local deliveries by 2 trucks carrying hazardous materials necessary for the 3 daily operation of the multitude of public and private 4 buildings located within Boston. However, continuing 5 to accept the extra burden from cut­through vehicles, 6 with no business purpose for being in the City other 7 than operating convenience, presented an unreasonable 8 risk to the general public when safer routing 9 alternatives are readily available. 10 To provide the industry with an 11 opportunity to present its case on this issue, in 2006 12 we held individual hearings with all hazardous 13 material carriers that had previously been issued cut­
14 through permits for the downtown Boston area. It 15 should be noted that the City ordinance authorizing 16 the regulations that allowed these permits to be 17 issued where the motor carrier wished to operate their 18 vehicle in a manner inconsistent with the otherwise 19 applicable restrictions contained in the regulations, 20 clearly states that economic criteria “shall not”, not 21 “should not,” but “shall not,” be determinative of 22 whether or not an alternative route outside the City 23 is practical. Similar federal regulations state that 24 operating convenience of the motor carrier is not a Arlington Reporting Company
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20 1 basis for determining whether such an alternative 2 route is practical. 3 At the hearings, companies testified 4 before a committee made up of representatives from 5 Boston’s Transportation, Police, and Fire departments, 6 that if they were prohibited from cutting through the 7 City, their trips would be longer and more expensive. 8 This translates to operating convenience and economic 9 factors, the very two criteria that the City’s 10 permitting process clearly states the Fire 11 Commissioner shall not consider when deciding whether 12 or not to issue a permit. 13 While still focused on enhancing public 14 safety, the City of Boston wanted to be as helpful to 15 this important industry as possible. Therefore, 16 rather than applying the City’s 1980 regulations and 17 strictly imposing a 24x7­day­a­week ban on the use of 18 City streets, we opted in 2006 to implement a daytime 19 ban. This would prohibit the transport of hazardous 20 materials through the City during the period when our 21 population almost doubles due to commuters, tourists, 22 students, and others. At the same time, it would 23 allow the through movement of hazardous materials 24 between the hours of 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. to continue. Arlington Reporting Company
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21 1 Although this provided the industry with 10 hours each 2 day to cut­through downtown Boston, the decision did 3 not sit well with some folks who are in this room 4 tonight. Nevertheless, in a good faith attempt to 5 balance the public safety needs of the City with the 6 demands of the industry, the change went into effect 7 on July 3rd, 2006, and lasted for about four years,
8 with no complaint from the commonwealth, the federal
9 government, elected officials, or surrounding
10 11 communities. At the same time, to increase public 12 safety in connection with the transportation of 13 hazardous materials within the City, the City 14 determined that it was in the public interest and 15 prudent to adjust the local hazmat route, shifting 16 hazmat traffic from the temporary route during Central 17 Artery construction along Commercial Street to the 18 newly improved surface roadway and Cross Street 19 corridor, which, as the result of the Central Artery 20 Project, now encompassed better sight distance, 21 geometry, signalization, and lighting. It was also 22 shorter and a more direct route than the Commercial 23 Street segment it replaced. In disagreement with 24 these two changes, the American Trucking Association Arlington Reporting Company
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22 1 and the then Massachusetts Highway Department, 2 requested, and was granted, a preemption determination 3 from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The preemption decision was issued on 4 5 November 16, 2009, and, following a request for an 6 extension, became effective on July 1, 2010. In the 7 decision, the federal government indicated that it did 8 not necessarily disagree with the routing decisions 9 that had been made, but determined that the City of 10 Boston had not followed the proper process under 11 federal regulations before implementing this program. 12 Their rationale was that the City’s actions modifying 13 its past permitting practice and downtown route were 14 taken without the required study and consultative 15 process, and had created a de facto new route 16 designation. 17 We were surprised by this as the City 18 did not intend to designate an entirely new route but 19 to simply enforce a long standing local regulation 20 which allowed us to control the hours that these 21 vehicles were allowed to travel on the route which now 22 had been realigned to take advantage of improved 23 surface roadways within the same transportation 24 corridor. In any event, the federal government had Arlington Reporting Company
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23 1 made its ruling and the City was left with only two 2 options: one, allow trucks carrying hazardous 3 material to cut through the City every day of the 4 week, both day and night or, two, go through this 5 process as laid out by the Federal Motor Carrier 6 Safety Administration. The City chose the latter 7 course of action. 8 To comply with this request, the City 9 engaged the Battelle Memorial Institute, a 501(c)(3) 10 charitable trust headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, that 11 you heard from tonight. Battelle is an 12 internationally respected consulting firm that 13 specializes in hazardous materials transportation 14 analysis, risk assessment, and policy support. The 15 findings of this federally­mandated study were eye 16 opening. 17 As I said earlier, our plan was simply 18 to prohibit hazardous material from cutting through 19 the City during the day. This study, however, 20 demanded by the industry, concluded that the movement 21 of hazardous material trucks through the City of 22 Boston using the current downtown routing presents 23 significantly more risk to the general public, during 24 both the daytime and the nighttime, than available Arlington Reporting Company
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24 1 alternative routes that bypass the densely populated 2 downtown area of Boston. 3 In fact, the relative difference in 4 risk to the public between the routes was so 5 compelling, both day and night, that under the 6 established federal through routing criteria, the 7 length of the deviation on the proposed alternative 8 route did not have to be taken into account. The 9 proposed bypass route is that much safer. Faced with 10 conclusive evidence of unacceptable risk, the City now 11 had no choice but to pursue a nighttime restriction on 12 hazmat transportation as well. 13 The City of Boston has carefully and 14 meticulously completed what the federal and state 15 government, as well as the industry demanded of us. 16 It was a long and arduous process, but the City of 17 Boston got the job done. As the agency responsible 18 for designating hazardous cargo routes, it is now time 19 for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to 20 complete its job. The Commonwealth has invested 21 literally billions upon billions of dollars on our 22 interstate roadway system, including the ongoing 23 widening of Route 128, which is designed to promote 24 and enhance interstate and intrastate commerce and Arlington Reporting Company
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25 1 enhance highway transportation safety. The regional through transportation of 2 3 hazardous materials falls into this category. This 4 industry should be on that interstate roadway, pure 5 and simple, and not on routes that go through or near 6 heavily populated areas, places where crowds are 7 assembled, on crowded urban streets, especially where 8 alternative highway routes are demonstrated to be 9 safer and present significantly lower risk to the 10 general public. To allow this practice to continue 11 with this overwhelming evidence would be reckless and 12 ill­advised. 13 The industry demanded this process, but 14 now that they don’t like the results, they want a do 15 over. The industry will tell you it will cost them 16 too much in time and money, when, in fact, we are 17 talking about an estimated 22 minutes of increased 18 travel time in each direction. Imagine 22 minutes of 19 travel as opposed to thousands of lives unnecessarily 20 put at increased risk. They will tell you it is too 21 expensive, yet, Battelle’s report estimates the cost 22 will be less than one cent per gallon of product ­­ 23 less than a penny as opposed to putting thousands of 24 lives at risk on a daily basis. Arlington Reporting Company
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26 The industry will tell you that Boston 1 2 is better equipped in the event of a disaster. This 3 is probably the most insulting argument to date; when 4 you cannot make your case based on fact, make it 5 through fear. Industry figures show that an incident 6 involving hazmat transportation occurs on average once 7 for roughly every one million vehicle miles traveled. 8 Despite this data, a single crash of a truck 9 transporting hazmat in a crowded area has the 10 potential for deaths and injuries far beyond that of a 11 truck carrying non­hazmat cargo, which is why we are 12 here. 13 Recognizing the potential for severe 14 hazardous materials incidents underscores the need for 15 designating appropriate routes for the transportation 16 of hazardous materials, which is a key strategy for 17 increasing and ensuring public safety. An incident on 18 Route 128 is no doubt a disaster, but that same 19 incident in the heart of downtown Boston is nothing 20 short of a catastrophe that will exacerbate exposures 21 and have far reaching effects on life, property, and 22 the very economic vitality of our region. Also, as 23 you all know, Boston provides more emergency response 24 local aid than any other city or town in the Arlington Reporting Company
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27 1 Commonwealth, and that will not change. In 2009 we 2 were on scene at the tanker accident in Brown Circle 3 in Revere and in Saugus last month, so the argument 4 that Boston is better equipped to handle an event is 5 insulting on too many levels to get into here. 6 It is unfortunate that some would 7 attempt to make this an issue of Boston versus its 8 outlying communities and our suburban neighbors when 9 nothing could be further from the truth. The primary 10 criterion for a routing designation is that the 11 designated route significantly reduces public risk. 12 The federal standards for the highway routing of 13 hazardous materials place central importance upon 14 enhancing public safety. The federal routing 15 designation process we engaged in is expressly 16 designed to identify and evaluate roadway and 17 community characteristics that make one route 18 preferable to another from the perspective of 19 improving the overall public safety associated with 20 the transportation of hazardous materials. 21 Interstate routes that avoid populated 22 areas minimize these risks because of their better 23 safety records. It’s really a matter of minimizing 24 unnecessary risk to the greatest number of potentially Arlington Reporting Company
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28 1 exposed people in the areas most likely to experience 2 an accident involving a hazardous materials release. 3 In closing, Mayor Menino would like to 4 thank MassDOT, for holding these public hearings and 5 for working so closely with us on this issue. The 6 Mayor would also like to thank our elected leaders, 7 Senators Kerry and Brown, Congressmen Capuano and 8 Lynch, and the entire Boston Delegation at the State 9 House led by Representative Aaron Michlewitz, as well 10 as our local partner City Councilor Sal LaMattina and 11 all of the concerned residents and business people of 12 our city who have tirelessly focused on this danger. 13 The City of Boston’s public safety team 14 has been fully engaged on this issue for many years as 15 they strive to keep Boston and the region safe every 16 day. If their subject matter expertise is needed, 17 representatives from Boston’s Police and Fire 18 departments, as well as our Homeland Security Office, 19 are in attendance tonight, and will respond to any and 20 all questions and concerns after these hearings are 21 concluded. 22 Again, thank you, and we look forward 23 to hearing the testimony provided by others who are 24 here this evening. Arlington Reporting Company
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29 1 Thank you very much. 2 (Applause.) 3 THOMAS BRODERICK: Thank you, 4 5 Commissioner Tinlin. As you were coming in, we had a comment 6 sheet and a Notice of Public Hearing. If everyone 7 didn’t get one, we still have more available that you 8 can pick up later on on your way out if you didn’t get 9 them on the way in. We will be accepting all 10 comments. The written comments will be accepted until 11 close of business on September 23rd, 2011. And all 12 comments that are postmarked by September 23, 2011, 13 provided they’re postmarked, will be received 10 14 business days ­­ will be accepted 10 business days 15 after the close of the comment period. So, if you 16 don’t have ­­ if you don’t feel like submitting 17 comments tonight and you’d like to take some time to 18 think about it, as long as you get them postmarked 19 within 10 business days of September 23rd, those will 20 be accepted and part of the public record. 21 I’d like to lay down the ground rules 22 for tonight’s hearing. All speakers must sign in on 23 the speakers list in order to provide testimony. We 24 tried to grab as many people as we could on the way in Arlington Reporting Company
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30 1 to make them aware. If you haven’t, you can still 2 sign up over here over at this side of the room. 3 Speakers must speak into the microphone and provide 4 their name, home address, and affiliated organization 5 if applicable. Comments should be directed to the 6 hearing body. They should be relevant to the topic. 7 And they should not be personal in nature. Testimony 8 should be kept to three minutes or less to provide 9 everyone with an opportunity to speak. Please avoid 10 repetitive comments. If your comment was answered 11 during the introductory remarks, we request that you 12 defer in the interest of time. 13 And, as per MassDOT hearing procedures, 14 we’ll open up with any comment for federal elected 15 officials, followed by state elected officials, and 16 then we’ll open up the comments to people in the order 17 that they signed in on the sign­in sheets. 18 I’d also like to take this moment to 19 introduce Secretary Jeffrey Mullan who is also here 20 tonight to listen to the comments on this hearing. 21 (Applause.) 22 THOMAS BRODERICK: And, at this point, 23 I’ll turn it over to Donny Dailey, who will be making 24 sure everybody has the opportunity speak who signed Arlington Reporting Company
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31 1 off. And he’ll emcee the comment period. DONNY DAILEY: Thank you very much, 2 3 Tom. 4 To reiterate what Tom said, we do have 5 three elected officials here that I will call at this 6 moment to speak on behalf of their constituents prior 7 to calling the list. If, in fact, you haven’t signed 8 up to speak, you can. Just come up here. The page is 9 right here, folks. And you can sign up and we’ll take 10 11 you in that order. I’m calling on John Romano, sitting 12 next to the microphone. Raise your hand, John. He’ll 13 give you a reminder at the 30­second ­­ with 30 14 seconds to go if, in fact, you do go that long. 15 Right now, I’d like to call up your 16 State Representative Aaron Michlewitz from Boston. 17 Okay. And State Representative Aaron Michlewitz, 18 State Senator Anthony Petruccelli, and Boston City 19 Councilor Sal LaMattina. 20 STATE REPRESENTATIVE AARON MICHLEWITZ: 21 Okay. First, I want to say I want to thank Secretary 22 Mullan for his attention to this matter. And I look 23 forward to engaging in the coming months on this 24 issue. I want to thank you for allowing us to speak Arlington Reporting Company
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32 1 out of turn. I know there’s a lot of our constituents 2 here today and a lot of interested parties. And I 3 want to thank you for the opportunity to go first. 4 So, thank you. 5 We stand here today asking for the 6 Department of Transportation to support the findings 7 of the City of Boston Hazmat Route Evaluation Report 8 that Battelle completed in April of early this year. 9 Many people outside the North End/Waterfront believe 10 once the Central Artery came down and the Greenway was 11 built that the issues of the Big Dig were officially 12 over. But we in the North End and Waterfront know 13 that that is certainly not the case. Undeveloped 14 parcels, unfulfilled promises of a new community 15 center and supermarket, and, most visibly, hazmat 16 trucks barreling down Cross Street, and North 17 Washington Street, and Commercial Street leave much 18 work to be done. 19 For nearly 10 years now, we have 20 watched trucking routes change from one to another at 21 a confusing rate. The Federal Motor Carriers 22 Administration’s request that the City of Boston 23 complete a thorough study was much needed as it gave 24 us all an opportunity to obtain facts and figures to Arlington Reporting Company
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33 1 go along with a lot of the rhetoric that it had talked 2 about over the past decade. Through Battelle, the 3 City has done just that. In inspecting 18 different 4 potential routes from both north and southbound, 5 Battelle’s study took into account a number of 6 important variables when determining which route is 7 the safest. By using the 2008 Census data, the study 8 properly evaluated population density, school 9 population, hotel population, hospitals, nursing 10 homes, tourist population, and, most importantly, the 11 potential impact areas along each of these proposed 12 routes. The numbers speak for themselves. The routes 13 through downtown Boston are significantly more 14 dangerous than those that travel outside the city, and 15 specifically along I­95. Unless doing business in the 16 City limits, hazardous cargo does not belong in the 17 North End/Waterfront area, and hazardous cargo does 18 not belong in the City of Boston. 19 We all know about the recent tragedy 20 along Route 1 earlier this summer. And no one likes 21 to use an incident such as that to make a point. But, 22 imagine if such an accident had taken place on the 23 densely populated streets of Boston. 24 I’ve heard recently the arguments that Arlington Reporting Company
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34 1 making these routes longer could potentially lead to 2 higher prices for the consumer at the gas pump. That 3 is a debate I look forward to engaging in. Putting a 4 price tag on the safety and well being of the 5 residents of Boston and the residents of the North End 6 and Waterfront is both reckless and shortsighted. 7 I’ve also had significant doubts on how much of an 8 increase in overhead costs a route change would 9 actually have. Lastly, I want to thank the Mayor for 10 11 his diligence on this issue, and especially the Boston 12 Transportation Department and their Commissioner Tom 13 Tinlin, not just for his strong testimony today, but 14 for his tireless work on getting us to this point 15 today. I’m going to turn it over to my 16 17 colleague, Senator Anthony Petruccelli. STATE SENATOR ANTHONY PETRUCCELLI: 18 19 20 Thank you. Very briefly, Commissioner Tinlin 21 really did a wonderful job talking about the 22 particulars of why a lot of the people in this room, 23 if not all of them, support the proposal for the 24 redirected hazmat route. So, I’ll just briefly tough Arlington Reporting Company
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35 1 on, when I look at that map, a little bit of 2 challenges ahead for not necessarily you, Mr. 3 Secretary, but the incoming secretary, as you think 4 about the decision that you have to make. 5 You’re going to be going to other 6 communities to hear over the coming days and weeks. 7 And, as I look at that map, I grow a little concerned 8 that we’re outnumbered. There are more communities 9 that are going to have an opposition to this for one 10 reason or another. And I speak from some experience, 11 and Sal does as well, with some of the airport battles 12 that we had in the past. As Tommy mentioned, he 13 doesn’t want to make it an us versus them issue, but I 14 have a fear that sometimes these issues become that. 15 And I want to avoid that because as I look at those 16 numbers, we can’t win. But if you look at the 17 reality, if you look at the report that was done and 18 the fact, the fact is on our side. 19 And I don’t blame ­­ I have good 20 friends and colleagues that will testify I’m sure in 21 Quincy, and in Waltham, and in Stoneham over the 22 coming days. And I respect what they have to do. And 23 I respect people who live in these outlying 24 communities, that they don’t want trucks coming on the Arlington Reporting Company
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36 1 highway. But that’s where they belong. If trucks are 2 too dangerous to be coming through the tunnels, 3 they’re too dangerous to be coming through the 4 community in the North End in Boston. 5 And I’d just ask you to please consider 6 that in mind as you go through the coming weeks, 7 because I won’t be surprised if these rooms are filled 8 like this in those other places asking you to oppose 9 it. But you should not do that. The fact is on our 10 side and I urge your consideration for the proposal. 11 Thank you. 12 CITY COUNCILOR SAL LAMATTINA: Good 13 evening. Mr. Secretary, thank you for being here 14 today, Mr. Chairman. Just for the record, I did send 15 a letter in regards to my concerns. I do have two 16 pages here, but the Senator and the Representative 17 expressed my concerns as well as the people that we 18 represent. Commissioner Tinlin, thank you for the 19 remarks on behalf of the Mayor. 20 You know, I’ve been working in the City 21 of Boston, particularly the North End, since 1987. 22 And when we were going through the Central Artery 23 Project, my neighborhood in the North End, that was 24 one of the concerns in the early 1990s about the Arlington Reporting Company
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37 1 hazmat routes once the tunnel was completed. I’m here because this concern is a 2 3 quality of life. The people that live in my district, 4 every night they go to bed in fear that they may wake 5 up to a disaster that just happened in Saugus and what 6 happened to Everett. And when you’re talking about 7 these truck routes, this is their front yard all along 8 the streets. And I challenge you here today to sit at 9 the Rose Kennedy Greenway any night and just watch 10 those trucks go zooming by, particularly late at 11 night. I challenge you to sit in Joanne Fracesa’s 12 house on North Washington Street, and how her kitchen 13 shakes when these trucks go by. So, this is a serious 14 concern for the people that live in the North End and 15 in Charlestown. These trucks do not belong on our local 16 17 streets. And, God forbid, God forbid if there was 18 ever an accident like I just mentioned in Revere, or 19 in Saugus. Many, many people would probably lose 20 their lives. 21 So, I thank you for being here tonight. 22 I ask that you listen to the concerns of the people 23 that live in my district because this is a very big 24 concern. It’s a quality of life issue for those Arlington Reporting Company
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38 1 people. 2 Thank you. 3 (Applause.) 4 DONNY DAILEY: The next speaker will be 5 Anne Lynch from the Massachusetts Motor Transportation 6 Association. 7 ANNE LYNCH: Good evening. Thank you 8 very much for giving us the opportunity. My name is 9 Anne Lynch from Mass. Motor Transportation 10 Association. I serve as the executive director there. 11 And our address is 10 Liberty Square in Boston where 12 we’ve been for 11 years. So, we, too, are Boston 13 residents. 14 Thank you very much, Chairman 15 Broderick, for this meeting, and certainly to 16 Secretary Mullan for attending to hear our points. 17 We have never felt that the issue of a 18 truck route was about convenience. We have always 19 felt that the issue of a truck route is about safety, 20 public safety, trucker safety, and efficient delivery 21 of essential commodities to the citizens of 22 Massachusetts. As noted by Chairman Broderick 23 tonight, the primary loads that are being carried by 24 trucks are gasoline, diesel fuel, and home heating Arlington Reporting Company
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39 1 oil, all of them essential to all the citizens of 2 Massachusetts. 3 The Association represents trucking of 4 all forms throughout the state. We are a statewide 5 organization, the only one that represents commercial 6 transportation here. And, we deliver to your homes 7 and your businesses. 94.8 percent of all goods in 8 Massachusetts are delivered by truck. Of the four 9 modalities, rail, air, sea, and truck, in 10 Massachusetts we deliver just under 95 percent of 11 everything to our citizens. So, we take very 12 seriously the issue of bringing all that you need, 13 from your bananas to your heating oil, from your baby 14 diapers to anything else that you see or touch, to 15 your homes and businesses in Mass. 16 Eighty­four percent more miles have 17 been added to truck delivery over the last 20 years. 18 During that time, a 41 percent reduction of truck 19 accidents has occurred. These stats are easily 20 available from Federal Highway and others who have 21 conducted these kinds of studies. The very simple 22 matter is less time, less distance on the road, 23 creates greater public safety. And the proposal here 24 tonight would take a route, and that route would be Arlington Reporting Company
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40 1 from Boston to Braintree that is currently nine miles 2 long, and turn it into a 53­ to 57­mile one­way route. 3 That is significantly more ­­ that is significantly 4 more time than we would normally have. And I’ll tell 5 you, if you can get down 128 in 20 minutes, I’m 6 following you because I’ve done it a thousand times 7 and we’ve never been able to do that. Our concern for trucker safety ­­ 80 8 9 percent of accidents involving trucks, according to a 10 recent study by AAA, American Automobile Association, 11 are caused by cars. So, our concern is for trucker 12 safety because when those accidents occur, the most 13 likely person to die in that accident, as we’ve seen 14 in recent accidents, is the truck driver, even when 15 caused by the Honda cutting him off. The truck driver 16 is the person who dies. So, trucker safety for us is 17 absolutely tantamount to the things that we need to 18 do. 19 Tonight we’re announcing that we have 20 hired a nationally renowned independent research firm 21 to review the Battelle study, to come up with our 22 concerns about going in environmentally sensitive 23 areas around 128, around drinking water supplies, 24 around a road that has been recently deemed to have Arlington Reporting Company
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41 1 130 percent of capacity. We are fraught with high 2 speeds on highways when it’s not congested, and we 3 have an average of about eight to 10 miles an hour 4 with traffic lights every block going through the 5 city. It is virtually impossible to roll a truck over 6 at 8 to 10 miles an hour. So, trucker safety is also 7 a big part of what we do. 8 We, too, thank the MassDOT folks, the 9 City of Boston for going through the steps necessary 10 to make an accurate and qualified study. We do have 11 exceptions with some of the issues raised by the 12 Battelle report. We will include our expert report as 13 part of our written testimony prior to the deadline. 14 And we are deeply concerned that we are dedicated to 15 providing safe, efficient transportation of essential 16 commodities to all of you folks. We look forward to working with you, 17 18 and thank you very much. 19 (Applause.) 20 DONNY DAILEY: The next speaker is Deb 21 Boronski of the Massachusetts Chamber of Business and 22 Industry. 23 24 DEBRA BORONSKI: Gentlemen, thank you for allowing me the opportunity to testify this Arlington Reporting Company
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42 1 evening. And, for the record, my name is Debra 2 Boronski. I am the president of the Massachusetts 3 Chamber. And I am here representing my members, of 4 which there are over 900 from throughout the 5 Commonwealth, in opposition of the City’s proposed 6 hazardous material truck route. The Massachusetts Chamber is your state 7 8 chamber. We are missioned to advocate, inform, and 9 educate our members with regard to issues that can 10 affect their ability to do business in the 11 Commonwealth. Our business members are from 12 throughout the Commonwealth, from the Berkshires all 13 the way here to Boston. And we are very concerned 14 about what’s going to take place with this proposed 15 change. We have an office here in Boston at 60 16 17 State Street. And we also have an office in Western 18 Mass. 19 We have three primary concerns with 20 this. First is the potential increased cost to 21 business. Diverting the truck route means more miles, 22 which means more diesel fuel, which means more and 23 longer trips. The hazmat carriers will undoubtedly 24 have to increase their costs. And guess who’s going Arlington Reporting Company
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43 1 to pay? You are going to pay because the 2 businesspeople are going to have to increase their 3 costs. We know that the business community is the 4 crux for all job creation and growth throughout the 5 Commonwealth. They cannot afford any increases 6 whatsoever. Our second concern is with regard to 7 8 delays in service and congestion. Trucks will be 9 using Route 128, already heavily trafficked, during 10 bad weather, with 24­7 traffic. It could be days 11 before businesses and residents receive important 12 business ­­ receive heating oil and other services 13 needed. 14 Our businesses also are concerned 15 because their employees use Route 128 to get to their 16 companies. This congestion will automatically 17 continue to cause slowdown and congestion for 18 businesses when trying to get their employees to work. 19 I’d finally like to say that 20 Massachusetts does not need to add anymore taxes or 21 concerns on the business person, nor do we need to 22 give them more reason for considering alternative 23 places to do business. We have many challenges 24 keeping our businesses here in Massachusetts. We do Arlington Reporting Company
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44 1 not need to burden them further. And I would like to thank you for 2 3 listening to my comments, and would be happy to answer 4 any questions. 5 Thank you. 6 (Applause.) 7 DONNY DAILEY: The next speaker is John 8 Hamel from J&S Transport. JOHN HAMEL: I would like to thank you 9 10 for the opportunity to testify in opposition to 11 Boston’s proposed ban on through traffic hazardous 12 materials. My name is John Hamel. My wife Sharon and 13 I own J&S Transport Company located at 12 Washington 14 Street in Lynn. We operate a fleet of tank 15 transports, employing 20 drivers. Our primary 16 commodity is gasoline, diesel fuel, and heating oil. 17 And we operate around the clock. A little of my experience. I 18 19 personally drove in and out of Boston and around Route 20 128 for 25 years of my life. We have been in business 21 since 1992. 22 So, the topics of discussion here are 23 how do we get from Point A, the loading terminals in 24 Everett, Revere, and Chelsea, to Point B, points south Arlington Reporting Company
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45 1 of the City. Federal regulations for through routing, 2 397.71, were developed to ensure the continuity of 3 movement as not to impede or unnecessarily delay the 4 transportation of non­radioactive hazardous materials. 5 This proposed ban affects all of those. It affects 6 the continuity, it impedes the deliveries, and 7 certainly delays the transportation of non­radioactive 8 hazardous materials. 9 So, the benefits of the Boston route ­­ 10 it is a very direct route. What we’re talking about 11 here is 1.5 miles, and that is according to GPS, which 12 is equipped in each and every one of our trucks, 1.5 13 miles to rejoin Interstate 93 south of Kneeland Street 14 at an average speed of eight to 15 miles per hour with 15 control signals, stop lights, traffic controls. It’s 16 a very slow speed route. And the risk of an accident 17 taking place, a major accident, is very slim. 18 Reduced exposure. We all know that the 19 less time traveling on the road, the less chance there 20 is for a serious accident. Now, to my knowledge, and 21 that is 25 years of driving through the City of Boston 22 and around Route 128, I am unaware and would like 23 anyone be able to tell me of a major accident or major 24 spill involving a gasoline or heating oil truck on the Arlington Reporting Company
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46 1 proposed hazmat route. I am unaware of any. Excuse me. Response time by emergency 2 3 personnel. Boston is the primary responder to an 4 incident of this nature. Boston did respond to the 5 tanker rollover in Saugus. And if there was a major 6 accident along 128, the local fire departments could 7 perhaps contain the incident and wait for Boston to 8 show up with the foam, the proper foam. The downside to Route 128, the delays 9 10 in shipment, 53 miles. Now, 53 miles traveled in the 11 wintertime, in the snow, as a driver I dread that trip 12 each and every time. Now, 53 miles each way is 13 actually unacceptable and putting the lives of our 14 drivers and the general public around them in harms 15 way. Communities not prepared. Once again, 16 17 we met with fire chiefs from various communities in 18 2008, and they informed us that they were not prepared 19 nor did they know they had the extra traffic coming 20 from Boston. 21 Road designs. Studies have shown that 22 Route 128 operates at 130 percent capacity. If we add 23 more tanker trucks to that already stretched roadway, 24 it’s a recipe for disaster. Arlington Reporting Company
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47 Natural resources. If a tanker truck 1 2 was to roll over and the product was to go into three 3 drinking sources, the City of Cambridge, the City of 4 Boston, and others would be affected and have no 5 drinking water for quite a period of time I’m sure. Hours of service. Drivers, commercial 6 7 drivers, are only allowed to drive so many hours 8 according to federal regulations. If we have to pull 9 our drivers off the road and they cannot complete 10 their trips, we are going to need more trucks to 11 accomplish the same amount of work. So, now we’re 12 perhaps doubling the trucks onto 128 that’s already at 13 capacity. 14 So, with that, I will wrap it up. And 15 I would like to thank MassDOT for allowing me to speak 16 here this evening, and respectfully ask that you do 17 not approve Boston’s hazardous material route. And if 18 anyone has any questions, I would be more than happy 19 to answer them. 20 Thank you. 21 (Applause.) 22 JOHN ROMANO: Can I remind people we 23 want to keep the remarks to three minutes or less? 24 There are a lot of people who want to speak. And, Arlington Reporting Company
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48 1 Donny, maybe we can call up like three speakers at a 2 time and save some time with them getting on. DONNY DAILEY: Okay. The next three 3 4 speakers are Larry Noonan from J.P. Noonan, Monica 5 Tibbits from the 128 Business Council, and Brendan 6 O’Brien is listed as a resident. If those three folks 7 could step to the microphone, I’d appreciate it. 8 Thank you. 9 LARRY NOONAN: Thank you for the 10 opportunity to testify in opposition to the City of 11 Boston’s proposal to export the risk of hazmat 12 transport to 23 communities along Route 128, banning 13 through traffic of hazardous materials. My name is 14 Larry Noonan. I’m here today representing J.P. Noonan 15 Transportation, a safe, federally, state, and locally 16 regulated transporter of hazardous materials and other 17 needed commodities throughout the Commonwealth. 18 We’re located in West Bridgewater, 19 Mass. We’ve been transporting hazardous materials 20 through Boston for just under 50 years now. The 21 company was started by my brother Peter ­­ it’s a 22 family run operation ­­ in 1962. We’ve had good luck 23 transporting hazmat through the City without incident. 24 And I’m happy to be here to testify this evening. Arlington Reporting Company
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49 1 It’s a very serious issue. It’s not as much a matter 2 of economics for business as it is safety. We’re 3 concerned for those of us around us on the highway. 4 And, as John just stated, the travel through that 5 short distance of downtown Boston is so much slower 6 than 128 traffic, and so much safer because of that 7 and because of the stop lights. 8 Our drivers are federally approved. 9 They’re CDL drivers with hazmat training. And they 10 are also endorsed with a tanker license so that the 11 training they receive is much more specific than the 12 training that a typical truck driver might experience. 13 Because of that, our safety record speaks for itself. 14 I won’t go into the extent of the 15 routes, the extra mileage traveled. We have a lot 16 speakers here tonight. But I will just say a typical 17 route from Boston to Brockton straight through is 24 18 miles, around up 93 to Woburn, around 128, is 63 19 miles. On a roundtrip basis, that’s 126 miles 20 compared to 48 as a direct route. We seriously 21 question the Battelle study with the time involved in 22 making that extra travel, especially in the 23 wintertime. A load to Cohasset, 26 miles direct, 73 24 miles around Boston. That’s 146 miles compared to 52. Arlington Reporting Company
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50 1 If you look at Plymouth, we can go from the terminals 2 to Plymouth direct in 40 miles. Around 128, 87 miles, 3 totaling 174 going around to 80 straight through. 4 Which of the two routes is safer? And that’s our 5 major concern. It’s not the economics, it’s just from 6 Point A to Point B the shortest distance is the safest 7 one. 8 9 Thank you for the chance to testify this evening. I appreciate it. And if anyone has any 10 questions, I’ll be happy to answer them. 11 Thank you. 12 (Applause.) 13 DONNY DAILEY: Monica Tibbits from the 14 15 128 Business Council. MONICA TIBBITS: Thank you for the 16 opportunity to testify in opposition of the ban this 17 evening. My name is Monica Tibbits and I’m the 18 executive director of the 128 Business Council. 19 The 128 Business Council is a nonprofit 20 public transit provider working within the 128 21 corridor. We have been providing shuttle connections 22 to MBTA hubs for employees of the 128 corridor for 23 over 27 years. Last year alone, we were responsible 24 for over 500,000 trips on Route 128. We use the route Arlington Reporting Company
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51 1 the City of Boston is proposing every single day. The 2 capacity on this roadway is already at 130 percent, 3 greatly impacting the flow of traffic on 128. We are 4 already dealing with congestion that brings daily 5 commutes to a standstill. We cannot handle any more 6 traffic in our already overtaxed roadway. We are 7 asking that MassDOT not pursue this new route 8 designation as it will continue to disable a roadway 9 that is already failing. 10 As one of the previous speakers spoke 11 about, this past winter was one of the worst winters 12 that we’ve ever seen on Route 128. For the first time 13 in 27 years, we had to close down our operations, 14 which means that 50 to 60 companies could not get any 15 of their employees in. That is how bad 128 has 16 become. And it’s going to be even worse as we go 17 forward. Even in the summer, when traditionally we 18 see traffic drop off, we’ve actually seen it increase. 19 So I can only imagine what it’s going to look like 20 going into this fall with all of the new students back 21 in school, and especially going into this winter, that 22 it’s promising to be just as bad as last winter if not 23 worse. 24 So, I urge you to please, please Arlington Reporting Company
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52 1 reconsider this. And if anybody has any questions, 2 please see me after the hearing. And, thank you 3 again. 4 (Applause.) 5 BRENDAN O’BRIEN: My name is Brendan 6 O’Brien. I’m a resident of Boston’s North End. I 7 don’t know if I can say much more than what Mr. Tinlin 8 said in his fine discussion as well as the Battelle 9 study, but I do want to make a few points. And that 10 is, one, I fully support Boston’s proposed routing 11 designation, and I request that MassDOT also support 12 the designation. 13 Now, we’ve heard a lot of numbers here 14 today and statistics. And while they’re all fact­
15 based and, you know, it’s hard to argue against that, 16 I think it’s important to keep other things in mind, 17 and one is that Route 95/128 is part of the Interstate 18 Highway System. It was built and is maintained to 19 carry trucks. It is multi­lane. It has a breakdown 20 and emergency lane specifically designated for that 21 use. It has wide open median strips. It has sound 22 barriers to mitigate the noise situation. It has 23 drainage that’s being put in as we sit here now to 24 mitigate any spills and carry anything that goes from Arlington Reporting Company
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53 1 the spills along the highway. And I think along those 2 drinking water supplies, specific drainages were put 3 in years ago to make sure nothing that was spilled on 4 the roadway got into those reservoirs. 5 What Route 128 and Route 95 doesn’t 6 have is crosswalks. They don’t have traffic lights. 7 They don’t have pedestrians, thousands of pedestrians 8 or children. They don’t have residences, businesses, 9 office buildings within 12, to 15, or 20 feet of the 10 nearest travel lane. They don’t have tour buses, 11 Segways, bicycles. There are no historical sites. 12 There are no playgrounds, no ball fields, no swimming 13 pools. 128 and 95 was built for commercial use. 14 Thank you very much. 15 (Applause.) 16 DONNY DAILEY: The next three speakers: 17 Stephanie Hogue, Nancy Brennan, and Evvajean Mintz. 18 STEPHANIE HOGUE: Good evening. My 19 name is Stephanie Hogue. I’m the president of the 20 North End/Waterfront Residents Association. My 21 address is 7 Henchman Street, apartment 402, Boston. 22 My home is the North End. The North 23 End is a community of approximately 11,000 people 24 living in an area that is a little larger than a Arlington Reporting Company
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54 1 quarter of a square mile. To give you some 2 comparisons, Somerville, which is the densest city in 3 the state, has a population density less than half 4 that of the North End. So, I’m going to ask you to 5 follow me here in a little thought experiment, and I 6 pose this to the people who will ultimately be making 7 the decision about whether or not to accept this 8 rerouting of hazardous material. 9 Let’s imagine the accidents that 10 occurred in Everett a couple of years ago and the 11 accident that occurred in Saugus last month occurring 12 in the North End. In Everett, the flammable material 13 flowed down the street and ignited the cars exploding 14 them. Have you ever tried to park in the North End? 15 Most of our streets are narrow, old city, one­way 16 streets. They are lined with cars. In the accident 17 in Saugus, the flammable material flowed into a creek. 18 We don’t have a creek, but we have highway tunnels and 19 we have storm sewers that run under the entire North 20 End and drain into the harbor. The affected area from 21 the Saugus accident was approximately one­square mile. 22 Superimpose that over the larger, slightly larger than 23 one­quarter mile North End, and you have an accident 24 that has obliterated the homes of 11,000 people and Arlington Reporting Company
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55 1 who knows how many people burned or killed given the 2 tourist density in our neighborhood during the day and 3 even at night. 4 Now, picture yourselves in court a 5 couple of years after the media circus that would 6 follow that event. And picture yourselves on the 7 witness stand, and Exhibit A of the class action 8 attorney is the Battelle study. And you are asked why 9 in the face of federal regulations that require 10 population safety be the primary consideration you 11 chose to ignore a risk that was four times greater. 12 JOHN ROMANO: Thirty seconds. 13 STEPHANIE HOGUE: Thank you, John. 14 Four times greater. Why? Because it 15 16 was cost­effective. Just to give you a little perspective, 17 the last big catastrophe in the North End was 92 years 18 ago, the molasses tank explosion where 21 people were 19 killed and 150 were injured. The out of court 20 settlement for that in today’s dollars would be $60 21 million. Faced with this study and the potential for 22 human life and property damage and the loss of an 23 entire neighborhood, do you still think it would be 24 cost­effective? Arlington Reporting Company
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56 1 Thank you. 2 (Applause.) 3 DONNY DAILEY: Nancy Brennan of the 4 5 Greenway Conservancy. NANCY BRENNAN: Mr. Chairman, Mr. 6 Secretary, I’m here to testify on behalf of the 7 support of the City’s request for a new route. 8 9 The Greenway Conservancy manages the Greenway on behalf of the Commonwealth. The parkland 10 now welcomes over a million visitors. But the 11 question in front of you is really the use of this 12 whole area of the City and whether it’s appropriate 13 for these truck routes. 14 The elevated expressway that once 15 carried these trucks was taken down to both create the 16 parkland and safer and more attractive surface street 17 conditions, particularly in these densely populated 18 neighborhoods. However, these same streets are the 19 current route of these trucks. 20 The Greenway Conservancy respectfully 21 asks your favorable consideration to alter these truck 22 routes now. And I’ll submit the rest of my testimony. 23 24 Thank you. (Applause.) Arlington Reporting Company
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57 1 DONNY DAILEY: Evvajean Mintz. 2 EVVAJEAN MINTZ: Evvajean Mintz. 3 DONNY DAILEY: Evvajean Mintz, I 4 apologize, of 63 Atlantic Avenue. EVVAJEAN MINTZ: Exactly. Everybody 5 6 does that. I would like to support your 7 8 recommendation. I’d like to commend the City of 9 Boston for observing the obvious and supporting the 10 neighborhood that we all live in. I would like to 11 point out the property values of our neighborhood have 12 risen steadily over the years. We have very high­end 13 hotels, several now within feet of my apartment. 14 These hotels and the increased property value of the 15 City of Boston will plummet with one accident, with 16 one death, with one maiming, with one explosion. 17 There are economics on both sides here. I feel very bad for the truckers. I 18 19 wish 128 had expanded. I also wish we had alternative 20 energy and we didn’t need these hazardous materials. 21 But life is what it is. I can’t believe 128 is more 22 congested than Surface Road, which I traverse on a 23 regular basis going much slower than five miles an 24 hour. Arlington Reporting Company
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58 1 So, I hope that you’ll stick to your 2 guns here, continue to do what was obviously right 3 from the very beginning, and I congratulate you. 4 Thank you. 5 (Applause.) 6 DONNY DAILEY: The next three speakers 7 are as follows: Joanne Prevost­Anzalone, Paul Foster, 8 and Amy Jarvis. 9 JOANNE PREVOST­ANZALONE: Hi. I’m 10 Joanne Prevost­Anzalone. I’m representing the North 11 End Business Community. And we have been meeting now 12 for a couple of years on this issue. And the one 13 thing I heard here tonight, which I never heard at any 14 of our meetings, was cost. Cost was something we 15 never discussed because as far as I’m concerned it’s 16 not an issue. Safety is the issue. 17 We fully support all the speakers who 18 have come up so far to give their approval to the 19 proposal that’s been submitted tonight. We want this 20 to happen. It should happen. It’s the fair thing. 21 But the bottom line is, I’d just like to ask one 22 question, how many here in this room support this 23 proposal? So, you can see overwhelmingly in this room 24 it’s supported, and I hope you will, too. Arlington Reporting Company
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59 1 Thank you. 2 (Applause.) 3 DONNY DAILEY: Paul Foster of 540 4 5 Commercial Street. PAUL FOSTER: Thank you very much. And 6 I want to thank the City for their diligence in this 7 matter. Mr. Secretary, thank you. 8 I just wanted to make one point, and 9 that’s regarding the TD Garden. I don’t know if 10 anybody has mentioned that. But we do have about 11 1,360,000 people that attend that facility in the 12 course of the year. So, I would be very grateful if 13 you would make a note of that. 14 (Applause.) 15 DONNY DAILEY: Amy Jarvis of 87 River 16 17 Street in Cambridge. AMY JARVIS: Hi, Mr. Chairman and 18 Secretary. I’m here to represent the potential 19 flooding outward if any, either alternative happens. 20 Living ­­ we just recently relocated to River Street 21 in Cambridge, which during the daytime I can 22 understand lots of traffic and trucks moving through 23 to get commerce through, but I didn’t realize there 24 was a late, late night barreling of many hazardous Arlington Reporting Company
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60 1 trucks coming through already. And I’m concerned, 2 one, which I’m already in conversation with Cambridge 3 Department of Transportation to try to address some of 4 that, but the potential for people to find alternative 5 routes. So, what I’m not hearing in any of this 6 meeting is how some of that will be regulated. How 7 will the cutoffs or changes be addressed if there are 8 going to be alternatives? Thank you. 9 10 (Applause.) 11 DONNY DAILEY: The next three speakers: 12 Joanne Hayes­Rines, Craig Fossa, and Matt Conti. JOANNE HAYES­RINES: Good evening. My 13 14 name is Joanne Hayes­Rines. And I am a resident of 15 Harbor Towers since 1996. And these are two towers on 16 the waterfront in Boston that house approximately 17 1,200 people. 18 I think it’s pretty obvious to 19 everybody that really nobody wants these trucks. But 20 when you have federal guidelines that have established 21 13 criteria to determine what is the safest route, and 22 that the route through our neighborhood ­­ and that’s 23 truly what it is is a neighborhood. We bring in 24 thousands of tourists every year, but we have such a Arlington Reporting Company
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61 1 community of people. No neighborhood in America would 2 want these trucks. And our roads are very tight as 3 everyone has said. One thing I think that no one has 4 said is we’ve had a lot of development. The Greenway 5 is fabulous. It’s attracting more and more people. 6 But that’s not going to stop. There’s more and more 7 development that’s going to happen. We’ll have more 8 condos not fewer. We’ll have more traffic, not less. 9 We’ll have more people on the Greenway and in the 10 North End, not less. The study looked at today’s 11 evidence and said four times more dangerous. In five 12 years, it could be six times more dangerous. But you 13 have to look at today’s numbers. And, based on that, 14 I don’t see how you would have any decision to make 15 but to say, unfortunately for the truckers, they have 16 to go around 128. 17 Thank you very much. 18 (Applause.) 19 DONNY DAILEY: Craig Fossa. 20 CRAIG FOSSA: Everybody, my name is 21 Craig Fossa. I live at 30 Iroquois Street on Mission 22 Hill in Roxbury, Boston, Massachusetts. I’m here 23 tonight at this public hearing to say that all 24 hazardous trucks should be banned on the streets of Arlington Reporting Company
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62 1 Boston because it poses a public risk. People get 2 killed. And people ­­ and safety is of number one 3 importance, just like everyone in this room. And I’ve 4 taken Amtrak, a daytrip to New York City, Seacoast New 5 Hampshire, and Maine, lots of times. And I’ve taken 6 Amtrak to Washington, DC lots of times. And I’ve come 7 back to North Station or South Station and I’ve been 8 under the Big Dig tunnels. And, frankly, the Big Dig 9 tunnels scare me because five years ago a Jamaica 10 Plain woman was killed. So if I come back ­­ if I 11 come back from New York, or Washington, DC, or 12 anywhere across the country, I will take the City 13 streets because the construction company who did the 14 construction work on the Big Dig should be held 15 morally and legally responsible. And they should pay 16 steeper fines. And they should pay for the cost, not 17 the taxpayers. 18 I hope you will support this proposal 19 to ban hazardous trucks on the City streets and to ­­ 20 and to make the construction company who has 21 constructed the Big Dig pay heavy fines and pay for 22 the costs not the taxpayers. 23 24 Thank you very much, everybody. (Applause.) Arlington Reporting Company
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63 1 2 DONNY DAILEY: Matt Conti of Northendwaterfront.com. 3 MATT CONTI: Good evening. Thank you 4 for the opportunity to speak tonight. I am a member 5 of North End/Waterfront HazMat Task Force, an informal 6 group of residents and business owners that have been 7 working on this issue for quite a long time. I am 8 also the editor of Northendwaterfront.com. And, most 9 importantly, I am a resident of Commercial Street. My 10 building is approximately 12 feet from a designated 11 route in Boston. And, yes, we do live in fear. 12 I’m here tonight to simply ask state 13 officials to take the actions spelled out by the 14 federal routing criteria. You have the data. There’s 15 182 pages of it. I speak in strong support of the 16 City of Boston’s proposal. Because the routes through 17 Boston present more than a 50 percent greater risk 18 than using Route 128, the highway route should become 19 the designated hazmat route “regardless of length and 20 circuitry.” That is the federal routing criteria. 21 Routes through Boston, including the North End and 22 Waterfront “demonstrate significantly increased risk 23 by hazmat cargoes.” There is ample justification to 24 restrict hazmat shipments through downtown Boston. Arlington Reporting Company
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64 1 Nothing in the report, and I will quote from what 2 Battelle said, “restricts the local delivery of 3 gasoline, diesel fuel, and fuel oil within the City of 4 Boston.” The analysis actually goes further, and this 5 is a point that was not brought up by Battelle in 6 their statement, but is in their report, that because 7 there are uncertainties in any risk assessment, it’s 8 “an analysis of an analysis.” There is no “reasonable 9 change in the route parameters that would change the 10 routing conclusions.” The conclusions are extremely 11 strong, especially for daytime routing, with four 12 times the risk ratio. That’s four times the risk of 13 using downtown Boston versus the highways and 128, as 14 close as you can get to a 100 percent confidence level 15 from a statistical basis. Even at night, the risk 16 ratio is a 95 percent confidence level, and the risk 17 ratio is 2.2 times the risk. Any reasonable estimate 18 would keep the nighttime risk ratio above 1.5 times. 19 That is the federal routing criteria, thus, well above 20 what is required for you to do in your decision. 21 In terms of the ­­ there was also an 22 unreasonable burden analysis in the report. And, as 23 some of the elected officials said, the increase in 24 operating costs is estimated to be $162 a day for a Arlington Reporting Company
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65 1 hazmat truck. And I believe that’s for 10 round trips 2 during the day for one truck. That equates to less 3 than .1 cent per gallon if applied to the residents 4 around Route 128, and it’s probably less than that. 5 The costs are negligible and certainly insignificant. 6 The cost in economic factors don’t even come into play 7 here. So I hope you won’t be fooled by that smoke and 8 mirrors. 9 Also, you know, this is a public safety 10 no brainer. You know, the North End/Waterfront HazMat 11 Task Force was pleased to have submitted not just the 12 quantitative input as well as the subjective data that 13 many of my neighbors have already stated, and I won’t 14 repeat again. We implore MassDOT as the state’s 15 routing agency to redesignate the hazmat truck route 16 with through vehicles off of our city neighborhood 17 streets and out of one of the densest areas of the 18 state, if not the country, to the much safer highways 19 around Boston. 20 Thank you. 21 (Applause.) 22 DONNY DAILEY: The next three speakers 23 will be Richard Dimino, Donna Freni, and Sandra 24 Harcourt. Richard Dimino is from A Better City. Arlington Reporting Company
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66 1 RICHARD DIMINO: Thank you, Mr. 2 Chairman and panel as well as Secretary Mullan, 3 Commissioner Tinlin for your comments earlier. 4 My name is Richard Dimino. I’m the 5 president and CEO of A Better City. And I’m speaking 6 on behalf of our organization in full support of the 7 City of Boston’s proposed routing for trucks carrying 8 hazardous materials. 9 We believe the hazmat route evaluation 10 prepared for the City of Boston by Battelle Memorial 11 Institute clearly demonstrates that the safety risks 12 associated with routing hazmat deliveries through 13 downtown Boston is far greater than for routes that 14 circulate the city via Route 128 or other highways. 15 A Better City is a business 16 association. We represent Great Boston’s business and 17 institutional communities on matters that relate to 18 transportation, land development, and the environment. 19 If you will, we represent the major economic drivers 20 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 21 This summer, we have seen continuing 22 flourishing activity and population growth in the 23 financial district and the Greenway as a destination 24 for residents, workers, and tourists alike. The food Arlington Reporting Company
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67 1 trucks, and the bicycle program, and the opening of 2 the Harbor Island Pavilions have all served to help 3 activate the Greenway Corridor. This has increased 4 pedestrian and bicycle traffic in the very surface 5 roads currently being used to transport hazardous 6 materials through the cities. These routes are also 7 lined with major commercial, residential, and cultural 8 properties, the latter of which are among Boston’s 9 most popular tourist attractions. Finally, the routes 10 are in close proximity to the MBTA facilities, North 11 Station, South Station, are directly above the Central 12 Artery and numerous underground utilities. These are 13 all serious safety issues that we need to be concerned 14 with, and that’s why we’re supporting the City of 15 Boston’s proposal. 16 Given the significant higher accident 17 rate on surface streets compared to highways, as 18 documented by the Battelle report, and given the 19 catastrophic consequences of an incident in downtown 20 Boston, we strongly support the City of Boston’s 21 proposed 24­hour ban on hazmat through­trips on city 22 streets. We believe the City’s report clearly shows 23 the increased risk of permitting hazardous through 24 routes along Boston streets, and more than justifies Arlington Reporting Company
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68 1 prohibiting such routing. We also want to state that this isn’t a 2 3 Boston versus the rest of the state issue. This is a 4 state issue. This is about regional safety. This is 5 about regional infrastructure. And it’s about a 6 statewide population. The City of Boston’s population 7 doubles every day. Those are citizens that come from 8 every corner of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that 9 we potentially put at risk because they’re employees 10 of my organization. We can’t really seriously 11 consider putting additional risk and burden on those 12 lives. So this ­­ if this discussion does end up 13 becoming a suburban versus Boston discussion, I hope 14 that we remember where the workforce comes from and 15 where those people live. All people throughout the 16 Commonwealth are put at greater risk by having these 17 hazardous materials come through the City of Boston 18 streets. 19 Finally, as the former transportation 20 commissioner for the City of Boston, I just want to 21 make note that while I was involved with the 22 preliminary design and environmental permitting of the 23 Central Artery Tunnel project, the City of Boston and 24 the Fire Commissioner said that hazardous materials Arlington Reporting Company
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69 1 should not go through the Central Artery portion of 2 the Central Artery Tunnel project and the tunnels 3 because of the related risks. That risk has only 4 grown. So, I hope that you will support the City of 5 Boston and its proposal to eliminate hazmat materials 6 through the City of Boston streets. 7 Thank you for the time tonight. 8 (Applause.) 9 DONNY DAILEY: Donna Freni, president 10 11 of the North End/Waterfront Neighborhood Council. DONNA FRENI: Good evening. My name is 12 Donna Freni. I’m a resident, 85 East India Row, also 13 known as Harbor Towers. And I’m also president of the 14 North End/Waterfront Neighborhood Council, which is 15 fondly known as NEWNC. 16 NEWNC, as you may be aware, is an 17 elected body. And we represent the North 18 End/Waterfront neighborhood and serve as an advisory 19 board to the City of Boston. NEWNC has spent a 20 considerable amount of time discussing this issue of 21 hazmat trucks, and we firmly believe that protecting 22 our neighborhoods and the safety of its residents is 23 of utmost importance. And given that, NEWNC strongly 24 supports the proposed redesignation that would Arlington Reporting Company
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70 1 prohibit the pass through of hazardous material trucks 2 through the City of Boston and, most importantly, 3 through the neighborhood that we care so much about. 4 We have already seen a tragedy in the 5 City of Saugus right nearby. And many people have 6 already spoken to that issue. And, recently, we had a 7 close call with an oil spillage right near Harbor 8 Towers and near the Greenway. You’ve heard someone 9 speak from Harbor Towers and you’ve heard Nancy 10 Brennan speak from the Greenway. All it would have 11 taken is a match or a cigarette thrown on that oil 12 spillage that was there and we could have had a 13 potential hazard. As Joanne Hayes­Rines said, as a 14 resident of Harbor Towers, 1,200 residents at risk, 15 and all the hotels and other areas around there, never 16 mind all the money that has been invested in 17 beautifying our city with the Greenway. That would 18 have all gone up in flames. We don’t want that type 19 of tragedy to happen. 20 It’s clear that hazmat trucks put our 21 neighborhoods at risk. And we respectfully ask that 22 MassDOT support the findings of the comprehensive 23 study which proposes a ban of pass through hazmat 24 trucks in our densely populated North End/Waterfront Arlington Reporting Company
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71 1 neighborhood. Thank you for the opportunity to 2 3 testify on behalf of the neighborhood that we serve. 4 NEWNC strongly urges you to follow the City’s support 5 of this ban. Thank you very much. 6 (Applause.) 7 SANDRA HARCOURT: My name is Sandra 8 Harcourt. I’m a resident at 130 Fulton Street in 9 Boston, North End. I am here just as a citizen to say that 10 11 I would like you, DOT, MassDOT, to support the 12 recommendation of the City. I think when I think 13 about infrastructure, I’ve lived in 23 cities 14 throughout the world and the United States. And when 15 I think of infrastructure and what’s available to us, 16 while some of it may not be ideal, and we’re 17 challenged with how we overcome this, I think it’s 18 really important we ought to think about putting our 19 energy and efforts into making the infrastructure 20 outside of the City correct that enables the business 21 to support the carrying of the materials outside the 22 city. 23 24 The conditions, again, are not ideal. The weather is not ideal. However, I think many Arlington Reporting Company
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72 1 people tonight here, and there are many that are not 2 here that I know have written emails and letters to 3 you that are quite concerned. It is to be an obvious 4 conclusion as a concerned citizen. And I trust that 5 you will make the right decision and support the 6 City’s recommendation to reroute the materials. 7 Thank you for the opportunity. 8 (Applause.) 9 DONNY DAILEY: Up next are Virginia 10 11 Kimball, Michele Brogan, and Elizabeth Philipps. MICHELE BROGAN: My name is Michele 12 Brogan. I’m a resident of 300 Commercial Street, 13 which is right on the waterfront and directly along 14 the route that we’re talking about here. 15 I just want to reinforce the statements 16 that I’ve heard this evening, which have been very 17 insightful. Anyone who walks down the streets, 18 particularly at this time of the year, can see what a 19 disaster it would be, let alone the idea of being in 20 the tunnels with one of those hazmat trucks. There’s 21 no ideal way of handling this situation. Somebody is 22 going to have to suffer. But, in the long run, the 23 idea of being on an open highway, where at least you 24 can get trucks to you, as opposed to being trapped in Arlington Reporting Company
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73 1 a tunnel or on a small neighborhood street, I just 2 don’t see how there can be any issue. Thank you very much and I hope that we 3 4 will be able to get this through pass. 5 (Applause.) 6 DONNY DAILEY: Michele Brogan of 300 7 Commercial Street. MICHELE BROGAN: No, that was me. That 8 9 was me. 10 DONNY DAILEY: Oh, I apologize. 11 VIRGINIA KIMBALL: Hi. I’m Virginia 12 Kimball. I live at 130 Fulton Street in the North 13 End. And, again, I’m just a citizen who wants to 14 support the proposal. 15 I walk the streets with my dog, all the 16 time, day and night. And I will say at night those 17 trucks are going much faster than eight to 10 miles an 18 hour. I’ve heard that several times. 19 (Applause.) 20 VIRGINIA KIMBALL: They might pause, 21 you know, at night for the stop signs. They don’t 22 stop. They’re making up, you know ­­ I just really am 23 opposed to having them there day or night. 24 Thank you. Arlington Reporting Company
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74 1 (Applause.) 2 DONNY DAILEY: Elizabeth Philipps from 3 50 Battery Street. ELIZABETH PHILIPPS: I’m Elizabeth 4 5 Philipps. I’m a Boston citizen, voter, taxpayer, home 6 heating oil user, gasoline user, and I support the 7 proposal to reroute the hazmat trucks away from the 8 residential streets, away from the places where 9 tourists gather, away from the hotels, away from the 10 Aquarium, away from the Greenway, away from where 11 everybody is having fun in the sun and enjoying the 12 City of Boston. I’m sorry it takes you longer to go 13 around 128, but I think you should take the time to do 14 it. 15 Thank you very much. 16 (Applause.) 17 DONNY DAILEY: And the last speaker is 18 Mimi LaCamera from the Freedom Trail Foundation, 99 19 Chauncey Street. 20 MIMI LACAMERA: Between you and going 21 home. I’ll be really short. Hi. I’m Mimi LaCamera. 22 I’m president of the Freedom Trail Foundation, the 23 marketing organization that provides support and also 24 marketing for the Freedom Trail. Arlington Reporting Company
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75 1 The routes that go through the City 2 with trucks go on the Freedom Trail in the North End. 3 But I wanted to speak ­­ first of all, I’m a resident 4 of Back Bay on Beacon Street where we have wonderful 5 restrictions on trucks in Back Bay. So, if it can 6 happen in Back Bay, it can happen in the North End. 7 There are 22 million people who visit 8 Boston every year. There are three million people who 9 walk on the Freedom Trail. We alone take care of 10 80,000 people as we escort people along the Freedom 11 Trail. It is a billion dollar business in Boston that 12 generates 160,000 jobs, and Massachusetts tourism 13 does. I think anything that will keep those tourists 14 safe on the streets of Boston will be good for the 15 City and good for everyone’s pocket. And I would like 16 to support rerouting the trucks outside of the City so 17 that we can take care of the golden goose in Boston. 18 Thank you. 19 (Applause.) 20 DONNY DAILEY: We just had two more 21 individuals sign up to speak. And the next one will 22 be Amanda Hamel from 91 Clark Street in Lynn. 23 24 AMANDA HAMEL: Hello. I’m Amanda. I am not from Boston. I am Lynn. But I just wanted to Arlington Reporting Company
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76 1 state my opinion today. I thought it would be a great 2 opportunity to speak. 3 Can anyone in this room tell me the 4 number one rollover situation lately that happened? 5 Can anyone tell me? 6 AUDIENCE: Ramps. Ramps. 7 AMANDA HAMEL: Can anyone try again? 8 DONNY DAILEY: Excuse me. Time out. 9 10 11 This is not a question and answer. You are testifying. You need to testify. Okay? AMANDA HAMEL: Well, I can tell you 12 that the number one rollover for a truck is on 13 straightaways. And that’s the truth. 128 is a major 14 hazard. I know it’s going around and everyone talks 15 about safety, but this safety. Trucks aren’t going to 16 roll over doing eight to 10 miles an hour going 17 through Boston city. I know it’s ugly. And I agree 18 with you it’s very ugly seeing a tanker going down the 19 street at the Greenway and the Waterfront. And I know 20 many of you are ­­ you know, concerning your opinion, 21 I respect that. But just keep in mind that rollovers 22 don’t happen going around a turn ­­ going around a 23 turn going four miles an hour. 24 And you’re right. I’ve heard people Arlington Reporting Company
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77 1 say that there are no bicycles, and no Segways, and no 2 pedestrians on 128, and no crosswalks, and no lights. 3 That’s completely true. I agree with you. I don’t 4 see that on 128. But what I do see on 128 has had 5 rollovers because drivers get complacent. They go on 6 a straight road, and they get fatigued. And there are 7 DOT hours of service to drive, but the drivers are 8 fatigued and they get complacent with the road, like 9 129/95, and they get used to driving that same road. 10 They need stoplights. They need crosswalks. They 11 need pedestrians. Not saying that they’re going to 12 hurt any of you, but I mean these are things that are 13 keeping the driver aware and alert, not going on an 14 onramp or traveling 40 miles on one strip of lane. 15 Thank you. 16 (Applause.) 17 DONNY DAILEY: Kathy Palano Ray, 18 resident of the Harbor Towers. 19 KATHY PALANO RAY: Hi. As you heard, 20 I’m a resident of Harbor Towers. But I just want to 21 say I support the proposal. But, in addition, I want 22 to tell you a personal story because my family was 23 impacted by the Saugus rollover. And, here, a whole 24 neighborhood within a mile was put in danger, in Arlington Reporting Company
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78 1 flame. And the houses were not 12 feet like they are 2 from Matt Conti’s, but we are very, very close. And 3 if an accident like that happened, it would be a 4 horrific thing for everyone. But, in addition, what everyone forgot 5 6 is how many days Route 1 was closed down because of 7 that accident. Imagine this happening in our City 8 with the density of the population, and the residents, 9 and work people that come. If we had an accident like 10 that the City would be shut down for days and days and 11 days. 12 My family, who live on Lynn Fells 13 Parkway, could not drive on their street because the 14 traffic was rerouted. They had an alternative. I 15 could not see my elderly parents for days because I 16 could not reach them. 17 Now, you people here, I understand 18 there is a problem with the truckers, and people going 19 on a major highway, and it would impact a lot of 20 people. But we’re talking about people’s safety in a 21 City that operates with people coming in from the 22 suburbs to work. And if we had an accident like that 23 happened in Saugus, we would be in real, real trouble 24 and it would be a horrific thing. Arlington Reporting Company
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79 1 Thank you. 2 (Applause.) 3 DONNY DAILEY: Samantha Popowicz from 4 5 91 Clark Street in Lynn. SAMANTHA POPOWICZ: Hi. I just want to 6 say thank you for letting all of us speak and for 7 listening today. 8 My name is Samantha Popowicz. I grew 9 up in the trucking industry. My family runs, owns, 10 J&S Transport. Everyone’s major concern is safety. 11 And this is basically about the facts right now. I 12 heard that Boston hasn’t had a major accident in 92 13 years. When was the last major accident that has 14 happened? It was a month ago on a major highway. 15 Just look at the facts. The fact that our drivers and 16 the other drivers of other companies know what they’re 17 doing. They know how to drive. And, it’s proven by 18 seeing them, that they’re driving through Boston and 19 it hasn’t happened in 92 years. But being on a 20 highway, where you’ve got cars that are unpredictable, 21 like this past one that happened a month ago. No one 22 knows exactly what happened. There could have been a 23 car that came down the opposite side of the road, a 24 car that cut the driver off. Something happened that Arlington Reporting Company
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80 1 night that created that driver to lose his life. By 2 forcing our driver and other drivers to go around and 3 be on 128, Route 1, 95, those straightaways, those 4 highways going at high speeds with other unpredictable 5 three lanes of cars, you are almost guaranteeing there 6 to be an accident every other month. Just look at the 7 statistics: one month ago there was a major accident; 8 92 years ago in Boston a major accident. 9 Thank you. 10 (Applause.) 11 DONNY DAILEY: Mr. Broderick, that 12 13 concludes the public testimony portion of the evening. THOMAS BRODERICK: Okay. Prior to 14 closing, I’d like to recognize some officials from the 15 City of Boston who have taken the time to spend the 16 entire evening with us tonight: Boston Fire Marshal 17 Frank Kodzis; Boston Police Deputy Supervisor Bill 18 Evans; Director of Emergency Preparedness, Don 19 McGough; BTD Deputy Commissioner Jim Gillooly; 20 Corporation Counsel, Attorney Henry Luthin; and 21 outside counsel, Charles Dyer. 22 And, on a personal note, I’d like to 23 thank everybody for coming tonight and giving 24 testimony. And, most of all, since this is such a Arlington Reporting Company
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81 1 passionate issue for so many, I’d like to thank you 2 all for showing everybody the respect and letting them 3 give their testimony uninterrupted. I’m very hopeful that the rest of the 4 5 hearings will go as well as tonight did. And, just as 6 a reminder, the next hearing is tomorrow night at 7 Quincy, Thomas Crane Public Library, 400 Washington 8 Street, from 6:30 to 8:30. With that, that will conclude the 9 10 formal hearing for this evening. And I did forget to 11 mention it at the beginning, but we do have a 12 stenographer here taking testimony and recording all 13 the testimony that happened this evening so that we 14 can prepare our responses through our website. Thank you. 15 16 17 concluded.) 18 // 19 // 20 // 21 // 22 // 23 // 24 //
(Whereupon, the proceedings were Arlington Reporting Company
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82 C E R T I F I C A T E
I, Judith A. Luciano, do hereby certify that the foregoing record is a true and accurate transcription of the proceedings in the above­
captioned matter to the best of my skill and ability. _______________________ Judith A. Luciano ** ALL NAMES NOT PROVIDED WERE SPELLED PHONETICALLY TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY Arlington Reporting Company
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