State transportation officials recently warned Massachusetts drivers of severe traffic disruptions in the coming years due to the planned replacement of a section of the Massachusetts Turnpike.
While they are considering temporary solutions like reducing lanes and eliminating commuter rail tracks on the Worcester Line, transportation advocates Jim Aloisi and Chris Dempsey told Boston Public Radio Tuesday that now is the time to start piloting new public transit programs, like dedicated bus lanes.
"We should be making one of lanes on the turnpike a dedicated bus lane, so that if you're forced to get in and out of the city every day, you have the option of getting on a bus in Framingham or points west, and having a fast trip all the way in," said Dempsey. "We should especially be looking at (dedicated bus lanes) as a pilot or on a temporary basis, when we're at these points of maximum constriction in the system."
This year, MBTA riders will experience C and E Branch shutdowns on the Green Line, and an 11-month suspension of regular Green Line service between North Station and Lechmere, starting in May. During the disruptions, the MBTA said parallel services will be increased or shuttle buses will be provided.
Demspey worried that despite additional investments in the system from the Baker administration, the solutions for service disruptions aren't good enough for a transportation system that's maxed out.
"What's not happening enough is realizing we're in this moment, where not only we're doing maximum construction on the MBTA, but we've got a region that's just more packed than ever, roads that are more packed than ever before," said Dempsey. "If what worked in the '80s and '90s is close down the C line and just have some bus service, that doesn't work today unless you're giving those buses dedicated lanes, because otherwise, they're stuck in the nation's worst congestion."
Aloisi noted dedicated bus lanes have worked when they've been rolled out in Everett, Arlington, Cambridge, and other neighboring cities, but it takes proper enforcement.
"We know dedicated lanes work, people have been experimenting them regionally," he said. "They actually provide better bus service without having any major interference to vehicular traffic ... because the traffic moves more efficiently."
Jim Aloisi is a former transportation secretary, a member of the Transit Matters Board, and contributor to Commonwealth Magazine. Chris Dempsey is Director of Transportation for Massachusetts and former Assistant Secretary of Transportation.
